Two Vietnamese movies to compete at ASEAN Int'l Film Festival

Gritty: Actor Lien Binh Phat (left) plays a debt collector in Song Lang. — Photo thegioidienanh.vn

The festival organisation board announced earlier this month that the festival will gather about 30 movies to vie for different awards including the ASEAN Spirit Award and Special Honour.

The Vietnamese movies are among few art-house movies in cinema industry. Song Lang, directed by Leon Le is to honour traditional cai luong (reformed opera).

The movie is Le’s first feature length film and was written by himself and Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc. Song Lang tells the story of a relationship between a cai luong singer and a gangster whose parent is also a cai luong artist. The gangster also loves cai luong but doesn’t take up his parent’s career.

The story is set in HCM City in the 1980s. Debt collector Dung meets cai luong actor Linh Phung when he comes to collect a debt. Despite their initial friction, they gradually learn to get along.

Through the career of Linh Phung, a young performer who makes sacrifices to pursue his dream, the movie features cai luong artists in HCM City in the 1980s, focusing on the challenges they face to preserve their art.

Song Lang has participated in many international film festivals. It has also won many prizes for the director and leading actor Lien Binh Phat.

The most recent award is best director for Leon Le at Forward Future category at Beijing International Film Festival on April 19.

Maternal love: Actress Kim Xuan in Like An Old House. — Photo thegioitre.vn

Earlier, the movie earned Le the award for best director and grabbed the Samir Farid Prize for the best feature film at the Sharm El-Sheikh Asian Film Festival in Egypt in March.

Phat also won the Golden Kite Award for best actor recently by Viet Nam Cinematography Association. He was one of four young artists to take the Tokyo Gemstone award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Director Mai The Hiep’s Like an Old House is one of the rare films not only of Vietnamese cinema on the topic of maternal love.

It tells of a mother who waited for her son for 30 years after the boy left because he was suspected of murder.

The humanistic film with the leading role by veteran actress Kim Xuan is expected to be a strong contender at the festival.

Artists Kim Xuan, Lien Binh Phat, Le and Hong Anh will attend the festival. Anh’s The Way Station won Best Picture Drama; Best Actor and Best Director of Photography at the 3rd festival in 2017.

The ASEAN International Film Festival was initiated by Malaysia in 2013 to help promote ASEAN culture, tradition and heritage.

This year, Malaysian director U-Wei Saari will be acting as the head juror for the festival. The other jury members are directors French Alain Jalladeau, Filipino Amable Aguiluz, Indonesian Daniel Rudi Haryanto and Laotian Mattie Do.

VNS