Vietnam confirms Hanoi film festival for October

The Cannes Festival was a news-maker  for  Asia as Vietnam confirmed  Hanoi’s  new competitive film festival for mid-October, following right after the Pusan event, a highly regarded screenfest  in the big, bustling city on the southeast coast of Korea.

Maybe Hanoi can do what Bangkok couldn’t seem to do, which is run a film festival  with a strong Southeast Asian component and not be overwhelmed by a European onslaught. Oh, and not be blighted by U.S. corruption charges.

The two festivals -- Pusan is presenting its 15th edition Oct. 7-15, 2010 -- announced they will  co-operate on a number of fronts, according to Film Business Asia website. Lai Van Sinh, head of the Vietnam Film Department, will be director of VNIFF.  He appeared at the  announcement with PIFF director Kim Dong-Ho. The Pusan folks will be helping out on every front in Vietnam.

The Viet Nam International Film Festival runs five nights from Oct. 17. It’s just one plank in the republic’s celebrations of the capital city’s 1000th anniversary. Yes, that’s a 1 and three 0’s.

VNIFF will put 60 movies on the screen at a new cinema complex to open this year. There will be a mountain of categories, well, seven actually, plus eight prizes. There will definitely be a spotlight on Southeast Asian directors.  More VNIFF announcements are on schedule for the end of May.

In other Cannes news, the first  prizes were out on Saturday. The South Korean film Hahaha topped the side competition, Un Certain Regarde, directed by Hong Sang-Soo.  Two South American films, Peru and Argentina, won the category’s other prizes. Critic Derek Elley of FilmBiz.Asia doesn’t think much of this latest Hong film (“more much ado about nothing”) as a guy tries to get a girl in bed. 

The Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is up for the big Cannes prize, in the main competition. Most reviews are highly complimentary, according to a summary at Wise Kwai’s Thai Film Journal.

One contrarian is found  at Film Business Asia, a new website run by veteran Asian film watchers. In a withering Derek Elley review of Apichatpong’s film, he says, in part: “this is pretentious, elitist filmmaking without point or human pathos.” Up to you.

LINKS:

• Film Biz Asia reports on VNIFF
• The Cannes Festival
• Original  announcement on the VNIFF at Screen Daily news
• Vietnamese actors and directors were in full force at Cannes, according to VietNamNet. 
• Film Biz Asia report on of South Korean film Hahaha.   Review of Hahaha by Derek Elley at FBA
• Wise Kwai Thai Film Journal report on Apichatpong's Film Uncle Boonmee, a highly touted candidate for the Cannes main prize. A contrarian review at FBA.