The 4^th Encounter in Macao - Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries is taking place in the city since 28^th October and until 18^th November. The festival this year adopts a “theme park” model whereby there’s a diverse array of events, activities and happenings across town that together create a Sino-Lusophone cultural immersion for residents and visitors to enjoy. Activities range from cultural exhibitions and performances staged by the city’s Portuguese community to traditional music and dance performances, as well as screenings of Chinese and Portuguese-speaking countries films.

The Encounter in Macao festival is running concurrently with the 25^th Lusofonia Festival, which this year celebrated its silver jubilee and took place between 28^th and 29^th October, after being cut one day shorter, as a prevention measure due to COVID-19 cases found in the city over the weekend, which also lead to adjustments in other events of the 4^th Encounter in Macao. Other activities and events happening as part of Encounter in Macao include the Traditional Music and Dance Performance in the Community, China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Film Festival and, for the first time this year, a Portuguese Picture Book Fair, among others. These activities aim to further increase the influence of Macao’s Chinese and Lusophone cultures, as well as helping to facilitate the city’s role as a cultural exchange centre between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Promotional video of this year’s Encounter in Macao festival

The first Chinese and Portuguese Picture Book Fair and more

The first Chinese and Portuguese Picture Book Fair was held on 28^th, 29^th and 31^st October at Carmo Hall, Taipa. It featured more than 500 picture books and children’s books in an array of different languages, especially Chinese and Portuguese. There were also talks, workshops and family reading sessions at the fair.

With the theme of All Rivers Flow to the Sea, the China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Film Festival will present around 30 film productions between 4^th and 18^th November. The opening film, Hero, is directed by Sylvia Chang, Joan Chen and Shaohong Li, will be screened at Galaxy Cinemas on 4^th November, while the closing film in the festival, Pedro, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, is directed by Laís Bodanzky and will be screened at Cinematheque．Passion on 18^th November.

The Traditional Music and Dance Performance in the Community is held on 5^th and 6^th November. It will see six local Portuguese-speaking groups and one Mainland group performing traditional songs and dances at the Ruins of St Paul’s, Amizade Plaza, Taipa’s Carmo Fair and Largo Eduardo Marques in Coloane.

25^th Lusofonia Festival was a big success in October

The 25^th Lusofonia Festival concluded on 29^th October at the Taipa Houses, with Macanese culture, its gastronomy, and other traditional features, as the focus of this year’s jubilee edition. It also showcased the traditional distinctive booths of ten Portuguese-speaking communities in Macao, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Goa, Daman and Diu, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor. They showcased their music, handicrafts, apparel, accessories, gastronomy and tourist information so that visitors could experience the long-standing festive traditions and diverse folk cultures of these different countries and regions. During this period, the Encounter in Macao also held the film screenings.

The 4^th Encounter in Macao - Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries is held under the patronage of the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture. It is being organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and it’s supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Municipal Affairs Bureau, TDM - Teledifusão de Macau, S.A. and the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies. Please visit the website for more information: www.icm.gov.mo/FCP/2022/en.