Slice of life: Short documentary Apartment Section by Khong Viet Bach will be shown during the festival's opening on Friday night.

HA NOI  (VNS) — Four young Vietnamese filmmakers will screen their documentaries at the fourth mini documentary festival (Mini DocFest) to be held in Ha Noi from October 30 to November 2.

Four short films by Do Ha Thu, Nguyen Thai Hoa, Khong Viet Bach and Pham Thu Thuy will open the festival on Friday night.

The films were made after the filmmakers attended a workshop held by Hanoi Doclab, a centre for Vietnamese independent filmmakers and media artists.

Thu's film, entitled Sofa, Kitchen and Chitchats, focuses on women who are in their 40s and have chosen to live alone in modern society.

"The film is also influenced by my experience of living alone in about one year. I don't want to focus on a single person in the film," Thu said.

"The two women in the film are my sister's neighbours in Ecopark. They were ready to help me. But I didn't take advantage by exploring their personal lives."

Thu shot the film in 10 days, but it took about seven months to complete it.

Thu and many filmmakers have taken part in workshops on filmmaking before, but the workshop with instructor Jamie Maxtone Graham was really useful for them.

"We attended the workshop from December 2014 to August 2015. Each filmmaker was given the opportunity to work independently. We were encouraged a lot to work creatively," Thu said.

The festival's opening will see the screening of three other movies, entitled Doors, Apartment Section and Used to Be.

Many short documentaries and art videos selected from Viet Nam, South Korea, Thailand and Germany, besides Central Asia will be shown with the support of the filmmakers themselves in the forms of lectures, audience discussions and artist talks.

An online discussion with director Nguyen Anh Thu promises to be an interesting experience for all participants. Thu, now living in the US, will talk about her documentary, entitled Zone 9, which was financed with crowdfunding.

Other speakers include Pham Thi Hao, Wiwat Lertwiwatwongsa, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke and Michael Brynntrup, besides Duong Mong Thu and Truong Que Chi.

A three-minute film entitled A Man in Nightclub will be screened, along with a presentation by its director Pham Thi Hao. She will talk about her film, which was inspired by the art of Japanese Haiku poetry.

As one of the most productive German filmmakers active in the underground scene, Michael Brynntrup will give an insider's tips to filmmakers after the screening of his own experimental short films.

On last day of the festival, Vietnamese director Duong Mong Thu will participate in a discussion after the screening of her film The Trip to Hometown with My Parents, which deals with the life of her father and the fulfilment of his last wish.

All activities, to be held at 56 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, are open to the public. — VNS