Besides the budget, what makes it difficult for the Hanoi International Film Festival to invite international stars?

At the press conference introducing the 7th Hanoi International Film Festival 2024 (HIFF) on November 5, Mr. Vi Kien Thanh, Director of the Department of Cinema, spoke about the information that directors Zhang Yimou, Lee Kwang Soo and many international celebrities will attend the festival.

Mr. Vi Kien Thanh, Director of the Department of Cinema, talks about international stars attending the 2024 Hanoi International Film Festival.

Mr. Vi Kien Thanh, Director of the Department of Cinema, affirmed: " This is incorrect information. Although the Organizing Committee has always paid attention to inviting big stars of world cinema to the event and set it up from the beginning, this has encountered many difficulties."

The Director of the Department of Cinema explained two reasons why international stars find it difficult to attend the Hanoi International Film Festival. Mr. Vi Kien Thanh said: " The festival is usually held in November or December, which is the time when directors, producers, and artists launch new film projects. There are stars who are willing to come to Vietnam to attend the festival, but because they are busy with film projects, they cannot abandon their projects."

The leaders of the Cinema Department said they will consider and research to report to the leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to choose a more reasonable time to organize the festival. Maybe from May to June every year will be more suitable for international stars to come to Vietnam.

Mr. Vi Kien Thanh said that movie stars often have additional requirements such as staying in 5-star hotels and buying luxury airline tickets. Besides, international stars often have 3 to 5 people following them, if they also use luxury tickets and stay in 5-star hotels, it will be very difficult.

"During the invitation process, movie stars often have additional requests, such as staying in a 5-star hotel or buying luxury air tickets. We can meet these. But the third request that makes it difficult for us is that they must have 3-5 assistants with them. These people also use luxury tickets, so it is very difficult to handle for a film festival using the state budget. We always hope to invite international stars, but the budget is a problem," said Mr. Thanh.

This year, the Organizing Committee invited about 800 domestic and international delegates to attend the event. Among them were Mr. Kim Dong Ho - founder and former President of Busan International Film Festival; Mr. Philip Cheah - program advisor for many international and Asian film festivals including Shanghai International Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival, etc.

Mr. Ta Quang Dong - Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Head of the Film Festival Steering Committee spoke at the press conference.

Also at the press conference, Mr. Ta Quang Dong - Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Head of the Film Festival Steering Committee said that from more than 500 registered films, the Film Festival selected 117 feature films and short films from 51 countries and territories to screen in the Film Festival's film programs. The films have a variety of unique and creative styles, promising to create a vibrant, lively and unique Film Festival.

Regarding the fact that high-grossing films were not selected for competition, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong, Head of the Film Festival Steering Committee: “In terms of criteria, art is as difficult to define as mathematics to answer the questions of why and how. With art, what is important is the emotions the film brings to viewers, the ideas it leaves behind and the philosophy of life. Those are the top criteria for us to choose films for competition.”

Mr. Vi Kien Thanh added that films such as Lat mat, Mai, Dao, Pho va Piano, Doa hoa mong manh, Gap lai chi bau, Nha ba Nu... will be shown in different programs within the framework of the Film Festival.

“We want to present a panoramic picture to see how Vietnamese cinema has developed over the past two years,” said Mr. Vi Kien Thanh.

Le Chi

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ngoai-ngan-sach-ly-do-gi-khien-lhp-quoc-te-ha-noi-kho-moi-sao-quoc-te-ar905725.html