Centre stage: Young director Tran Dung Thanh Huy and veteran actress Hong Anh (right) will take part in the Cannes Film Festival from May 15-26. — File Photo

HCM CITY (VNS)— Director Tran Dung Thanh Huy and actress Hong Anh will represent Viet Nam at the Cannes Film Festival held from May 15-26.

Huy, a graduate of the HCM City Theatre and Cinema University, won the Heart of Viet Nam prize for his film 16:30 at the online short film festival YxineFF 2012. The film also won three other prizes at the festival and the Viet Nam Cinematography Association's Golden Kite prize for short films in 2011.

The 17-minute film, which documents the hard life of workers in the city at the end of the day, will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner.

Huy said he was looking forward to meeting director Jane Campion, head of the Cinedondation and Short Film Jury of the 66th festival.

He said the visit to Cannes would give him an opportunity to meet and learn from filmmakers around the world. He would try to get insights into what helped director Jane Campion's film, The Piano, win top prizes at Cannes and at the Oscars.

Actress Hong Anh, who took part in the event in 2008 and 2011, said she was happy to join Huy this time and see his film on screen at one of the world's most prestigious film festivals.

"It is important to make the world know more about the Vietnamese film industry," she said.

Huy and Anh's journey is part of Voyage a Cannes, a programme to bring Vietnamese young filmmakers to Cannes Film Festival and promote the country's film industry.

In the programme, director Tran Anh Hung, who won the Camera d'Or (Golden Camera) prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival for Mui Du Du Xanh (The Scent of Green Papaya), will share his experiences with young filmmakers at the office of the Consulate General of France in HCM City tomorrow.

Today, at 5pm, Hung's latest work, Norwegian Woods, will be shown together with 16:30 at the Megastar Paragon Cineplex in HCM City's District 7. — VNS