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By Jean-Marc THÉROUANNE

The 14 films in the Asian Competition presented a contemporary portrait of Asian cinema. They were judged by a five-member jury:

*President: Jang Joon Hwan, director of Save the Green Planet (Korea)

*Members: Shozo Ichiyama, founder and director of Tokyo FILMeX Festival (Japan); Lorna Tee, programmer, producer, and Secretary General of the Asian Film Alliance Network (Malaysia); Minh Chau, multi-awarded actress (Vietnam); and Martine Thérouanne, cofounder and director of the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas (France).

At the closing ceremony, jury president Jang Joon Hwan thanked Danaff for inviting the jury and the city of Da Nang for their warm welcome. He emphasized the role of cinema in showcasing both our differences and shared humanity through diverse voices, cultures, and emotions. The 14 competing films—representing the full breadth of Asia – offered a range of genres and stories, yet all returned to one core theme: our shared humanity and compassion.

By Jean-Marc THÉROUANNE

Danaff is supported by the city of Da Nang, the Association for the Development of Vietnamese Cinema, the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and numerous partners including Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema).

The 106 films in the program were divided into several sections:

1. Asian Film Competition (14 films)

2. Vietnamese Film Competition (12 films)

3. Vietnamese Cinema Today (19 films)

4. Panorama of Asian Cinema (25 films)

5. Half a Century of Vietnamese War Cinema Since National Reunification (22 films)

6. Korean Cinema and Its Historical Footprints (14 films)

Asian Film Competition Jury : Minh Châu, Jang Joon Hwan, président, Martine Thérouanne, Shozo Ichiyama, Lorna Tee (crédit photo J-m Thérouanne)

Films In The Asian Competition

Stranger Eyes by Yeo Siew Hua (Singapore):

After their daughter disappears, a couple begins receiving videos of their private life, realizing their every moment is being recorded. This Singaporean film explores the omnipresence of surveillance in both public...

2024 was an unusual year for Asian cinema. For starters, although the number of good movies was higher than usual, there was none that it could be described as masterpiece. That Korean cinema experiences one of its worst years in recent history, gave the opportunity to Japan to take the scepters once more, with the country’s stability in production of good movies being the main reason. Apart from this, the Chinese-language films from the whole diaspora actually gave a number of good movies, mostly in the family drama category, while the progress of Asean cinema continued, driven by genre films and the rather intriguing scripts.

This year, 26 writers voted for one of the most diverse lists we have ever come with, both in terms of genres and countries of origin, which ended up including 30 titles. Following are all the entries, in reverse order and links to the interviews we had throughout the year,...

Unfolding in a Hanoi of twisting alleyways and cramped apartments, Cu Li Never Cries follows a half-dozen intertwined characters whose lives are in upheaval. Mrs. Nguyện (Minh Châu), a widow, has been gifted with a pet slow cu li, a tiny primate that may be more trouble than it’s worth. Her niece Vân (Hà Phương) helps run a day-care center on the verge of bankruptcy. Her fiancé Quang (Xuân An) has doubts about both their wedding and his future. The film’s glistening black-and-white imagery and soundtrack of patriotic anthems evoke a timeless world rarely seen in Western cinema. At the […]

The post Cutting Costs in Black and White: Phạm Ngọc Lân ơn Cu Li Never Cries first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Unfolding in a Hanoi of twisting alleyways and cramped apartments, Cu Li Never Cries follows a half-dozen intertwined characters whose lives are in upheaval. Mrs. Nguyện (Minh Châu), a widow, has been gifted with a pet slow cu li, a tiny primate that may be more trouble than it’s worth. Her niece Vân (Hà Phương) helps run a day-care center on the verge of bankruptcy. Her fiancé Quang (Xuân An) has doubts about both their wedding and his future. The film’s glistening black-and-white imagery and soundtrack of patriotic anthems evoke a timeless world rarely seen in Western cinema. At the […]

The post Cutting Costs in Black and White: Phạm Ngọc Lân ơn Cu Li Never Cries first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.