Seven short Vietnamese films focusing on the topic of water will be screened at the 2013 Asian Film Festival, which will take place in Berlin from 8 - 11 August.  They are Hai Ly 2011 (Nautical Mile 2011) directed by Tran Thanh Hien and Pham Thu Hang, Hai Chu Chau (Uncle and Son) by Nguyen Dinh Anh, Hai Tu Sau (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) by Nguyen Hoang Diep, Dao Ngoc (Pearl Island) by Do Van Hoang, Cho Da Di Choi (Go Playing with Ice) by Tran Ngoc Sang, Ho Nuoc (The Lake) by Dao Duc Hai, and Two Girls Against the Rain by Sao Sopheak.

All the films were selected by the members of the Yxine Film Fest (YxineFF), an online film festival, who live in Germany. 

A scene from the film “Hai Chu Chau” (Uncle and Son)

The festival is part of the German music and film festival Wassermusik 2013, themed “The New Pacific”, which is being held from 18 July to 11 August in Berlin.  Organised by the Korientation Association, the biennial event is considered the largest film festival in Germany, and probably in the world.  Its aim is to feature the close relationships between the countries which share the Pacific Ocean.

Apart from YxineFF’s short films, this year’s festival showcases famous films such as Thai amateur–filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mekong Hotel, and the fictional film Someone I Used to Know by Nadine Truong, a director from the USA.  The Vietnamese film Bi, Dung So (Bi, Don’t Be Afraid) directed by Phan Dang Di was selected as the opening film at the festival in 2011.

The above-named Vietnamese films will be shown outside the House of World Cultures in Berlin at 10pm on Saturday 10 August.