Director at the Vietnam International Film Festival in Hanoi which
concluded on October 21.
Sand Castle tells the story of a
family in Singapore which head of the jury board Australian director
Phillip Noyce says represented many families and described a period in
the country's history.
Ten films in the "In Competition Programme",
with various styles and genres, from eight countries in East and
Southeast Asia , created a portrait of special and modern societies and
helped draw international filmmakers to the region, Noyce says.
"Five days of screenings allowed us to view the finest of new Asian,
Vietnamese and French films, while also affording an overview of
independent contemporary cinema."
The jury for feature films
gathered filmmakers, including Francois Catonne from France, Marco
Mueller from Italy , Kang Soo-yeon from the Republic of Korea
and Dang Nhat Minh from Vietnam .
"Congratulations on the first
edition of the festival," Kang says. "A film festival is more than just
screening films from other countries, but sharing various cultures and
understanding their differences."
Best Actress prize went to two
contenders because of their excellence: Nhat Kim Anh of Vietnam and
Fiona Sit of Hongkong ( China ).
"To play my role in The Fate
of a Songstress in Thang Long, I had to learn a lot," Anh says, "such as
playing a 16-chord zither, singing ceremonial songs and expressing the
character's inner feeling through crying with only one eye.
"I felt I grew up in this film and I'm proud of the role," she says.
The Documentary and Short Film Jury included Matthieu Poirot-Delpech
from France , Juhani Alanen from Finland , and Vietnamese director
Bui Dinh Hac.
"I really like Asian short films," says Alanen. "For
me, Asian short films are windows to Asian countries. They tell me
something about Asia that you cannot find from news or television."
They granted the prize to the Vietnamese documentary Always Beside You, a debut for young director Nguyen Thi Kim Hai.
The festival focused on East Asian and Southeast Asian films and
attracted filmmakers, producers and businessmen from 30 countries and
territories./.
