Actifilms Saigon - Tag - festival

National film fest seeks commercial entries

saigontoine — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:14:00 +0700

Organisers of the up-coming 15th Na-tional Film Festival are encouraging more private studios to bring their movies to the festival, according to Lai Van Sinh, head of the Cinema Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

But some big-name private film studios, like Phuoc Sang and Thien Ngan, haven’t yet decided whether to take part in the event to be held on November 21-24 in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

"We know that private studios are not eager to compete at the festival because it isn’t thought to be suitable for commercial movies," said Sinh.

He noted that Thien Ngan’s film Nhung Co Gai Chan Dai (Long-Legged Girls) was the last private studio production to receive an award at the festival, winning second prize at the 2004 festival held in the Central Highlands province of Dac Lac.

This year, the film Dong Mau Anh Hung (The Rebel), produced by Chanh Phuong Studio, is among the few privately produced films slated to compete.

The festival is currently scheduled to show more than 100 films, including 18 features, 11 short films, 22 animated shorts and 54 documentaries, making it the largest festival in the past three years.

Movies from the State-owned studios do not generally perform well at the box office. Many, however, have won acclaim on the film festival circuit, including Song Trong So Hai (Living in Fear); Chuyen Cua Pao (Pao’s Story); Mua Len Trau (Buffalo Boy); Ha Noi, Ha Noi; Gio Thien Duong (Wind in Paradise) and Chop Mat Cung So Phan (Fated Moment).

Living in Fear and Pao’s Story have screened at festivals around the world but found few audiences on domestic screens. Buffalo Boy, directed by overseas Vietnamese Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh, debuted at the 14th National Film Festival and went on to garner several prizes at international festivals.

Productions by private film studios that have screened at the National Film Festival over the past three years include De Muon (Hired Pregnant); Ao Lua Ha Dong (White Silk Dress); and Hai Trong Mot (Two in One).

This year, National Film Festival organisers have invited actors and directors from Russia, China, South Korea, Laos, Cambodia, and the US to attend the festival. Tadao Sato, chairman of Fukuoka International Film Festival in Japan, has accepted an invitation to attend.

— VNS (18-09-2007)

Cine'Manna, June-July 07,

saigontoine — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 14:29:00 +0700

A weekly rendez-vous for all movie-goers, every sunday night in Manna Lounge, Hcm-City, Vietnam..

The Cine-Eye, concept invented, drawned and filmed by the famous soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov has been taken as a symbol for the Cine’Club in Hcmc. The Cine-eye is used as a logo for the Cine'Club because all these movies, fictions, documentaries or experimentals films question the world where we live ; past, present and future ; the work, the dream, human's relations, love, desire, friendship and missed connections...

HISTORY

''Born in June 06, Cine’Berlin began in Berlin Club with 3 screenings on Sunday nights, with the help of Christian, the manager, and Pier Laurenza. After the departure of Christian, we had to stop the screening there and find another place. One year later, the screenings, called Cine’Manna, started again in « quality» conditions at Manna Lounge with the help of Florent Moncan, the manager. Every Sunday night, 7 movies were screened in original version, with english subltitles, preceded by a short film, attracting an increasing public of expats and locals (from 20 to 60 people on the last screening). Infortunately, regarding to the new orders of the direction who wants to change the lounge into a vietnamese disco, the Cine’Club was one more time in exile…''

PROJECT

''Knowing the cinema offer in Hcmc and in Vietnam, the Cine’Club is born in 2006, following the demand by a few group of expats and locals, all movie-goers who were not satisfied of the commercial distributors offer (Megastar, Galaxy, Phuoc Sang…). Knowing that in Hcmc, locals and foreigners don't have access to so many movies, this cine-club aims to attract a large public on sunday rest time and especially the young generation (locals, vietkieu or foreigners) such as young filmmakers and cinema students... Knowing that the vietnamese and vk cinema is growing month after month, that there are more and more young filmmakers, this weekly event in a lovely and confortable place wishes to be a new rendez-vous to discover cinema classics and independant movies from all over the world, most of them having been awarded in prestigious festivals, and meet passionate people.''

Cine'Manna posters, June-July 07

Hopefully, Cine-Eye will come back in October 07 in Cantina Central Saigon !