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| Actor Eddie Peng plays Lang, a former convict in ‘Black Dog.’ Photo courtesy of Hi Gloss Entertainment |
HÀ NỘI — Black Dog, the winning film of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, will compete in the Asian Film section at the third Đà Nẵng Asian Film Festival (DANAFF III).
In addition to Black Dog, 13 other films will compete in the same section, notably including Mưa Trên Cánh Bướm (Don’t Cry, Butterfly), directed by emerging Vietnamese filmmaker Dương Diệu Linh.
DANAFF, which comes this year to the coastal city from June 29 to July 5, is co-organised by the Đà Nẵng Department of Culture and Sports and the Việt Nam Film Development Association (VFDA).
With the theme ‘Asian Bridges’, DANAFF will be attended by Asian and international filmmakers, famous Vietnamese filmmakers and artists, alongside screenings from young filmmakers and is expected to attract numerous cinematic fans to the coastal city.
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| The Venice jury praised the ‘Don’t Cry’, Butterfly’s uniqueness and creativity, which “mixes comedy, social drama and fantasy while depicting the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship”. Photo courtesy of Ân Nam Productions |
Black Dog tells a story about Lang, newly released from prison, who heads back to his hometown in Northwest China. While working on a team clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he forms a touching bond with one black stray.
The film director, Guan Hu, is a Chinese filmmaker associated with the Sixth Generation movement, known for their gritty realism movies, who best known for Mr. Six, The Eight Hundred and Cow.
The film won the 2024 Venice Film Festival Critics′ Week Grand Prize and the Most Innovative Film Award at Settimana Internazionale della Critica.
Expanding scale
The Chair of the Việt Nam Cinema Promotion Association and Executive Director of the DANAFF III, Ngô Phương Lan, said that DANAFF III will mark a significant step up in terms of scale, duration and programming compared to its previous two editions.
“Expanding from five official days in the past editions to seven this year, the festival will showcase over 100 selected films, up from 46 in DANAFF I and 63 in DANAFF II,” she said.
“The number of screenings has also doubled to approximately 200, compared to 100 last year.”
One of the highlights of DANAFF III is the introduction of the Panorama of Asian Cinema, which showcases outstanding Asian films that have earned acclaim at international film festivals, along with world premieres debuting at DANAFF. This year also marks the launch of the Asian Film Critics Award within the Panorama programme.
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| Ngô Phương Lan, Chair of the Việt Nam Cinema Promotion Association and Executive Director of the DANAFF III, presents an overview of this year’s festival programme. Photo Anh Vũ/DANAFF |
A selected programme highlights Việt Nam war-themed films in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of National Reunification, as well as a country-in-focus programme highlighting Korean cinema.
These will be followed by two major seminars, including ‘The Legacy of Vietnamese War Cinema Post-Reunification’, which offers in-depth evaluations of the genre’s achievements and cultural impact. The seminar ‘Korean Cinema: Lessons from Global Success and Industrial Development’ which will explore both creative content and policy frameworks, with participation from film scholars, industry professionals and educators from Korea and Việt Nam.
Lan said: “Korean and Vietnamese cinema shared thematic and stylistic similarities during the 1960s–70s, Korean cinema surged forward from the 1990s, leaving a lasting mark on the international scene. We aim to draw practical lessons and inspiration for regional cinema industries.”
The festival will also see the launch of DANAFF Talents, a series of training, networking, and film development activities for young and emerging filmmakers, including the ‘Nurturing Talent’ Acting Workshop, the Project Incubator and Master Classes led by industry experts.
For the first time, the Project Incubator is introduced as a core component of DANAFF Talents, featuring two main categories, Art-house Film Projects and Genre Film Projects, with a total of 14 standout projects selected for development.
As with previous editions, DANAFF III also continues key features that have become its hallmarks, such as the Film Achievement Award, honouring an outstanding Asian filmmaker who has made significant contributions to the development of cinema.
In addition to in-competition films and selected programmes’ films, the festival will feature screenings of Vietnamese Contemporary Cinema, featuring 18 recently produced Vietnamese films.
The festival will have free screenings in theatres and outdoor public spaces. Additionally, Đà Nẵng audiences can engage in conversations and exchanges with artists and film crews.
Nguyễn Thị Anh Thi, Vice Chair of the Đà Nẵng People’s Committee, Head of the Organising Committee of DANAFF said: “I hope that in the future, DANAFF will grow to become a prominent film festival in the region like the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.” — VNS
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