Hanoi to host int'l film festival

Indie film: A scene from director Mel Chionglo's feature film Lauriana, one of six independent works from the Philippines to be screened at the 3rd Ha Noi International Film Festival. — Photo courtesy of the filmmakers

The third Ha Noi International Film Festival, Cinematography – Integration and Sustainable Development, will run from November 23 to 27. All participating films will be screened at the National Cinema Centre, August Cinema, Kim Dong Cinema, CGV Vincom Centre, and CVG Mipec Tower.

As many as 320 motion pictures and documentaries have registered to join the festival, which occurs every two years. The Ha Noi Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Department of Cinematography organised the event this year.

"This is a chance for us to honour outstanding cinematographic works of humanity and high artistic values and promote emerging film industry talents, especially in the Asia-Pacific region," the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vuong Duy Bien, said at a press conference on Wednesday in Ha Noi.

The festival features a range of activities such as the Panorama, which will some of the world's best recent movies. The Viet Nam Film Programme will present works made locally since 2012, host workshops, introduce Viet Nam's filmmaking sites and well-known destinations, and host seminars on potential cooperation between filmmakers in Viet Nam.

The organising committee will show a series of documentaries about Ha Noi to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its Liberation Day.

Also, the festival will screen six independent works from the Philippines, and host a talk on Philippines filmmaking trends.

"The films from the Philippines will provide local audiences and filmmakers with a clear understanding of the concepts of independent films, because the two countries' cinematography industries shares many common features," said Ngo Phuong Lan, the head of the Department of Cinematography. "In the Philippines, even works considered hard to comprehend received warm welcomes from local audiences. So at this festival we will not only present movies that satisfy general taste. We focus on works of quality, especially those that have won awards at film festivals."

Upon its close on November 27, the festival will hand out a number of awards for the best short and feature-length films, best director, best actor and best actress. In addition, the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema will present awards.