The nomination list of the “40^th Hong Kong Film Awards” was released recently. Actress Chrissie Chau was nominated for Best Actress while leading actress in the Macao film Madalena, one of the projects selected in the “Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films” of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government. The film Madalena was directed and written by local director Emily Chan Nga Lei, and it was entirely filmed in Macao.

The film Madalena, starring Louis Cheung and Chrissie Chau in the leading roles, was premiered in Hong Kong and Macao in 2021. The film tells the story of two strangers who meet, fall in love and become each other’s confidants as they navigate their way through life’s highs and lows in Macao. The film was nominated for the 55^th Golden Horse Film Project Promotion, as well as invited to compete in the 23^rd Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy and in the Rising Sun International Film Festival in Japan, and was screened as the opening film of the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2021.

Local director Chan Nga Lei expressed her excitement that the film was nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards and was honoured thatthe film and its cast gained recognition from the Awards and the judging panel. The film was funded by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, and Emily Chan Nga Lei believes that the “Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films” provides local directors with start-up capital for their feature film production, which allows their dreams to set sail. The director has witnessed the release of works by various local directors, with the support of the Macao SAR Government, as well as the progress of Macao’s film industry through her involvement in film production in recent years. In addition, she is delighted to be able to bring her work to different film festivals and screenings around the world, allowing viewers from different places to get to know Macao’s productions.