HÀ NỘI – French director Regis Wargnier and actress Catherine Deneuve of Indochina - which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film — will attend the 4th Hà Nội International Film Festival (HANIFF), which will take place during November 1-5 a month earlier than usual, festival organisers said.

The artists’ appearance at HANIFF celebrates the 20th anniversary of Indochine’s release. The movie was filmed in Việt Nam in 1992, mainly in the central city of Huế, in Hạ Long Bay in the northern province of Quảng Ninh, and at Phát Diệm Cathedral in the northern province of Ninh Bình.

The Indochine crew was the first foreign entity allowed to film inside Huế Citadel and Emperor Bảo Đại’s Palace.

Wargnier’s masterpiece is a story of romance and separation told against the backdrop of Việt Nam in turmoil from 1930-50.

The film explores the relationship of a beautiful and imperious French rubber-plantation owner and her adopted Indochinese daughter. Mother and daughter are very close until a diffident naval officer enters their lives.

Indochine stars Deneuve, Vincent Perez and Linh Đan Phạm. The role of the rubber plantation owner earned Deneuve a nomination for Best Leading Actress at the Academy Awards – her only one to date. Indochine also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Linh Đan Phạm is a Vietnamese-French actress. She received a César nomination for Most Promising Actress for her Indochine role as an adopted daughter.

Indochine became well-known after release, changing the world’s view of wartime Việt Nam.

“My grandparent used to live in Việt Nam and my father was a soldier in the Việt Nam war. But that is not the reason I made Indochine,” said director Wargnier on one his trips to Việt Nam. “I nurtured the movie because of cinema. What people associate with Việt Nam is war. I want to change that”.

Indochine was selected to screen as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Every year Cannes Classics showcases around twenty restored movies.

Under Stuidiocanal’s supervision, Indochine’s original negative has now been digitised and restored.

“We are working with the French embassy to host the artists at HANIFF for the launch of Indochine’s first digital version in Việt Nam,” an officer from the Cinematography Department said.

About 30 countries and territories in the world have registered to attend HANIFF. This global focus is new for the 4th festival. Last time the festival only invited movies made by countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Inviting movies from the whole world to the festival allows HANIFF to feature more good films during the festival.

The theme of the festival this year is Cinema – Integration And Sustainable Development. Films which have never participated in international film festivals in the ASEAN region are eligible to compete. Screening for the 2016 awards began in September 2014 ends in August 2016. — VNS