MUMBAI: Venetian Macao, one of Macau's biggest gaming resorts will be the hosting venue of the latest edition of the Asia Pacific Film Festival next month.

Bearing a promotional slogan of "The New Starting Line", the festival's 55th edition will take place from 13 to 16 December at the casino-cum-hotel, the award organizers have announced.

Actor-producer Eric Tsang, the chairman of the festival's organizing committee said that he hopes to help further the development of Macau's entertainment industry by way of the festival while also striving to discover new filmmaking talents through the festival.

Fourteen awards will be given out at the festival, which was once the premier cinematic event in Asia until the emergence of first Taiwan's Golden Horses Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards. The Asia Pacific awards have also been eclipsed somewhat in recent years by the Hong Kong Asian Film Awards.