High Life

HIGH LIFE #15 Dec 2017 95 In fact, since opening in late March, Cinematheque • Passion has hosted Macau’s first female directors’ film festival, the German film festival KINO@Macao17 and the 2nd Macao International Documentary Film Festival. It has also screened “A Film Noir Series,” “Decalogue” – a masterpiece by the internationally- acclaimed Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski – “The Nightmare Maker: David Lynch” and “Director-in-Focus: Hirokazu Koreeda” who is highly regarded as one of the most important directors in contemporary Japanese film production. Brochures detailing each month’s topics are carefully compiled and professionals invited to write film reviews, record introductions for each film session and to provide better insight to help audiences gain a greater appreciation for the movies they see. It’s intensive work for a staff that boasts just nine full-time employees and a few part-time staff. “We open every day from 10:00 to 00:30 and we have a new topic each month with two or three films from around the world premiering,” explains Chief Operating Officer Rita Wong Yeuk Ying. “In total there are around 50 screenings per month so it’s a lot of work, however in this way people will be aware that we’re rich in programs.” However, “The feedback we’ve received is that people really love our Cinematheque,” adds Albert with a smile. “We’ve earned lots of supporters now and some of them even started to collect our publications because they really like them.” From the beginning, Cinematheque • Passion has positioned itself to strike a balance between art and commercial films, so while programming leans towards artistic and cultural aspects, it also strives to provide a diversified