“Elizabeth” director Shekhar Kapur has been set as the jury president for the first edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao. The festival will run in the former Portuguese colony of Macau December 8 to 13, 2016.
It will include a competition section of some 10-12 films, half a dozen gala screenings, a selection of contemporary genre films, “Crossfire,” a genre film retrospective selected by top directors, and a best of the festivals panorama. The festival will also be complemented by an industry section with screenings and a project market.
Kapur, who also directed “Mr India,” and co-created the “Bombay Dreams” stage musical with Andrew Lloyd Webber, is currently producing and directing “Will,” a series exploring the trials, tribulations and brilliance of the young William Shakespeare, for TNT. He is also founder of Qyuki, an online platform for young Indian creators.
“This is Asia’s time. Over the past few years, consumerism has catapulted the Asian market into international renown, but what we are now experiencing is the renaissance of culture as inspired by the Asian communities,” said Kapur. “Indian storytelling has so much in common with Chinese forms of storytelling. Hopefully these new forms will bring the world to a better understanding of itself.”
