The New Boy – a strong candidate in the Asian Film category competing at DANAFF II – Photo: DPCC
In the opening speech of the 2024 Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF II) on the evening of July 2 in Da Nang, Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan - President of the Vietnam Association for the Promotion of Cinematography and Director of DANAFF II - said that one of the advantages of DANAFF II is "selecting new and quality Asian and Vietnamese films to compete".
Exciting and breathless
Two Vietnamese films will compete with 11 other Asian films. Specifically, the films are: 18 youth ( South Korea ), A girl named Ann ( Japan), All ears ( China), Aziz (Iran), Country of blind ( India ),
The cat, me and another cat ( Japan), Fly me to the moon ( Hong Kong - China), Guard of honor ( Philippines), The new boy ( Australia), Women from Rote island ( Indonesia), Rain town ( Malaysia).
It can be seen that the Asian Film Competition promises to be an explosive, dramatic, suspenseful and surprising category with the return of famous, long-time filmmakers and the participation of new talents of regional cinema.
Behind The Stranger Things is Australian director – screenwriter – cinematographer Warwick Thornton (54 years old).
His debut film Samson and Delilah won the Caméra d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and the Best Film award at the Asia-Pacific Screen Awards.
His latest film, The Strange Boy , has won a total of 32 awards and nominations at major and minor film festivals before reaching DANAFF II.
Notably, the film won the Spotlight Award from the American Society of Cinematographers. It also won a Best Actor award at the Australian Academy of Cinematography Awards and was nominated for a Special View at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
The director of Rainy Town is veteran Malaysian film director Tunku Mona (57 years old). Her debut film – Redha – won 17 awards at home and abroad, holding the record for the most awarded Malay-language Malaysian film in the country.
It is also a nominee at the 89th Academy Awards and the 74th Golden Globe Awards.
Country of blind revolves around the life of a place isolated from the world, where life is happy and simple - Photo: Producer
We also cannot fail to mention Rahhat with Kingdom of the Blind . The famous 44-year-old Indian director has won many international film awards, including the Best Director award at BAFTA 2017 for the film Mantostaan.
He was also nominated for Best Director at the Bollywood ITA Awards 2022 for Lihaaf: The Quilt co-produced by Oscar winner Marc Baschet.
There is also Liu Jiayin (43 years old) – a Chinese director with Worthy Lives . His first film Oxhide made a splash at the Berlin Film Festival, and his second film Oxhide II was screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
Before coming to Vietnam, Worthy Lives won two awards for Best Actor and Best Director at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
Movie Worthy Lives – Photo: Producer
Sasha Chuk (33 years old) is a Hong Kong writer, screenwriter and director. Coming to DANAFF II, she brought with her Eternal Wish - a film that won the Fipresci Award and the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award at the 2023 Golden Horse Film Festival.
The film also won Best Screenplay and Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, along with many other prestigious nominations and awards.
In addition, Aziz by Iranian director Majid Tavakoli, Ann's Life by Japanese director Yu Irie and Honor Guard by talented Filipino filmmaker Joselito Altarejos are also films worth looking forward to.
While Yu Irie is an interesting unknown whose films have been featured at the Yubari International Fantasy Film Festival and won the Director's Guild of Japan New Director Award, Joselito Altarejos is known for his groundbreaking films with gay themes.
Participating in the Asian Film Competition are films that are being shown for the first time in Asia or even in the world, besides films that have already had “achievements”. There are films by young directors and debut films besides those by famous filmmakers, there are “pure” independent films besides films for the majority.
Pham Thien An's film (right cover) and Pham Ngoc Lan's film compete for the Asian Film Competition award.
All good Asian movies
Previously, sharing with Tuoi Tre , Ms. Lan said that this year, Asian filmmakers sent many films with good quality, rich themes and genres.
According to Ms. Lan, after announcing the event, the organizers did not spend too much time waiting or lobbying.
The representative of DANAFF II “hopes that the audience will have the opportunity to see the works of new talents, young directors of independent films as well as films of famous filmmakers and film producers in the region in the Asian Film Competition category”.
Australian director Warwick Thornton checked in on the red carpet at the opening of DANAFF II – Photo: TRUONG TRUNG
“Choosing good Asian films for this category is also one of DANAFF's advantages,” director Phan Dang Di said in an interview with Tuoi Tre before the event's official opening.
Last year, only one Vietnamese film was selected for the Asian Film Competition category, which was Children in the Mist by director Ha Le Diem.
This was also the best Asian film announced at the closing ceremony of DANAFF I.
This year, this category has 13 films competing for awards, of which Coolie Never Cries and Inside the Golden Cocoon are two Vietnamese films that have been "chosen to entrust with gold".
Inside the Golden Cocoon (director Pham Thien An, producers Tran Van Thi and Jeremy Chua) was released to Vietnamese audiences last year after "traveling" with a series of high awards at international film festivals.
Specifically: Camera d'Or award - award for first-time film director, in the Directors' Fortnight category at Cannes Film Festival 2023; Best International Film at Pingyao Film Festival, China 2023; Best Film at Asian Film Festival in Italy (April 2024).
Meanwhile, Coolie Never Cries (director Pham Ngoc Lan, producers Tran Thi Bich Ngoc and Nghiem Quynh Trang) made history when it won the Best First Feature Film award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival in February.
The coolie who never cries also managed to "grab" two more awards at two small film festivals before returning to Vietnam to attend DANAFF II.
For the first time, Coolie Never Cries will have two special screenings for Vietnamese audiences within the framework of DANAFF II on the afternoons of July 4 and 6.
Tuoitre.vn
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tai-nang-dien-anh-chau-a-hoi-ngo-o-da-nang-20240704082225747.htm
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