A scene in Memento Mori: Water. Photo tuoitre.vn

HCM CITY  Two Vietnamese films by Marcus Mạnh Cường Vũ and Nguyễn Phan Linh Đan have been included at the Busan Film Festival, while the new horror movie by Lê Bình Giang has been introduced at the Locarno Film Festival.

The Asian Project Market (APM) at the Busan Film Festival, which recently announced 26 films participating this year, will take place from October 12-14 within the framework of the Busan International Film Festival 2021 in South Korea.

Among 26 films participating in APM, two are Vietnamese movies, including Memento Mori: Water from director Vũ and producers Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp and Nguyễn Trinh Hoan, and the film If Wood Could Cry, It Would Cry Blood from director Đan and producer Ngô Thị Bích Hạnh.

Memento Mori: Water is the second movie in the Memento Mori the Movie trilogy, written and directed by Vũ since 2019. The series is inspired by a true story in the book Điểm đến cuộc đời (Destination of Life) by author Đặng Hoàng Giang.

The film tells the story of Hà, a mother who has a son with bone cancer. The main event offers Hà an opportunity to experience sympathy and enlightenment, among other insights.

The movie is currently in pre-production, and is scheduled to start filming in 2022 and be released in 2023. 

The first movie of the series, Memento Mori: Land, is seeking community funds to complete its post-production.

Director Vũ told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that it was a great honour to be included in the Busan Film Festival.

“This is the first crucial recognition for the project. Every filmmaker in Asia looks forward to APM during his or her first steps,” he said, adding that this "relay station" is especially meaningful as the film industry is facing difficulties due to the pandemic.

Little information is currently available for the movie If Wood Could Cry, It Would Cry Blood. Its director Đan took part in the 2019 Busan Film Festival in his role as cinematography director for the movie Bí mật của gió (The Secret of the Wind) directed by Nguyễn Phan Quang Bình, who is Đan’s father.

Đan plans to return to the festival this year as a film director. This is Đan’s first time as a director for a movie, after making a number of music videos, commercials and short film projects.

APM is rated as the best "filter" of Asian art film projects, and 26 selected movies this year are from 15 countries.

Giang’s horror movie 

Variety magazine on August 7 reported that director Lê Bình Giang’s horror movie Who Created Human Beings is part of the Open Doors programme at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland between August 4 and 14.

The film is about a policeman named Sinh and his girlfriend Linh who are both Catholic. The characters and plot are inspired by real people whom Giang knows. 

The film explores the differences between the older generation and their adult children, as well as certain religious and social norms.

Shooting for the film starts in a mountain village during the rainy season in 2022.  VNS