Announcing the DANAFF Talents 2026 Project Incubator

This year, the Da Nang Asian Film Festival 2026 Project Incubator attracted a large number of applications, far more than in previous seasons. The project incubator is considered a platform for projects by young filmmakers and producers, and there have been successful projects that have benefited from this platform.

The project "Phan Xích Long and the Uprising in the Six Southern Provinces" by director Phan Gia Nhật Linh.

Launched in 2025, the DANAFF Talents Project Incubator – a film talent discovery and development program under the Da Nang Asian Film Festival – officially returns with many practical activities for filmmakers both domestically and internationally. This year's program continues to maintain its two strong categories: Asian Art-house Projects and Vietnamese Commercial/Multigenre Film Projects.

According to the Film Festival organizers, the 2026 Project Incubator saw an explosion of applications, with over 350 submissions across both categories.

Notably, this year's class welcomes back many veteran students.

In the art film project category, director Dastan Zhapar Ryskeldi (winner of the Best Asian Film award at DANAFF 2025 with his work “Deal at the border”) presents his new project Zholdogu Bala (Stuck like babies); director Nguyen Trung Nghia (whose short film was selected for Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2024) participates with the project “The rat's wedding”.

This year also marks the return of South Asian or South Asian-themed projects, such as Golden Swan by Bangladeshi director Rajib Rafi and “Before the Earth Collapses” by Japanese director Noriko Yuasa, which is scheduled to be filmed in Japan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. These choices reflect DANAFF's desire to connect with cinematic traditions or locations that are less seen on the international screen but are in need of exploration .

Director Nguyen Quang Dung participated in the Incubator program with his project "The Ivory Comb".

At the Script Lab "playground," alongside promising young talents such as Tran Quang Thien, Ngo Thanh Phong, and Vu Nguyen Nam Khue, the list of participating filmmakers also includes prominent names in Vietnamese cinema such as directors Nguyen Quang Dung, Phan Gia Nhat Linh, and Dinh Tuan Vu, along with screenwriters Tran Khanh Hoang, Kim, and ToTo Chan...

“Script Lab” is a 10-day intensive scriptwriting workshop taking place in Da Nang in June and July. Here, the eight best feature film scripts will be selected for comprehensive development with guidance and advice from professors and experts from Columbia University (USA) – one of the world's most prestigious film schools. After the course, the authors will participate in pitching sessions before an international judging panel and connect with domestic and international investors, producers, and distributors through one-on-one meetings at the Project Market.

The intensive classes at DANAFF Talents are not only a place where ideas are tested, reviewed, advised, and critiqued by leading industry experts to be perfected, but also a launching pad to help filmmakers realize their works through direct networking opportunities at the project market.

By deeply integrating into the global film ecosystem with partners such as Columbia University in the United States, the Three Continents International Film Festival, and the CNC World Film Fund in France, DANAFF Talents is gradually contributing to establishing a professional filmmaking environment, connecting young talents to the international production network, and promoting sustainable development for the Vietnamese film industry.

This year's Asian Art Film Project category is divided into two branches for filmmakers from within and outside the ASEAN bloc. Participants will undergo intensive training workshops, participate in pitching sessions before an international jury, and connect directly with experts, producers, and distributors within the network of major art film festivals and distribution networks worldwide.

Specifically, after completing the DANAFF Talents course, ASEAN projects will continue to refine their projects at two workshops in the international Asia-Europe training series: Thailand (September) and France (December). In France, filmmakers will have the opportunity to connect with European co-producers through a series of activities under the Cinema du Monde Foundation of the French National Cinema Centre (CNC). This journey across three countries is guaranteed by leading strategic partners such as: the Production & Storytelling Program (Three Continents International Film Festival, Nantes, France), the French Embassy in Vietnam, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French Institute, and the Cinema du Monde Foundation (CNC).

Director Chung Chi Cong at the pitching session (project presentation) at the DANAFF III Project Incubator. (Photo: VFDA)

Despite being only in its first season, the Project Incubator has already reaped the rewards with encouraging achievements. A prime example is the film "Thank You for Staying Up with Me" by director Chung Chi Cong, a rare Vietnamese musical film that grossed over 44 billion VND at the box office and received high praise from critics for the team's daring spirit in bringing a genre unfamiliar to audiences to the screen.

In addition, "Flying Dairy Cow" (Director: Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat, Producer: Nguyen Huu Thi Tuong Vi) – a project that won the Most Promising Project award worth $5,000 from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPA) – has just finished editing and is scheduled to premiere in theaters nationwide this November. The film features Nguyen Hung, Ngoc Xuan, Vo Dien Gia Huy… all popular young actors who have participated in DANAFF's talent development acting classes in previous seasons.

List of Multi-category Vietnamese Projects - Script Lab (8)

"Minus ten degrees"

Screenwriters: Tran Quang Thien, Pham Cao Nhan

Director: Ngo Thanh Phong

"The Ivory Comb"

Screenwriters: Kim & ToTo Chan

Director: Nguyen Quang Dung

"The first day of love"

Screenwriter: Tran Khanh Hoang

Director: Chung Chi Cong

"The Finger God"

Screenwriters: Vu Nguyen Nam Khue, Vu Thien

Director: Vu Nguyen Nam Khue

"Haunted House"

Screenwriters: Huynh Thu Trang, Tran Xuan Mai

Director: Tran Nguyen Hoang Long

"Phan Xích Long and the Uprising in the Six Southern Provinces"

Screenwriters: Nguyen Dinh Minh Vu, Ta Thanh Hoa Phuong

Director: Phan Gia Nhật Linh

"The perfect crime"

Screenwriter: Oscar Duong

Director: Oscar Duong

"Female soldiers"

Screenwriter: Le Duc Anh

Director: Dinh Tuan Vu

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Art-house Project List (10)

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“Before the Earth Collapses” | Japan, Nepal, Bangladesh

Director: Noriko Yuasa

Producers: Noriko Yuasa, Prabin Kumar Rawat, Tanveer Hossain

"Lingering Echoes" | South Korea, Vietnam, France

Director: Ha Boyoon

Producer: Park Kiyong

“Golden swan” | Bangladesh

Director: Rajib Rafi

Producers: Aadnan Imtiaz Ahmed, Rubaiyat Hossain, Ashique Mostafa

“Zholdogu Bala” (Stuck like Babies) | Kyrgyzstan

Director: Dastan Zhapar Ryskeldi

Produced by: Veronica Rhyme

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PaS ASEAN

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“Cosmo” | Thailand

Director: Kong Pahurak

Manufactured by: Paranee Lerdwattanasombat

“Maybe today, if not today, maybe tomorrow” | Malaysia

Director: Lim Han Loong

Produced by: Lee Yve Vonn

“The child left behind” | Cambodia

Director: Jean-Baptiste Phou

Manufactured by: Loy Te

"The Rats' Wedding" | Vietnam

Director: Nguyen Trung Nghia

Produced by: Tran Thanh Huy & Bui Le Nhat Tien

"The river knows our names" | Vietnam

Director: Mai Huyen Chi

Produced by: Thao Quyengg & Thy Trang

“What to wear for my own funeral?” | Indonesia

Director: Trinisha Aksa

Manufactured by: Rania Sulfa, Haediqal Pawennei

HA CHI

Source: https://nhandan.vn/cong-bo-vuon-uom-du-an-danaff-talents-2026-post965728.html