(Cinet) — Pham Ngoc Lan is a new face from the Vietnamese filmmaker community whose film is competing in the Berlinale shorts category at the 66th Berlinale International Film Festival.
Lan's short film is among 25 films from 21 countries that are vying for the Golden and the Silver Bear at the festival, which will be held from February 11 to 22.
Entitled “Another City “, funded by the Denmark – Vietnam Cultural Development and Exchange Fund and starring People’s Artist Minh Chau and actress Thuy Anh, tells the story of a group of office employees who are lonely city dwellers.
Each one's predicament is woven seamlessly together by a familiar Asian refrain, such as: a drenched middle-aged woman taking off her wig, gazing out of a glass window; a young man bursting into tears in a karaoke room surrounded by wallpaper depicting a tropical landscape; and a young woman trying to wipe a smear off the wedding dress she's wearing.
Pham Ngoc Lan graduated from Hanoi University of Architecture in 2009, but film-making is his passion. In 2012, his documentary, “Stories of families”, competed for prizes at the YxineFF 2012 film contest and took part in Switzerland’s Visions du Réel and Denmark’s CPH-DOX film festivals.
Lan took one year to prepare for “Another City”, which was shot in 12 days in Ha Noi City and the northern mountainous Cao Bang Province.
He received US$6,000 from the Danish Cultural Exchange and Development Fund for the filmmaking process.
Set up in 1951, the Berlinale is seen as one of the three oldest and most prestigious film festivals, together with the Cannes (France) and Venice (Italy) film festivals.
At last year’s event, the film entitled “Cha va con va…” (Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories), starring Do Thi Hai Yen, Le Cong Hoang, and Truong The Vinh, was the first Vietnamese film to compete for the top prize at the prestigious film festival.
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| A scence in the film "Another City". Photo: Vnexpress. |
Entitled “Another City “, funded by the Denmark – Vietnam Cultural Development and Exchange Fund and starring People’s Artist Minh Chau and actress Thuy Anh, tells the story of a group of office employees who are lonely city dwellers.
Each one's predicament is woven seamlessly together by a familiar Asian refrain, such as: a drenched middle-aged woman taking off her wig, gazing out of a glass window; a young man bursting into tears in a karaoke room surrounded by wallpaper depicting a tropical landscape; and a young woman trying to wipe a smear off the wedding dress she's wearing.
Pham Ngoc Lan graduated from Hanoi University of Architecture in 2009, but film-making is his passion. In 2012, his documentary, “Stories of families”, competed for prizes at the YxineFF 2012 film contest and took part in Switzerland’s Visions du Réel and Denmark’s CPH-DOX film festivals.
Lan took one year to prepare for “Another City”, which was shot in 12 days in Ha Noi City and the northern mountainous Cao Bang Province.
He received US$6,000 from the Danish Cultural Exchange and Development Fund for the filmmaking process.
Set up in 1951, the Berlinale is seen as one of the three oldest and most prestigious film festivals, together with the Cannes (France) and Venice (Italy) film festivals.
At last year’s event, the film entitled “Cha va con va…” (Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories), starring Do Thi Hai Yen, Le Cong Hoang, and Truong The Vinh, was the first Vietnamese film to compete for the top prize at the prestigious film festival.
 — Pham Ngoc Lan is a new face from the Vietnamese filmmaker community whose film is competing in the Berlinale shorts category at the 66th Berlinale International Film Festival.)
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