The 3rd Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) in 2025 will take place from June 29 to July 5, coinciding with the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival 2025 (May 31 to July 12). This year, the number of films not only increased dramatically, but also included works that had won major international awards, screened in the Asian Film Competition program.
They are “Black Dog” (China) which won the Unique Perspective Award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival; “Rain on the Butterfly” (Vietnam) which won the IWONDERFULL Grand Prize and Most Innovative Film at the 2024 Venice Film Festival; “Sleep with your eyes open” (multinational) which won the FIPRESCI Award at the Berlin Film Festival.
Except for “Rain on the Butterfly Wings” which was released in theaters, the remaining films are only shown on the Amazon Prime Video platform which is not available in Vietnam.
“Black Dog” tells the story of those left behind in China’s rapid development before 2008, when the country was preparing for the Beijing Olympics. The film’s director, Guan Hu, is one of the most prominent names in the 6th generation of directors in China, following a realistic, powerful and humanistic filmmaking style. He is also the director of the film “Eight Hundred,” which grossed $468.8 million and was the second highest-grossing film in 2020.
Duong Dieu Linh's "Don't Cry Butterfly" was praised by Western press for its creativity in storytelling, femininity, superstitious attitude and many other characteristics from East Asian culture. IndieWire commented that she will be a new name representing Vietnam on the international film scene.
Nele Wohlatz's "Sleep with Your Eyes Open" won for its subtle storytelling of Asian immigrants' alienation in Brazil. Screen Daily noted that the director's exploration of the disconnection from one's own identity, through unconventional narrative structures and metaphorical imagery, truly reflects the migrant experience in a globalized world .

In addition to the three films mentioned above, the Asian Film Competition also has 11 other works from Japan, Korea, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Kyrgyzstan, etc.
This year's DANAFF has a total of 6 film screening programs including: Asian Competition Films, Vietnamese Competition Films, Asian Panorama Films, Vietnamese War Films and Korean Focus Films.
100 films from the programs will be screened in 200 free sessions at cinemas across the city. This number is double that of 2024. The screening schedule will be announced specifically on the festival's website and Facebook page.
DANAFF is an annual film event held in Da Nang since 2023. In 2023 and 2024, the program was honored in the top 10 typical cultural events voted by Sports and Culture Newspaper.
This year, DANAFF first implemented the project market model, with activities to consult, train and connect young directors with international filmmakers, creating the best conditions for the development of independent films, especially debut films.
In addition, the film festival maintains two basic and advanced acting training classes (Talent Nurturing Workshop) with lecturers from Korea and Japan.
In addition, this year's DANAFF also organized 3 seminars to develop expertise such as "Discovering and nurturing film talents: International experience and Vietnam's solutions," "Vietnam's war film imprints since the country's reunification" and "Korean cinema: Lessons from international success and experience in developing the film industry."
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chieu-mien-phi-loat-phim-thang-giai-tai-cannes-berlin-va-venice-tai-lhp-da-nang-post1043210.vnp
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