"Da Nang will be city of creative industry", said Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan, the Chairwoman of the Viet Nam Cinema Development Promotion Association, the Director of the second Da Nang Asian Film Festival 2024 ( DANAFF II). DA NANG Newspaper recently had an in-depth interview with her on this much-anticipated event.

The list of films compete in the Asian Film Awards category at DANAFF II that is scheduled from July 2 to July 6, 2024.

*How do you evaluate the quality of the 63 films participating in DANAFF II?
- The number of films participating in DANAFF II has increased nearly one and a half times compared to DANAFF I, but it is true that the quality makes the professional reputation of the event. We are glad that the films at DANAFF II are diversified as there are some new films making their international or Asian debuts, others are highly appreciated at prestigious festivals and have kept their attractiveness unchanged year after year.

The two competition categories, Asian Films and Vietnamese Films, feature excellent debut films made by young directors or those receiving high applause from fans and going viral in the public opinion.
Director Dang Nhat Minh's film programme includes films rich in Vietnamese identity and a series of French films with diverse genres and styles will certainly be interesting to the audience.
Meanwhile, the Da Nang series of films are documentaries close to life and although not newly produced films, each of which has its own new features. The event’s organising committee always eyes to ensure that each year DANAFF significantly enhances the quality and enriches the views and feelings of both professionals and audiences.

* The festival's organizing committee has invited famous names of world cinema to participate in DANAFF II. What does this mean?

- It is a truth that inviting famous people with professional reputation is always a difficult challenge that the organizers of most festivals have to overcome. For a ‘brand new’ festival like DANAFF, it is not easy, but fortunately we have basically done what we wanted: to have three prestigious judges who are famous faces in Viet Nam and the world cinema industry.

Seminars and roundtables will be attended by leading film experts, the presidents and directors of famous international film festivals. Interestingly,  at movie screenings in Da Nang cinemas, the audience will have the chance to meet Vietnamese and foreign filmmakers and actors’ actresses that they are looking forward to.

* What does it mean for young Vietnamese director Ha Le Diem to be a member of the Jury for the Asian Film category?

- Some people asked why DANAFF II invited Ha Le Diem because she is so young and has only made one movie. However, we think Diem spent 4-5 years pursuing and succeeding with ‘Children in the Mist’ proving that she has quite strong courage and unique opinions. DANAFF is a young festival not only in age but also in youthfulness. Therefore, we want young people to have their voices heard alongside seasoned directors and film experts. Diem's film was awarded Best Asian Film - the highest award of DANAFF I - so I think DANAFF will spread the perseverance and efforts of young filmmakers.

* What does Da Nang need to do to quickly catch up with and integrate into the general development of the Viet Nam cinema industry?

- What I like is that Da Nang has wonderful fans. I have witnessed the warmth, friendliness and politeness of the Da Nang audience when the 20th Viet Nam Film Festival in 2017 took place successfully here and I held the position of Head of the Organising Committee. Therefore, the Viet Nam Film Development Association (VFDA) decided to propose coordinating with Da Nang to organise DANAFF - the first annual film festival in Viet Nam.

Meeting some Da Nang documentary filmmakers, I was very impressed with their enthusiasm, passion and rather profound perspectives of life. We hope to see more successful documentaries made by Da Nang film makers. We are also looking forward to see young filmmakers turn their passion into determination and boldness to take on bigger film projects.

Within the framework of DANAFF II, four seminars and discussions will be attended by leaders and managers representing Da Nang filmmakers. In particular, at the ‘Sharing experiences connecting coastal film festivals’, experts and leaders from the world's most famous film festival like Cannes, the famous Asian film festival Busan, and the directors of several other international festivals will join discussions with managers, festival organisers and Vietnamese filmmakers about how to develop DANAFF, and the film industry as a whole.

The ‘International cooperation in film production - international experiences and development solutions’ will bring valuable experiences to Da Nang. I believe that one day soon, DANAFF will be an important destination for the Asian and the world cinema map, and that Da Nang will be the city of creative industry.

*To become a UNESCO ‘Creative City’, what breakthroughs does Da Nang need?

- Da Nang is called an ideal city worth living in, worth coming to see the beautiful nature and wonderful life. The criteria to seek berth in UNESCO Creative Cities Network Da Nang have been met, especially Da Nang residents who are very suitable for creative. The remaining issue is which creative field the city chooses.

In my opinion, DANAFF will be a ‘plus point’ for the city to register as a festival and content creation city. Content creation is the strongest growing trend of the cultural industry and some countries also call it the creative industry.

Reporting by TRAM ANH- Translating by A.THU, PTRA