First Đà Nẵng Asian Film Festival to showcase strength of Vietnamese cinema

The announcement ceremony of the Đà Nẵng Asian Film Festival (DANAFF). The event aims to encourage new Vietnamese and Asian cinema talents and introduce new, high-value works to the public. Photo courtesy of DANAFF organisers

The inaugural Đà Nẵng Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) will take place in the coastal city from May 9 to 13, showcasing a selection of outstanding Asian and Vietnamese cinematographic works that exhibit humanistic values, new discoveries, and unique artistic expression.

The festival, organised by the Vietnam Film Development Association (VFDA) in collaboration with the Đà Nẵng City People's Committee and other foreign partners, promises to be a celebration of the finest in Asian and Vietnamese cinema.

Among the foreign partners participating in the organization of DANAFF is the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC), a renowned organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting Asian cinema globally.

According to the organisers, the event aims to encourage the new Vietnamese and Asian cinema talents and introduce to the public the new, high-value works in content and art of Asian and Vietnamese films and selected films of world cinema. It is expected to be held annually in the following years.

DANAFF will be attended by Asian and international movie stars, famous Vietnamese filmmakers and artists, international and domestic VIP guests and young filmmakers whose works are featured.

The five-day event will include various major events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, the screenings of in-competition films, the screenings of the films by famous partners and guests of world cinema and the Talent Incubator workshop.

Particularly, the Talent Incubator workshop includes the basic acting class instructed by lecturer Lydia Park from South Korea and the advanced acting class instructed by lecturer Tsuyoshi Sugiyama from Japan.

Director Phan Đăng Di, an independent filmmaker who has won many awards at the International Film Festivals and the founder of Autumn Meeting, will lead the workshop. The castings to select students to participate in the workshop will be conducted in March 2023 in Hà Nội, HCM City and Đà Nẵng.

The in-competition section is divided into two categories; Asian Film Awards, including feature-length films from cinemas in the Asia-Pacific region produced from January 2021 to January 2023, and Vietnam Film Awards, seeing the competition among eight to ten Vietnamese feature films produced from January 2021 to January 2023.

The Asian Film Award category is decided by the Asian Film Jury, while the Vietnamese Film Jury selects the winners of the Vietnamese Film Awards. The awards of both categories consist of the grand prize for best film, special jury prize, director award, actor award, actress and screenplay award.

Two additional awards without prize money are the NETPAC Award for Best Vietnamese Film, decided by the NETPAC Jury, selected in the Vietnamese Film Competition and the audience’s choice award for the favourite Vietnamese film.

DANAFF is calling for submissions until February 20th, 2023. Further information can be found at www.danaff.vn or www.vfda.vn/danaff.