HIFF needs to be persistent to achieve excellence.

The value of a film festival lies in its contribution to the long-term history of cinema and its ability to attract ordinary people to attend - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

"Stubborn" about what? It means that films competing for the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF) must never have been released before, and if screened internationally , it must only be after top-tier international film festivals like Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, etc.

As a director who has taken his films to film festivals around the world, Luong Dinh Dung understands the feeling of someone in the industry if a film festival only shows old films, films that have already participated in other events many times...

"We're making films, and we're tired of film festivals that only happen every two or three years," he said.

Is 8 days at HIFF too long? It needs to be longer.

A film festival needs world premieres, where filmmakers value and choose this venue as the first place globally to screen their film.

Right from its inaugural year, HIFF had several films making world premieres, a very encouraging start.

To maintain its originality and freshness, HIFF needs to be held annually to anticipate new and noteworthy cinematic trends in the region, as well as to expand into Asia.

Ho Chi Minh City and the organizing committee have expressed this desire; if nothing changes, HIFF will be held annually and become an international festival associated with the brand of Ho Chi Minh City. At that point, the quality of the participating and winning films will be what creates lasting prestige.

Actress Kaity Nguyen, the face of HIFF 2024 - Photo: Organizing Committee

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Master director Hirokazu Kore-eda also advised the organizers in all his talks: "A film festival must look to the future, building lasting values ​​for the history of cinema, and not just think about immediate fame."

The word "international" in the film festival's name also carries significant meaning, reflecting its ambition to reach beyond the region or continent.

Director Kim Jee Woon, who created South Korean cinematic masterpieces such as I Saw the Devil and A Tale of Two Sisters , admitted that one of the factors ensuring the prestige of HIFF in his eyes is honorary chairman Kim Dong Ho, the founder and driving force behind the success of the Busan Film Festival.

With more international friends like these by our side, HIFF will be given even greater wings.

The prestige of Mr. Kim Dong Ho, honorary chairman of HIFF 2024, helped the film festival invite several major international figures - Photo: Organizing Committee

The films competing for the major awards this year come from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, and co-productions from Singapore, Japan, Slovenia, and Thailand and South Korea.

Because of the participation of films and filmmakers, and guests from outside the Southeast Asian region, the media has also expressed the hope that in future years, HIFF will expand its scale, with the highest category not only for Southeast Asian films.

And after eight days of the film festival, a journalist asked, "Isn't eight days too long?" when he saw the organizers were somewhat overwhelmed.

Director Sheron Dayoc (Philippines) - winner of the top prize at HIFF 2024, the Golden Star Award, for his film The Gospel of the Beast - Photo: HIFF

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However, the HIFF organizing committee has confirmed that if the event continues, future HIFFs will be even longer, possibly up to half a month.

Because countries have demonstrated that film festivals are a major boost to culture, tourism, and the economy , recording outstanding growth during the festival period.

The longer the film festival lasts, the more Ho Chi Minh City lives up to its reputation as the city of events.

And cinema will not just be a narrow industry where professionals compete and have fun together, but will truly draw the people of the city into all activities, such as thousands of people interacting with director Ly Hai and the cast and crew of " Lat Mat 7 ," or watching outdoor film screenings on the banks of the Saigon River.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hiff-phai-li-lom-de-tao-nen-dang-cap-20240414091346719.htm