(VNS)The 2nd Ha Noi International Film Festival (HANIFF) will kick off this Sunday. More than 100 feature films, documentaries and short films will be shown during the five-day event.

The HANIFF was held for the first time by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2010 to celebrate the millennial anniversary in the capital. It drew 67 cinematic works by Asian directors competing in three categories: feature, documentary and short film.

Ngo Phuong Lan, director of the HANIFF, spoke about preparations for the 2nd festival.

What is the highlight of the 2nd HANIFF?

Vietnamese cinema will be a highlight of the festival. That is what I am most interested in. Some of my international friends told me that when Viet Nam organises a film festival, it should put its own cinema first. As a result, this time we decided to introduce audiences to the diversity of Vietnamese cinema.

We will show seven films about Ha Noi, 16 films on Viet Nam's doi moi (renewal) period and nine films produced between 2010-12.

Audiences will learn about Ha Noi from the time when King Ly Cong Uan moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long [now Ha Noi] through times of war to the present.

Focused on the theme of the development and unification of the Asia-Pacific film industry, the festival will draw about 200 films from 38 countries and territories like China, South Korea, India, the UK and Germany.

All of the films screened at the HANIFF are mainstream. The films competing for awards must be new works which will raise the festival's regional profile.

The HANIFF campus will be introduced at this year's festival. What is the significance of the campus for young filmmakers?

The festival aims to discover and encourage new talent, so the campus will be one of the most important events at the festival. Experts including Sonja Heinen from the World Cinema Foundation, Film London's Tessa Inkelaar, and Michael J Werner from Fortissimo Films will share their experiences with about 20 emerging Vietnamese directors as well as those from other Asian countries.

The HANIFF campus will bring emerging talent and seasoned film professionals together and offer them a platform to refresh their views, discover new horizons, find collaborators and discuss new trends and developments in contemporary cinema and media.

We are glad that many young Vietnamese filmmakers from overseas will take part in the campus. This proves that they are interested in making films in Viet Nam as well as introducing Vietnamese films to the world.

How many feature films will compete for the prize, and what are they?

There are 14 films competing for the main prize. Two Vietnamese films that will compete at the festival are Thien Menh Anh Hung (Blood Letter) and Dam Me (Passion).

Passion, directed by Phi Tien Son, is innovatively produced. Blood Letter, a historical film by Victor Vu, received critical acclaim.

Who will judge the category of feature film?

The jury for the feature film prize will be chaired by German director Jan Schuette of the Berlin Film School, Hollywood actor Clifford Vivian Devon (Cliff Curtis), Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, Indonesian director Garin Nugroho Riyanto, and Vietnamese actress Nguyen Nhu Quynh.

All of them are veteran artists who are renowned in their countries as well as in the world. Alidoosti was voted the best Iranian actress of the decade by 130 Iranian film critics.

Some of them have won international prizes and the others have participated on juries at international film festivals.

We wanted to make sure the jury had a director and actor with one film to be shown at the festival.

The jurors will award prizes for Best Feature Film and Best Short Film, as well as the NETPAC (Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award.

What else will be screened at the festival?

About 80 films will be shown in various categories.

An exhibition and accompanying conferences on Viet Nam renewal stage cinema and development trends of digital technology in film will be held at the Ha Noi Daewoo Hotel. — VNS