HÀ NỘI — International visitors will have the opportunity to watch four Vietnamese movies Đảo Của Dân Ngụ Cư (The Way Station), Vợ Ba (The Third Wife), Vị (Taste) and Con Culi Không Bao Giờ Khóc (Sloth Monkey Never Cries) at Cannes Market at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival, held from May 17 to 28 in France.

To mark the occasion, the Việt Nam Cinema Department will sign a memorandum of cooperation with France’s National Centre for Cinema and Moving Images to elevate the close relations between two countries’ film industries.

"This will be my fourth Cannes Film Festival, but it is my first time as a director. I’ll be accompanied by two lead actors from my movie The Way Station. I am excited and eager; it’s always great to indulge in the atmosphere of the world’s leading film festival,” shared The Way Station’s director Phạm Hồng Ánh on facebook.

Besides screenings, the Village International Pantireo’s Việt Nam booth advertise Việt Nam’s film studios, destinations and people.

“Việt Nam: the New Destination for Blockbusters” is a key popularisation campaign for Việt Nam’s film studios at the festival, following the massive success of Kong: Skull Island, which was filmed mostly in Việt Nam.

Impressive photos of Tràng An Landscape complex, Hạ Long Bay and Sơn Đoòng Cave, the three sites where Kong: Skull Island was filmed in 2016, have been printed on large banners located in front of the Majestic Barriere Hotel, which normally accommodates famous film actors and actresses, directors and filmmakers.

The Vietnamese film delegation will receive international film producers and publishers, film festival organisers, media and those interested in Việt Nam’s film and tourism at the Vietnamese booth.

A special event called Việt Nam Night featuring Vietnamese films that won at national and/or international film festivals and delicious Vietnamese cuisine will be held on May 20.

Among films being introduced and screened at the festival, the movie The Way Station, directed by Hồng Ánh, won Best Film award in ASEAN International Film Festival & Awards.

The movie The Third Wife, directed by Nguyễn Phương Anh won the G2D Post-Production Award (Work In Progress Laboratory Project) at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) and is presented at the Cannes Market under a new “Hong Kong Goes to Cannes” programme.

Meanwhile, the Sloth Monkey Never Cries and the Taste will compete in the category of L’Atelier, which targets and gives production and funding opportunities for young, emerging filmmakers.

The Sloth Monkey Never Cries is the first feature project directed by 31-year-old Phạm Ngọc Lân of Hà Nội, one of the city’s young film talents.

It was named  the Project with the Most Potential in the Southeast Asian Film Lab category at the Singapore Film Festival 2016.   

In the framework of Cannes Film Festival, The Way Station will also be screened with Spanish subtitles during Việt Nam Movie Week, held in Madrid city, Spain in May 24 and 25. — VNS