Osaka fest screens VN prize-winners
Six Vietnamese movies will be screened at a special programme entitled New Action! Southeast Asia at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2016 from March 4 to 13.
The movies are Em La Ba Noi Cua Anh (Sweet 20); Hoa Vang Tren Co Xanh (Yellow Flowers on Green Grass); Cha, Con Va Nhung Cau Chuyen Khac (Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories) and Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere), as well as Di Nhan (Super X) and My Nhan Ke (The Lady Assassin).
New Action! Southeast Asia will introduce a panorama of Vietnamese cinema, including movies that have recently won the local audience's hearts and prizes at international film festivals.
Sweet 20 is the first movie of feature director Phan Gia Nhat Linh. It set a Vietnamese box office record by becoming the highest grossing film, earning VND101 billion (US$4.75 million) in revenue in 2015.
"It is a huge surprise. I didn't know Sweet 20 has been selected with other movies to be screened at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2016," director Linh said.
"I'm happy and wonder whether the local audiences will welcome my movie. The other movies have been made by directors whom I admire a lot. That is great," Linh said.
Hoa Vang Tren Co Xanh was made by director Victor Vu who has had a successful run at the box office and is based on the novel written by best-selling author Nguyen Nhat Anh. It won the Golden Lotus Award for best feature film at the biennial 19th Viet Nam Film Festival last year.
The movie also won the best film award at the Silk Road International Film Festival held in Fujian Province, China.
Filmmaker Phan Dang Di's Cha, Con Va Nhung Cau Chuyen Khac was premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Vietnamese film to compete for the top prize at the film festival.
Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung by Nguyen Hoang Diep won many prizes at several festivals, such as the 2014 Venice International Film Critic's Week and the third Ha Noi International Film Festival.
Two movies, My Nhan Ke (The Lady Assassin) and Di Nhan (Super X), were made by Nguyen Quang Dung in 2013 and 2014.
The 11th film festival will be held under director Teruoka Sozo, selecting high-quality films from Asian countries.
The competition section, which receives increased recognition every year, selects films previously unreleased in Japan. The regular sections also feature a wide variety of excellent Asian films.
Last year, Vietnamese movie De Hoi Tinh (Let Hoi Decide) was premiered at the New Action! Southeast Asia programme.
