| |  | Cinema craze: A scene of The Quiet American (left photo) presents American actor Michael Cain, while Choi Voi (above) presents Pham Linh Dan (right) and Hai Yen. Both movies will be screened during the film festival at the Cinematheque in Ha Noi. — File Photos |
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HA NOI — A weekly Friday night series of film showings is set to draw film-buffs to a range of Vietnamese-made classic and modern movies.
The series, entitled Friday Night with Vietnamese Cinema will be hosted by the Centre for the Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD) at 22A Hai Ba Trung Street, Ha Noi.
Movies selected for the screenings include some of the best of Vietnamese contemporary cinema. The films to be shown included director Bui Thac Chuyen's short film Cuoc Xe Dem (Night Run), and feature films Song Trong So Hai (Living in Fear) and Choi Voi (Adrift).
Chuyen's films have won a slew of awards, the Cinefoundation's Third Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2000 was awarded to Cuoc Xe Dem, while the Grand Jury Award at the Asian Pacific Film Festival 2006 and First Prize for Asian New Talent at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2006 went to Living in Fear.
Choi Voi was made in 2009, and has been Chuyen's most commercially successful work yet. Produced by Feature Film Studio 1, the movie tells the story of newlyweds Hai and Duyen, the complex feelings between Duyen and her close girlfriend Cam, and the carnal passion between Duyen and Tho, a sexually attractive man.
The film features A-list actors like Vietnamese-French actress Pham Linh Dan, Hai Yen, and Johnny Tri Nguyen. Dan won the Cesar Award from the Academy of French Arts and Movies in 2006.
Hai Yen is known for her role opposite Michael Caine in the Phillip Noyce film The Quiet American and she won Viet Nam's Golden Kite Award for best actress in 2006 for the film Pao's Story.
Choi Voi was produced in part with a grant of US$211,000 from the Fonds Sud Cinema of France and the Hubert Bals Fund of the Netherlands. It has also been shown at a range of international film festivals, including Toronto, Vancouver, and London.
It won the Fipresci Award at Venice Film Festival 2009.
The series of films kicked off with Choi Voi in the last week in June, and organisers hope that the regular showings will become a familiar focus for Vietnamese movie lovers.
In addition to the film showings, there will be the opportunity to discuss the movies with the film crews. Tickets can be reserved by emailing tpdmovie@gmail.com or by calling 39366559. Suggested donations of VND100,000 can be directly given to the TPD centre.
In conjunction with the Friday night series, Ha Noi's Cinematheque is hosting a Vietnamese film festival until August 16, featuring a range of works by TPD students.
The festival programme films feature broad range of periods and styles, from classic Vietnamese feature films to modern French documentaries.
Classics lovers have chance to see the movie Little Girl of Ha Noi. Directed by Hai Ninh in 1974, the movie is still regarded as one of the great classics of Vietnamese cinema.
The movie was filmed in Ha Noi amidst the smoke and rubble of the actual 1972 Christmas US aerial bombardment.
One of the best 18 Asian films of all time voted by CNN in 2008, Bao Gio Cho Den Thang Muoi (When the Tenth Month Comes), has been shown at the festival.
Produced in 1984, the movie is a haunting portrait of a woman's struggle with loss and personal sacrifice during the war. It is a lyrical vision of the endurance of Vietnamese women from one of Viet Nam's most renowned directors, Dang Nhat Minh.
It won the Special Jury Award at the 1985 Hawaii International Film Festival.
Other award-winning films include the movie The Travelling Circus by Viet Linh which won the Grand Prix at the Fribourg Third World Film Festival; Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992 Indochina, by French director Regis Wargnier; and the 1982 The Lover which won a Cesar for Best Music Score.
The two most recent Vietnamese movies to be shown at the festival are The Rebel and Owl and The Sparrow. Award-winning American Documentaries Hearts and Minds; Regret to Inform and A Dream in Ha Noi are also scheduled.
Must-see films include Indochina with Catherine Deneuve and Heaven&Earth by Oliver Stone.
All the Vietnamese films will be shown in their original versions with English subtitles.
The festival runs until August 16. Two screenings will begin at 7pm and 9pm from Monday to Friday. There will be three to four shows from 2pm to 9pm at weekend. — VNS