The action film 'Hijacked' by Hàm Trần has been spotlighted by The New York Times as a must-watch.

HÀ NỘI — Four Vietnamese films will be shown at the 28th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy from April 24 to May 2. 

Kỳ Nam Inn, Hijacked, Tunnel: Sun In The Dark and Blood Moon Rite 8 will vie for the festival’s Audience Awards prizes, including the Golden Mulberry, Silver Mulberry and Crystal Mulberry.

The tender drama Kỳ Nam Inn by Leon Lê won the Shooting Star Award in the 45th edition of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival, while the action film Hijacked by Hàm Trần, inspired by the real hijacking of a Vietnamese flight in 1978, has been spotlighted by The New York Times as a must-watch.

Both Hijacked and the unmissable Tunnel: Sun In The Dark, with its reverse point of view on the war with the US, won the Silver Lotus at the 24th Việt Nam National Film Festival. 

The highly anticipated Blood Moon Rite 8 is also scheduled to premiere simultaneously in Việt Nam and at the festival on April 24. The original film that Blood Moon Rite 8 is adapted from, One Cut of the Dead, also took part in the festival in 2018, before going on to achieve global acclaim.

Liên Bỉnh Phát (left) in Kỳ Nam Inn is the first Vietnamese actor to win Taiwan's Golden Bell Award for Best Male Lead. He is also the first from the Southeast Asian nation ever nominated since the awards -- Taiwan's equivalent of the Emmys -- were established in 1965. Photos fareastfilm.com

Established in 1999, the Far East Film Festival is a prestigious event dedicated to Asian cinema, held annually in Udine and attracting more than 60,000 attendees to encourage and develop the appreciation of Asian and Southeast Asian films among European and Italian audiences.

It also aims to study the historical aspects of Asian filmmaking through retrospectives organised in collaboration with Asian film archives, and to create a mutually beneficial exchange between Asian and European film professionals.

Now in its 28th edition, this year’s festival will showcase 76 films from 12 countries and territories. During the festival, organisers will also award the Golden Mulberry for Lifetime Achievement or Outstanding Achievement to important figures in Asian cinema. — VNS