HA NOI — Vietnamese contemporary cinema and overseas national filmmaker devotion will be subjects at the sixth Biennial Cinema Symposium in California on Sunday.

Themed Shifting Scenes, the event will feature notable panellists who will lend diverse perspectives to the creative, technical and commercial aspects of filmmaking.

The symposium will include diverse and accomplished speakers including Michael Chang from Warner Bros Entertainment, Ellen M Harrington from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Le Van Kiet (director of House in the Alley), Porter Lynn (actress in Touch) and Marcus Manh Cuong Vu (director of the Yxine Film Festival). In addition, the audience will have a special Skype session with director Victor Vu (Battle of the Brides, Blood Letter), who is currently on location in Viet Nam.

This year's theme explores the "shifting scenes" of contemporary Vietnamese cinema. The possibilities for filmmakers to tell stories and for audiences to engage with the cinema have greatly expanded due to ongoing "shifts", such as the increasing fluidity of geographical and cultural boundaries, internet-based distribution and networking channels, and the accessibility of digital filmmaking technology.

The symposium will provide a forum for audiences to engage with film-industry professionals in examining the unique opportunities and challenges that present themselves in this dynamic landscape.

Each panellist will share his/her experiences, challenges and achievements. Audience members are encouraged to participate in the dialogue with panellists. After the discussion, there will be a special screening of the best short films from the Yxine Film Festival, which will be free and open to the public.

The four best films from the Yxine Film Festival will also be shown, including Ca Chuoi (Mother Never Cries), a story about a middle aged woman who finds a girl to sleep with her mentally challenged son, and Duoi Bong Cay (Under the Tree's Shadow), in which Snake takes Frog away and Mouse goes to save Frog with another purpose.

The other two films include An Interrogation (2011), about the residence permit of a Vietnamese student who got married to a Frenchman and The Man Who Was There, about a man who lives alone.

The Cinema Symposium was first organised by the Vietnamese Language and Culture Centre (VNLC) and the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) in 2002 to forge and strengthen a network between professionals working in the film industry and students with an interest in cinema and Vietnamese culture.

Occurring in between the biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF), the event will maintain momentum in promoting works by or about local culture and identities.

It will also highlight the important work of industry professionals in front of and behind the camera, which has helped enrich Vietnamese cinema internationally. — VNS