Vietnam Film Festival Week in France

On April 9, in Paris (France), a ceremony was held to introduce the Vietnam Film Festival Week that will take place in the coastal city of Saint-Malo next July.

Attending the ceremony were Mr. Jean-Noël Poirier, French Ambassador to Vietnam; Mr. Duong Chi Dung, Vietnamese Ambassador to France; Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan, Director of the Cinema Department; Mr. Le Hong Chuong, Director of the Vietnam Cultural Center in France; representatives of the Saint-Malo City government and journalists, experts and film lovers.

Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan, Director of the Department of Cinema, said that the Vietnam Film Festival Week in France selected outstanding films based on the themes of war and history, love and family, and French-Vietnamese themes. The films screened at the Vietnam Film Festival Week are outstanding works of Vietnamese cinema made over the past two decades, such as: Doi Cat, Song Trong Boi Oi, Trang Noi Dau Gieng, Choi Voi, Tam Hon Me... There are films selected to represent Vietnamese cinema to compete for the Oscar such as: Khat Vong Thang Long, Mui Co Chay...

An important part of the Film Festival is a series of films by French directors or directors of Vietnamese origin in France on the subject of Vietnam, including: Indochina, The Lover, Dien Bien Phu, The Scent of Green Papaya and Vertical Summer. These are works of diverse styles and famous, highly appreciated by the world film industry and public (Indochina won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992; The Scent of Green Papaya was awarded the Camera D'or at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1993). In particular, the film Aspiration for Thang Long is the only film on a historical subject, recreating an important period for the Vietnamese people more than a thousand years ago.

According to French Ambassador Jean-Noël Poirier, although Vietnam's cinema is young, it has a tradition and talented and experienced film artists. He said: "I have watched some Vietnamese films. It can be seen that Vietnam is a country that is changing very quickly and we can feel the subtleties in its culture. The cultural relationship between Vietnam and France is developing strongly, I think that our two countries not only need to maintain this relationship but also continue to develop it for future generations. That explains the need to organize a film week in Saint-Malo so that the young generation of France and Brittany can explore Vietnam."

In addition to the feature films that are the main components of the Film Festival, the Vietnam Film Festival Week also introduces a number of documentary films representing each period of Vietnamese history such as: Dien Bien Phu Victory (Dien Bien Phu film); peace restored and nation building in the North (Water returns to Bac Hung Hai film); the war against American imperialism (Vinh Linh Thep Rampart and A Day of Combat); war memories (Return to Ngu Thuy and Remain with Time)... These films will help the audience re-imagine the historical journeys of Vietnam through the eyes of documentary filmmakers. These films have also been awarded at international and Vietnamese film festivals.

The representative of the Saint-Malo City government spoke, introducing the beautiful and hospitable coastal city of Saint-Malo, which is always ready to welcome Vietnamese friends to attend the film festival, and thanked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Cinema Department for their initiative to organize the Vietnamese film week here.

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung said that the Vietnam Film Week event will help the public discover and approach Vietnamese cinema, which, although young compared to the history of world cinema, is also very rich and diverse. Through the films shown in Saint-Malo, the French public can see different historical periods of Vietnam; the beauty of the country, people, traditions, and daily life of the hardworking, brave, peace-loving Vietnamese people.

Vietnam Film Week is organized by Iriscommsex Media Company with the sponsorship and coordination of the Vietnam Cinema Department and the support of the French Embassy in Vietnam. This is one of the important film activities in the series of events celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and France and the Vietnam Year in France 2014.

According to NDĐT