Macau Academy of Cinematic Arts, Faculty of Humanities and Arts, MUST held a briefing for the programs of the Academy at the Conference Hall N101 of the University in the afternoon of January 21, 2016; the event was hosted by Jiang Wen, Dean of the Macau Academy of Cinematic Arts.
The Macau S.A.R. government has been making great efforts in moving forward the diversification of the local economy, and the cultural creative industry has been designated as one of the priorities for further development; as an important link of the cultural creative industry, the cinematic arts sector has a brighter future. However, programs related to cinematic arts are not available for now in Macau, and even in the higher institutions of the mainland China, there is a very small number of relevant courses; this means that many undergraduates or people who have an interest in working with cinematic arts can not find a place where they can pursue further studies in the relevant field.
Founded in 2014, the Macau Academy of Cinematic Arts of MUST is the first research institute of cinematic arts among the higher education institutions in Macau; in addition to a great many other well-known film practitioners and scholars, famous actor and director Jiang Wen has been appointed as Director of the Academy; the Academy has been equipped with a strong faculty team that’s rich in both practical experience in the film industry and in cross-disciplinary fields. Plus, MUST has already had a professional teaching and research team in General Education, Humanities and Arts, Information and Technology, Business Administration, Laws, and other fields, which could provide sufficient high-quality teaching and research support. Currently, the Academy has successfully held several film-related lectures and training sessions, including the “MUST Lecture Series by Cinematic Artists”, the “Micro-film Contest”, the “Movie Script Contest”, the “Voice-over Contest”, and so on; the Academy is preparing to open several professional programs so as to foster a new generation of applied talents in film management and market for Macau, moving forward the sustainable development of Macau’s film industry and elevating the standard of Macau’s cultural creative industry.
The programs offered by the Macau Academy of Cinematic Arts aim to mainly foster professional talents in management of film operation, financing, marketing, film laws, new media, film globalization and other fields, and will undertake bi-lingual teaching in both Chinese and English. To keep up with the program curriculum, the Academy, on the one hand, will invite internationally and nationally renowned directors, producers, film production teams, other industry practitioners, and relevant experts and scholars to give special-topic seminars that are academic or industry related or both, in hope of helping students broaden their international outlooks, and, on the other hand, will administer extra-curricular activities such as exploring the digital teaching base for film shooting, going on field trips to film production bases, surveying the industry, and engaging in other kinds industry-related events, so as to enhance students’ understanding of the conceptualization of film management. In addition to the courses offered, there will be internship studies, emphasizing the practicality of the program, facilitating students to adapt to the market at a faster rate after their graduation, and improving the employment competitiveness of the students.
Graduates of the Macau Academy of Cinematic Arts are expected to have a promising career future; they could seek employment in industries that are closely related to artistic creation such as movies, TVs, broadcasting, multi-media, development of online interactive Apps, visual and creative communication; they could also work in business-based industries such as film distribution, movie market analysis, film operation and management, film public relations and advertising, film publications, and film operation, administration and management.
Currently, MUST has already had a doctorate program for film management, the admission for which is in progress at this minute; admitted students for the program are to enter school in September of 2016. The curriculum of this program covers film management theories, film investment, film finance, film marketing, cinema management, film human recourses management and other areas; the program is designed to foster high-quality professional talents that are familiar with the advanced operational flow and management experience of the international film industry. In due time, the Macau Academy of Cinematic Arts will also offer graduate programs of film management, art research, and other fields, provide the desired talents for the expansion and development of Macau’s movie industry, elevate the capacities in development and research of the film industry for Macau and the neighboring regions, and enhance Macau’s impact on the film industry in the Greater China or even in the international communities.
