Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man said yesterday that her bureau will soon announce “more concrete and clearly defined” guidelines for crews to comply with for their film shooting in Macau.
Leong made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape after yesterday’s press conference about the upcoming 2nd Macau International Comedy Festival.
Leong’s remarks yesterday came after the bureau suspended a crew’s filming permission in Macau late last month following an accident where a driver lost control while drifting when the crew was filming on a closed section of road, injuring 12 other crew members.
The bureau said late last month that as the filming project was deemed to be technically demanding, the bureau had convened a meeting attended by representatives of other relevant public entities and those from the crew before the commencement of the shooting, where officials explicitly said that the location concerned was unsuitable for car drifting so that the crew’s representatives were aware of the local authorities’ requirements.
Shortly after the accident late last month, the Cultural Affairs Bureau held a meeting with relevant public entities including the police. Based on the opinions raised by other public entities during the meeting, IC officials decided to suspend the crew’s filming permission after concluding that the filming project had “obviously” disturbed public order and safety.
The bureau said late last month that it had ordered the crew to submit a report about the accident, adding that the bureau did not rule out the possibility of revoking the crew’s filming permission for the whole project.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Leong said that after her bureau suspended the crew’s filming permission, it was still assessing opinions collected from other relevant public entities. She said that if her bureau finally concludes that the crew on purpose adopted another filming method, thereby causing the accident due to its failure to comply with the authorities’ requirements, her bureau would revoke the crew’s filming permission for the whole project.
Leong also said that the accident created an opportunity for her bureau to review its procedures for assessing applications from crews for road filming permits, adding that her bureau will soon announce “more concrete and clearly defined” guidelines for crews to comply with.
Moreover, Leong also said that if a crew plans to carry out a technically demanding filming project, her bureau will require them to submit a more detailed filming proposal.
Leong also underlined that Macau has its unique advantages and strengths for attracting non-local film crews, adding that over 300 crews from outside Macau applied for filming permits last year, the highest on record.
Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man speaks to reporters at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) yesterday. – Photo: Tony Wong
