ViFF 2013 Catalog by James Dinh

Edison International is proud to sponsor the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association 2013 Vietnamese International Film Festival.

LIFE. POWERED BY EDISON.

Welcome Letter from ViFF 2013 Co-Directors Welcome Letter from Georges Van Den Abbeele, Dean of UC Irvine School of Humanities Special Events & Ticket Information Screening & Event Locations Screening Schedule Interview: Van Pham, director of Beyond the Mat Opening Night: Beyond the Mat Interview: Kim Nguyen, director of War Witch Closing Night: War Witch Set 01: Life Moves On Set 02: Instant Noodle Interview: Victor Vu, director of Scandal and Blood Letter Set 03: Scandal Interview: Marcus Vu Manh Cuong, director of Yxine Film Festival Set 04: Best of Yxine Film Festival Interview: Luu Huynh, director of In the Name of Love Set 05: In the Name of Love Inspiration: Tran Anh Hung, director of Norwegian Wood Set 06: Norwegian Wood Set 07: War’s Stories Set 08: Night Vision Set 09: Love Puzzle Set 10: Here...or There? Set 11: Blood Letter Set 12: Day of the Bruins Set 13: Battle B-Boy Set 14: Here and Now Set 15: A Place to Call Home Set 16: The Crumbles Set 17: Mother’s Soul Set 18: Eyes Wide and Wonder Set 19: Pearls of the Far East Set 20: Mr. Cao Goes to Washington Set 21: House in the Alley Set 22: Viette Set 23: With or Without Me Set 24: What You Thought You Knew Interview: Duc Nguyen, director of “Sateless” SET 25: Spotlight Awards Reception Sponsors Filmmakers’ Biographies Print & Tape Source Acknowledgements ViFF 2013 Staff & Volunteers About VAALA & VNLC

Chào mừng quý khán giả đến với Đại Hội Điện Ảnh Việt Nam Quốc Tế (ViFF) lần thứ 6! ViFF đã vượt qua một chặng đường khá dài kể từ khi thành lập vào năm 2003 cho đến nay. Năm nay chúng tôi trình chiếu 69 phim, bao gồm 18 phim dài (features)—một con số kỷ lục. Chúng tôi rất hân hạnh nhận được phim từ nhiều nước trên thế giới như Úc, Cambodia, Canada, Tiệp Khắc, Pháp, Đức, Ba Lan, Singapore, Thụy Sĩ, Việt Nam và Hoa Kỳ. Chủ đề của ViFF 2013 là “Flashback || Flashforward.” Với “flashback” (“hồi tưởng”), ViFF 2013 nhìn lại một thập niên của điện ảnh Việt, và sau đó sẽ “flashforward” (“viễn tưởng”)—hướng tới một tương lai tươi đẹp cho điện ảnh Việt Nam nói chung. Từ những tác phẩm của các đạo diễn tiên phong như Trần Anh Hùng, Tony Bùi, Timothy Linh Bùi, và Charlie Nguyễn đến một thế hệ đạo diễn mới gốc Việt trên toàn thế giới, điện ảnh Việt đang cố gắng nới rộng khán giả toàn cầu. Ở giữa phần “flashback” và “flashforward,” ViFF dừng lại để chiêm nghiệm những sáng kiến, nhất là trong lãnh vực kỹ thuật, vốn đã góp phần làm nên điện ảnh Việt ngày hôm nay. Một sự kiện nổi bật tại ViFF 2013 là việc trao giải Inspiration Award cho một đạo diễn tiên phong của điện ảnh Việt Nam hải ngoại: Trần Anh Hùng. Chúng tôi vinh danh Trần Anh Hùng qua những đóng góp của ông cho nghệ thuật điện ảnh. Phong cách nghệ thuật của ông, thể hiện từ tác phẩm đầu tiên Mùi Đu Đủ Xanh (1993) cho đến tác phẩm mới nhất Norwegian Wood (2010), đã là niềm cảm hứng cho nhiều nghệ sĩ cũng như những người tổ chức các sinh hoạt nghệ thuật như chúng tôi. Sự hiện diện của đạo diễn Trần Anh Hùng tại ViFF là một điều vinh dự lớn lao cho chúng tôi. Ngoài các suất chiếu phim trải dài trong 8 ngày, ViFF còn có những chương trình đặc biệt khác, như ngày miễn phí dành cho quý vị cao niên và ngày miễn phí dành cho các em học sinh trung học. ViFF cũng mở rộng những cơ hội network cho các nhà làm phim qua những cuộc hội thảo thuộc nhiều lãnh vực chuyên môn của điện ảnh. Thay mặt Ban Điều Hành ViFF, chúng tôi cảm ơn Ban Tuyển Phim đã dành thì giờ ròng rã trong suốt sáu tháng kể từ mùa hè năm 2012 để xem tất cả 107 phim. Chúng tôi chân thành cảm ơn tất cả các nhà làm phim đã tin tưởng chúng tôi và gửi phim về tham dự. Và chúng tôi xin cảm ơn những nhà tài trợ đã tin tưởng vào mục tiêu của ViFF. ViFF thật sự có được ngày hôm nay là nhờ vào sự hỗ trợ nhiệt tình của quý vị! Chúng tôi cũng xin cảm ơn đội ngũ thiện nguyện viên làm việc không mệt mỏi, và nhiều người đã cống hiến rất nhiều thì giờ và tâm sức cho ViFF từ năm này qua năm khác. Và sau cùng, nhưng không kém phần quan trọng, chúng tôi xin gửi lời tri ân đến tất cả quý khán giả, những người đã cho chúng tôi sức lực và lòng can đảm để thành lập ViFF, và tiếp tục cuộc hành trình cho đến ngày hôm nay. Quý mến,

Lê Đình Y-Sa & John Phạm Đồng giám đốc ViFF 2013

Welcome to the sixth biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF)! ViFF has come a long way since its establishment in 2003. This year we showcase 69 films, including, at 18, a record number of features. We are honored to have received a wide array of works from filmmakers all over the world, including Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, Viet Nam, and the United States. Flashback || Flashforward is the theme of ViFF 2013. ViFF is privileged to have witnessed the last decade of groundbreaking Vietnamese diasporic cinema, and anticipates a bright future of creative production. From the work of pioneering filmmakers such as Trần Anh Hùng, Tony Bui, TimothÝ Linh Bui, and Charlie Nguyen, to a vibrant new generation of Vietnamese filmmakers from around the world, Vietnamese cinema has moved across geographical boundaries to reach a truly global audience. ViFF 2013 takes a moment to pause and reflect on the innovations that have made Vietnamese cinema what it is today. ViFF 2013’s landmark event is the presentation of our Inspiration Award to one of the pioneers in Vietnamese diasporic cinema: Trần Anh Hùng. We honor Trần for his contributions to cinematic art and for the inspiration each of his films has offered—from his first, Scent of Green Papaya (1993), to his latest, Norwegian Wood (2010). We are honored to have his attendance at ViFF 2013. In addition to the full 8-day program of film screenings, ViFF also offers special events, such as Senior Citizens Day and High School Day, which are free-admission to seniors and high school students, respectively. ViFF also creates networking opportunities by holding panel discussions on various aspects of filmmaking. On behalf of the Executive Committee, we would like to thank the Screening Committee members, who tirelessly saw all 107 submissions, for six months starting summer of 2012. Heartfelt thanks go to all the filmmakers who entrusted us with their films. And we thank our generous sponsors, who truly believe in our mission. ViFF would not be possible without your support! We would also like to thank our fantastic team of volunteers, many of whom have dedicated their labor and love to ViFF year after year. Last but never least, we would like to express our gratitude to you, the audience members, who have given us the strength and courage to establish and continue our vision. With warmest regards,

Ysa Le & John Pham ViFF 2013 Co-Directors

The Department of Asian American Studies and the Vietnamese American Oral History Project in the School of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine are proud to sponsor the 6th Vietnamese International Film Festival

Vietnamese American Oral History Project | vaohp.lib.uci.edu/ UCI Department of Asian American Studies | www.humanities.uci.edu/aas/

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---Georges -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --Van -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --Welcome -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --from -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- --Den -- -- -- -- -- -- --Abbeele -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- -- -- --Irvine -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- --Dean, -- -- -- -- -- --School -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --of -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- --- --- ---UC Humanities, -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the School of Humanities to extend my welcome and my congratulations on the occasion of the sixth Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF). We are delighted to host the ViFF, an event so important to the community and to Orange County as a whole. ViFF, which is organized by the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) and the Vietnamese Language and Culture organization at UCLA (VNLC), have become a valued part of our common cultural life by showcasing films with richly varied stories and presenting workshops and symposia of directors, actors and scholars. These activities, together with other ongoing events as the exhibitions of Vietnamese American artists, have greatly enriched and informed our community. The University is both proud to be a part of these endeavors and cognizant that they parallel developments within UC Irvine itself. Indeed, the years following the foundation of VAALA have seen Vietnamese language, history, and community play an ever more prominent role at the University, where currently over 2,000 students of Vietnamese heritage are enrolled. I am happy to report that following its introduction in 2000, Vietnamese language instruction is now offered in the Humanities Language Learning Program at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. In 2005, for the first time language classes were complemented by a course in Vietnamese literature. Moreover, courses in the Department of Asian American Studiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;on the experience of both Vietnamese Americans and Southeast Asian Americansâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;form the basis for further expansion. The Department of Art History also teaches Asian art, while the Department of Film and Media Studies, which has been a supporter of ViFF, incorporates Asian film and themes into its curriculum and their efforts complement UCIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Center for Asian Studies. The University is also proud to be the site of an important research resource for both the community and the nation. Launched in 2011 and housed in the Department of Asian American Studies, the Vietnamese American Oral History Project collects, preserves and digitalizes important life stories of refugees and immigrants for future generations to learn more about American history. The Southeast Asian Archives at Langson Library documents the settlement of Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants to the United States, and to California and Orange County, through a plethora of materials including books and government documents, journal articles and newspaper clippings, and personal and institutional papers. Open for study and research for students, researchers, and the public at large, the oral history collection and the archive invites further contributions to its collection. It is wonderful to see that the Cross Cultural Center, such as the Vietnamese American Coalition, Vietnamese Student Association, Southeast Asian Student Association, and the Asian Pacific Student Association are co-sponsors of this event, as well as the UCI Center for Asian Studies. We are also pleased to see the involvement of the UCI alumnae chapter, Vietnamese American Community Ambassadors, as supporters of ViFF as well. The School of Humanities is pleased to be a site for the festival. We especially welcome you to the new Humanities Gateway building and appreciate the opportunity to share our space with the community. Finally, I wish to share the news that prizewinning Vietnamese American journalist and writer, Andrew Lam, has graciously agreed to be our commencement speaker for the UCI School of Humanities graduation set for June 14, 2013 and I hope to see you there as well. Thus with efforts that complement one another, whether in an archive that amasses the traces of recent events, courses that study and interrogate them, or films that give them new form, the University and the School of Humanities join ViFF in welcoming you all to what promises to be an exciting festival. Georges Van Den Abbeele, PhD Dean, School of Humanities University of California, Irvine 5

SUNDAY, APRIL 7 UC Irvine, HG 1030 2:00PM - 4:00PM (Free admission) Panelists to include: Kieu Chinh - actress Tran Anh Hung - director Siu Pham, - director Victor Vu - director Nguyen Nu Nhu Khue - producer Dan Tran - producer Chuong T. Bui, Esq - entertainment industry attorney Ken Dat Duong, Esq - entertainment industry attorney

FESTIVAL Tickets can purchased at www.VietFilmfest.com Tu Quynh Bookstore (714) 531-4284 Bolsa Tickets (714) 418-2499 At the door 30 min before screening

TICKET PRICES $10 General $8 Students with ID $8 Seniors (60+) Opening Night $20 screening $30 reception Closing Night $10 screening $10 reception All-Festival vip Pass $200 (allows access to all events, including invitation-only parties)

Moderated by Ysa Le & Stefan Nguyen Our panel discussion opens with the artistic journey, then sails through the challenges and triumphs of filmmaking brought on by emerging technologies, expanding audience base, legal matters, and shifting distribution models from traditional theatrical to direct online alternatives. ** A Livestream event. Watch it live from anywhere!

NOTES: All programs are subject to change and/or cancellation without prior notice. For the most updated program, please visit our website at www. vietfilmfest.com. For general information, please call (714) 893-6145. All works presented in the festival are unrated. Please consult program descriptions contained herein. Parental guidance is strongly recommended for adult-oriented films.

BOWERS MUSEUM

Parking:

4245 Campus Drive Irvine, CA 92612

Parking lot

Free

2002 N. Main Street Santa Ana, CA 92706 www.bowers.org

Street parking Free Museum Lot $6 all day

UNIVERSITY OF CALIF., IRVINE (UC IRVINE)

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES (UCLA)

HIB 100 (Humanities Instructional Building 100) HG 1070 (Humanities Gateway 1070) / McCormick Screening Room HG 1030 (Humanities Gateway 1030)

NRB Auditorium 132 (Neuroscience Research Building Auditorium 132)

Parking:

3901 Pereira Drive Irvine, CA 92697 http://www.vietfilmfest.com/university-of-california-irvine

Pereira Parking Structure

$10 all day

635 Charles E. Young Drive South Los Angeles, CA 90095 http://www.vietfilmfest.com/university-of-california-los-angeles

Parking Structure 9

$11 all day

Guest arrival Opening remarks BEYOND THE MAT Van M. Pham/ USA / 2012 / 105 Min 9:15PM - 10:00PM Q & A 10:00PM - 1:00AM Opening Gala @ Steelhead Brewing Company

FRIDAY, APRIL 5

SENIOR CITIZENS DAY

Bowers Museum, Santa Ana

(Free for seniors 60+ years old with ID)

11:00AM - 12:30PM SET 1: LIFE MOVES ON The Other Winters (Những Mùa Đông Khác) Le Ha Nguyen / Viet Nam / 2011 / 15 Min Living Together (Chung Sống) Dang Duc Loc / Viet Nam / 2011 / 9 Min Mother’s Milk (Sữa Mẹ) Andy Dejohn / USA, Viet Nam / 2011 / 18 Min Five Punishments (Năm Điều Phạt) Duong Minh Loc / Viet Nam / 2011 / 9 Min Paper Plane (Máy Bay Giấy) Dao Nguyen Thuc / Viet Nam / 2012 / 14 Min Bookseller and Shoe Seller (Bán Sách Và Bán Giày) Nguyen Tri Vien / Viet Nam / 2011 /21 Min 12:30PM - 1:00PM Q & A 2:00PM - 3:45PM 3:45PM - 4:15PM

SET 2: INSTANT NOODLE (VŨ ĐIỆU ĐƯỜNG CONG)

Khoa Trong Nguyen / Viet Nam / 2012 / 112 Min Q&A

Edwards University Town Center 6, Irvine 7:00PM - 8:45PM 8:45PM - 9:15PM 10:30PM - 2:00AM

SET 3: SCANDAL (BÍ MẬT THẢM ĐỎ)

Victor Vu / Viet Nam / 2012 / 100 Min Q&A SCANDAL After-Party @ Ten Asian Bistro

SATURDAY, APRIL 6 INSPIRATION AWARD NIGHT Edwards University Town Center 6, Irvine 1:00PM - 2:50PM

SET 4: BEST OF YXINE FILM FESTIVAL

Dawn Leon Le / USA / 2012 / 10 Min On Duty with Shu Qi (Trực Nhật Với Thư Kỳ) Do Quoc Trung / Viet Nam / 2012 / 22 Min Uncle and Nephew (Hai Chú Cháu) Nguyen Dinh Anh / Viet Nam / 2012 / 15 Min An Interrogation Nghiem Quynh Trang / France / 2011 / 16 Min One Day (Một Ngày) Nguyen Vu Minh Duc / Viet Nam / 2012 / 15 Min The Story of Ones (Chuyện Mọi Nhà) Pham Ngoc Lan / Viet Nam / 2011 / 10 Min Go Playing with Ice (Chở Đá Đi Chơi) Tran Ngoc Sang / Viet Nam / 2011 / 12 Min 16:30 Tran Dung Thanh Huy / Viet Nam / 2012 / 12 Min 2:50PM - 3:20PM Q&A 4:00PM - 5:45PM 5:45PM - 6:15PM

SET 5: IN THE NAME OF LOVE (LẤY CHỒNG NGƯỜI TA)

Luu Huynh / Viet Nam / 2012 / 115 Min Q&A

SET 6: INSPIRATION AWARD NIGHT 6:00PM - 7:00PM Guest arrival 7:00PM - 7:30PM Inspiration Award presentation 7:30PM - 9:45PM 9:45PM - 10:15PM 10:30PM - 1:00AM

NORWEGIAN WOOD

Tran Anh Hung / Japan / 2010 / 133 Min Q&A Reception (by invitation only)

SUNDAY, APRIL 7

Edwards University Town Center 6, Irvine 1:00PM - 2:25PM

SET 7: WAR’S STORIES

Innocent Memory Nguyen Thi Nam Phuong / Singapore / 2012 / 4 Min Hibakusha Steve Nguyen & Choz Belen / USA / 2012 / 40 Min Julian Bao Nguyen / USA / 2012 / 40 Min 2:25PM - 3:00PM Q &A

UC Irvine, HG 1070 1:00PM - 2:40PM

SET 8: NIGHT VISION

Pandora’s Box Dang Viet Duc / Viet Nam / 2012 / 20 Min KFC Le Binh Giang / Viet Nam / 2012 / 12 Min The Winning Ticket (Số Độc Đắc) Nguyen Duc Tu / Viet Nam / 2012 / 8 Min Where Does the Wind Blow (Ngọn Gió Về Đâu) Trinh Dinh Le Minh / Viet Nam / 2011 / 37 Min Picture. Perfect. Winston Titus Tao / USA / 2012 / 24 Min

UC Irvine, HG 1030 2:00PM - 4:00PM

(Free admission)

Panel Discussion: Script, Scene, and Screen Kieu Chinh, Tran Anh Hung, Siu Pham, Victor Vu, Nguyen Nu Nhu Khue, Dan Tran, Chuong T. Bui, Esq, and Ken Dat Duong, Esq

Edwards University Town Center 6, Irvine 4:00PM - 5:40PM 5:40PM - 6:10PM

SET 9: LOVE PUZZLE (CƯỚI NGAY KẺO LỠ) Charlie Nguyen / Viet Nam / 2012 / 100 min Q&A

UC Irvine, HG 1070 4:00PM - 5:30PM 5:30PM - 6:00PM

SET 10: HERE…OR THERE? (ĐÓ…HAY ĐÂY?) Siu Pham / Viet Nam / 2011 / 91 Min Q&A

Edwards University Town Center 6, Irvine 7:00PM - 8:40PM 8:40PM - 9:10PM

SET 11: BLOOD LETTER (THIÊN MỆNH ANH HÙNG)

Victor Vu / Viet Nam / 2012 / 100 Min Q&A

THURSDAY, APRIL 11

UCLA DAY

UCLA, NRB Auditorium 132 4:00PM - 5:40PM SET 12: DAY OF THE BRUINS Purple Salem (Salem Tím) Chu Anh Nguyet / Viet Nam / 2011 / 7 Min Dawn Leon Le / USA / 2012 / 10 Min Egg Baby Nadine Truong / USA / 2009 / 20 Min Steven and the Beetle Piotr Loc Hoang Ngoc / Poland / 2012 / 12 Min Human Forming (Đúc Người) Ngo Buu Nguyen, Ta Thanh Huy / Viet Nam / 2012 / 15 Min On Duty with Shu Qi (Trực Nhật Với Thư Kỳ) Do Quoc Trung / Viet Nam / 2012 / 22 Min One Day (Một Ngày) Nguyen Vu Minh Duc / Viet Nam / 2012 / 15 Min 5:40PM - 6:10PM Q&A 7:30PM - 9:00PM 9:00PM - 9:30PM

SET 13: BATTLE B-BOY

Frank Lin / USA / 2012 / 90 Min preceded by Run Bao Nguyen / Viet Nam / 2012 / 4 Min Q & A

HIGH SCHOOL DAY

Bowers Museum, Santa Ana

(Free for high school students with ID)

11:00 AM - 12:30PM SET 14: HERE AND NOW Play Lunch Cassandra Nguyen / Australia / 2011 / 10 Min BBoy Vincent Tran / USA / 2012 / 12 Min My Asian Americana Anida Yoeu Ali & Masahiro Sugano/ Cambodia / 2011 / 3 Min Picture. Perfect. Winston Titus Tao / USA / 2012 / 24 Min Upstream (Ngược Dòng) Le Hoang / Viet Nam / 2012 / 14 Min Steven and the Beetle Piotr Loc Hoang Ngoc / Poland / 2012 / 12 Min 16:30 Tran Dung Thanh Huy / Viet Nam / 2012 / 12 Min 12:30PM - 1:00PM Q & A 2:00PM - 3:30PM

SET 15: A PLACE TO CALL HOME

Mama, I’m Not Coming Back Home (Tết Này Con Không Về) Trinh Dinh Le Minh / USA / 2011 / 16 Min Little Hanoi Martina Sakova / Germany, Czech Republic / 2012 / 78 Min 3:30PM - 4:00PM Q&A 7:30PM - 8:45PM

SET 16: THE CRUMBLES

Akira Boch / USA / 2012 / 75 Min preceded by Twister Stephane Gauger / USA / 2012 / 3 Min 8:45PM - 9:15PM Q&A

SATURDAY, APRIL 13 UC Irvine, HIB 100 1:00PM - 3:00PM 3:00PM - 3:30PM

SET 17: MOTHER’S SOUL (TÂM HỒN MẸ)

Pham Nhue Giang / Viet Nam / 2011 / 95 Min preceded by Hanoi Public Market Michael Digregorio / Viet Nam / 2012 / 25 Min Q&A

UC Irvine, HG 1070 1:00PM - 2:40PM

SET 18: EYES WIDE AND WONDER

The Rip (Lỗ Thủng) Lê Bình Giang / Viet Nam / 2011 / 12 Min Training Dogs Ty Sanga / USA / 2007 / 5 Min Give Me a Ticket to Childhood (Cho Tôi Một Vé Về Tuổi Thơ) Nguyen Minh Phuong / Viet Nam / 2012 / 15 Min Play Lunch Cassandra Nguyen / Australia / 2011 / 10 Min Forever In Hiatus Andy Nguyen / Viet Nam / 2012 / 24 Min Act Three Vince Pham / USA / 2013 / 10 Min Santa Land Kim Oanh Nguyen / USA / 23 Min 2:40PM - 3:10PM Q&A

UC Irvine, HIB 100 4:00PM - 5:50PM 5:50PM - 6:20PM

SET 19: PEARLS OF THE FAR EAST (NGỌC VIỄN ĐÔNG) Cuong Ngo / Viet Nam, Canada / 2011 / 103 Min Q&A

SATURDAY, APRIL 13 CON’T UC Irvine, HG 1070 4:00PM - 5:30PM

SET 20: MR. CAO GOES TO WASHINGTON

S. Leo Chiang / USA / 2012 / 71 Min preceded by Return to Sender Anida Yoeu Ali / Cambodia / 2012 / 8 Min and Awaken - Story of a Dream Act Student Dieu Huynh / USA / 2011 / 7 Min

UC Irvine, HIB 100 SET 21: HOUSE IN THE ALLEY (NGÔI NHÀ TRONG HẺM) 7:30PM - 9:00PM

9:00PM - 9:30PM 9:30PM - 12:30AM

Le-van Kiet / Viet Nam / 2012 / 93 Min Q&A HOUSE IN THE ALLEY After-Party @ Phan55

UC Irvine, HG 1070 7:30PM - 9:00PM 9:00PM - 9:30PM

SET 22: VIETTE

Mye Hoang / USA / 2012 / 90 Min Q&A

SUNDAY, APRIL 14

CLOSING DAY

UC Irvine, HG 1070 11:00AM - 12:40PM SET 23: WITH OR WITHOUT ME

(TRONG HAY NGOÀI TAY EM)

Tran Phuong Thao & Swann Dubus / Viet Nam, France / 2011 / 80 Min preceded by The Sacred Trace of Luy Lau (Dấu Thiêng Luy Lâu) Dao Thanh Hung / Viet Nam / 2012 / 32 Min 12:40PM - 1:00PM Q & A 1:00PM - 2:45PM SET 24: WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW Self-Portrait at the Age of 30 (Nỗi Buồn Trên Cây Hoang Tran Minh Duc / Viet Nam, France / 2012 / 24 Min She Who Has No Master Julie Thi Underhill, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Dao Strom / USA / 2012 / 22 Min The Small Sleep Wesley Nguyen / USA / 2012 / 6 Min The Last Supper (Bữa Ăn Cuối Cùng) Nguyen Thanh Trung / Viet Nam / 2011 / 17 Min The Room (Căn Phòng) Nguyen Hong Quan / Viet Nam / 2012 / 18 Min The Man in the Fish Bowl (Người Đàn Ông Trong Bể Cá) Le Lam Vien, Do Nhu Trang / Viet Nam / 2012 / 18 Min 2:45PM - 3:15PM Q&A

UC Irvine, HIB 100 2:00PM - 3:30PM

SET 25: SPOTLIGHT AWARDS RECEPTION

6:30PM - 7:30PM

AWARDS CEREMONY WAR WITCH

Hosted by UC Irvine Southeast Asian Archive Vietnamese American Community Ambassadors (VACA) Vietnamese American Oral History Project (VAOHP) 3:30PM - 4:00PM Spotlight Awards presentation 4:00PM - 5:50PM The Tree Workers Case Daniela Agostini / Germany, Czech Republic / 2012 / 52 Min Stateless Duc Nguyen / Philippines, USA / 2013 / 57 Min 5:50PM - 6:20PM Q&A 7:30PM - 9:00PM 9:00PM - 9:30PM 9:30PM - 12:30AM

Kim Nguyen / Canada / 2012 / 90 Min Q&A Closing Night Gala @ Humanities Gateway, UC Irvine

INTERVIEW Van M. Pham director of BEYOND THE MAT

Don’t let the fact that Beyond the Mat is Van’s first feature film fool you. This year’s Opening Night film is an accomplishment that many seasoned directors would be proud of. Join us for the screening and see for yourself. When did you realize you wanted to become a filmmaker? And what was behind that desire? It was during my study-abroad experience at the University of Aberstwyth in Wales, UK. This was in 2000, when I received a scholarship dedicated to supporting minorities in the field of broadcasting, which enabled me to take the opportunity to study overseas. There I made my short documentary “A Different Corner,” which is about gay parenting in the UK. When I returned to the US one year later, I was motivated to pack up and head down to California. I attended Cal State Los Angeles University [on another one-year exchange from Washington State]. At CSULA, I entered “A Different Corner” into the statewide annual CSU Summer Arts Media Festival in 2001. Surprisingly, it won “Best in Show” and “First Place Documentary.” That was the defining moment that made me realize my potential in the film/TV industry. Did film bring you to Chapman? Yes, at Chapman I decided to be ambitious and make Beyond the Mat as my thesis film. I officially received my MFA in Film Production from Chapman upon the completion of that film in August 2012. Speaking of Beyond the Mat, how close or how different is the final film from the script that Erik Martinez created? Actually, I initially wrote Beyond the Mat for a screenwriting class requirement at CSULA. When I met Erik at Chapman, I decided to have the script completely re-written by him. But in regards to the vision and concept of the story, those have remained the same since the original script. Everything else, though, from character development to story structure, has changed quite a bit. What do you hope the audience gets out of the film, beyond entertainment? I wanted to have a film that portrays Asians in a nonstereotypical type of role, especially for the lead character. It’s very seldom that you see Asians in a sports film. I purposely made this film with a very diverse and multi-ethnic cast because I wanted to find a way to have a mass audience appeal. I wanted to share a universal story of identity, friendship, and love from an Asian perspective but utilizing wrestling as the sports backdrop. What have you learned in making your first feature film? I have definitely learned a lot about how to work with a very limited budget.

Stefan Nguyen

BEYOND THE MAT For about as long as he can remember, Aaron Miller (John Wynn) has been friends with Bo Sanders (Mark Hapka) and has loved wrestling. The two are top of their respective weight classes, and dream of entering college together on full-ride scholarships. They are as close, and as alike, as an adopted Vietnamese kid in Middle America and his white best friend can be. In their junior year championships, however, Bo loses his match to wrestling rival Dominic Bradshaw, on a bad call. Bent on a rematch against Dominic at next year’s finals, Bo ousts Aaron from his spot on the team. The rift in their friendship is further widened by the arrival of Linh Tran (Teresa Michelle Lee), a new student at the high school, who exposes Aaron to his Vietnamese heritage and causes him to question what he truly knows about himself. Beyond the Mat delivers everything you want in a sports movie—solid action scenes, the deserving underdog, the unscrupulous rival, even the good and evil coaches—along with a side of identity politics, and more than a little love for Mr. Miyagi. Watch out for some charming winks to The Karate Kid in this well-acted, tightly scripted film. And look out for Lee as Elisa in The Crumbles, also screening at ViFF this year. Director Van M. Pham holds an MFA in Film & Television from Chapman University, and his my documentary “A Different Corner” won Best in Show as well as First Place Documentary in the CSU Summer Arts Media festival. Beyond the Mat was an official screenplay selection for the Tribeca Film Festival All-Access Program. Ethan Nguyen

Director Van M. Pham Executive Producers Thang Trinh Vince Trinh Mack Machen Anthony Millan Producers Kase Chong Henry Priest Lorna Paul Screenwriter Erik Martinez Cinematograher Lyn Moncrief Editor Scott Conrad, A.C.E Music Joel J. Richard Sound Andres Boulton Cast John Wynn Mark Hapka Sara Fletcher USA, 2012 English 105 min, color Narrative

INTERVIEW

Kim Nguyen director of WAR WITCH

Duc Nguyen, manager for Viet Nam California Radio and director of the documentary “Stateless” (also screening at ViFF), interviews Kim Nguyen just before the 2013 Oscars.

We’re so proud to have someone by the last name Nguyen in the Oscars. Can you tell us about your background? My father is Vietnamese and my mother is Canadian. My father was an early arrival to Canada; he had a scholarship in math in Montreal, and became an economist for the national health system. What got you into filmmaking and when did you start? I always liked to write stories when I was a kid. In high school, a teacher who had a dark room let me try to develop black and white pictures. When I saw my first photograph appear through the chemicals, it was like a flash for me that I should start telling stories via film. I was 16 and I am now 38. How did you choose the name “War Witch” in English? I’m not completely responsible for titles. Countries buy the movie and decide if they want to keep that title or change it. But I did really like that title for the international scene. It conveys the idea of magic to audiences who haven’t seen the film. Why a story about child soldiers in Africa? Sometimes when nobody is giving a voice to people who are victims of horrible ordeals, you feel a kind of responsibility. At the same time, for some reason I related very much to the character of Komona. I could imagine myself through her life and I felt an urge to tell this story. What type of research did you do before making this film? A lot of colleagues helped me write this script. One of them worked with the United Nations for the world food program, and traveled to a lot of war-ridden areas such as Angola and Burundi. I traveled to Burundi with him. He introduced me to this guy who knew former child soldiers. To me, one of the most moving scenes in the film is when Komona is forced to execute her parents. How did you come up with that scene? Killing your own parents is a tool that many rebels use as a way of annihilating the relationship between abducted children and their villages. They can’t come back because they are considered murderers—brutal murderers because they killed their own parents. And there was a scene where rebels say guns are your new father and mother. Can you talk about that? That was something I came across in my research: the indoctrination and training process of using sticks to prepare kids for holding their guns before handing them the real weapons. One of the biggest reasons that the Congo is torn apart by internal wars is that during the Cold War there was a massive over-production of light military weapons. The US shipped guns to the Congo for a bit of revenue and to get them out of the country. What message do you want people to get out of War Witch? What I do is I put realities one next to the other and let the audience make its own message. If I try to be too educational, things would become too constrained and I think that eventually the film would lose its poetry. Duc Nguyen Transcribed by Carol Caro 12

Courtesy of Viet Nam California Radio (VNCR) Find the entire interview at: https://soundcloud.com/littlesaigonvoice

WAR WITCH The film opens with a young woman’s voice, expressing the wary hope that she will be strong enough to love her unborn child. So begins Kim Nguyen’s tale of a child soldier in sub-Saharan Africa. Komona (Rachel Mwanza) is 12 years old when abducted from her massacred village and forced to fight under a brutal warlord in a rebel army. While all the other children from her village die immediately in a government ambush, Komona survives, with the partial protection of an older boy she calls Magician (Serge Kanyinda), and the reputation she acquires for seeing ghosts, who warn her of danger. This ability gains her a temporary place of some honor as the warlord’s War Witch. As director and writer, Nguyen stays with Komona, looking for the universal in this little-girl-eye-view of conflicts for which there are surely national politics, global markets, imperial histories. But what those contexts and motivations are, no one tells Komona; what they explain to her is the use of an AK-47. Still, despite the violence of the story, Nguyen’s storytelling is not voyeuristic. His priorities are the girl’s: memories of her parents, the love of a boy, whether it is possible to make a life in hiding from the army. The result is a film both delicate and powerful. War Witch is Montreal-born Nguyen’s fourth feature film. It was nominated for the 2013 Academy Awards in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. Mwanza was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as Best Actress at the Tribeca Film Festival, in 2012. erin Khuê Ninh

Director Kim Nguyen Producers Pierre Even Marie-Claude Poulin Screenwriter Kim Nguyen Cinematograher Nicolas Bolduc Editor Richard Comeau Music Joel J. Richard Sound Martin Pinsonnault Bernard Gariépy-Strobl Claude La Haye Cast Rachel Mwanza Alain Bastien Serge Kanyinda Mizinga Mwinga Ralph Prosper Canada, 2012 French, Lingala with English subtitles 90 min, color Narrative

THE OTHER WINTERS Những Mùa Đông Khác

LIVING TOGETHER Chung Sống

MOTHER’S MILK Sữa Mẹ

FIVE PUNISHMENTS Năm Điều Phạt

Director: Lê Hà Nguyên Viet Nam, 2011 15 min, color Narrative

Director: Đặng Đức Lộc Viet Nam, 2011 9 min, color Documentary

Director: Andy DeJohn USA/Viet Nam, 2011 18 min, color Narrative

Director: Dương Minh Lộc Viet Nam, 2011 9 min, color Animation

From his bicycle, an old man sells balloons, bright with hope, in the grey of Hanoi’s winter. The daughter he longs for sometimes appears and then disappears again, preoccupied by a modern storyline of her own.

With no narrative commentary, this film works by quiet framing: its angles are peeks into the close living done by millions of Vietnamese in the cities, as families pack into shared housing. The result is a thoughtprovoking bit of empathy.

A young girl must learn to take care of her ailing family in the Vietnamese countryside.

An old man comes across a piece of paper with five punishments, written for him by his mother 50 years ago. He decides to carry out those punishments in memory of her.

PAPER PLANE Máy Bay Giấy

BOOKSELLER & SHOE SELLER Bán Sách Và Bán Giày

Director: Đào Nguyễn Thức Viet Nam, 2012 13 min, color Narrative

Director: Nguyễn Trí Viễn Viet Nam, 2012 20 min, color Narrative

A young woman in a cold marriage embarks on a shy flirtation with her neighbor, made up of smiles and messages carried on air.

On one little street of Saigon, two men split a small piece of pavement to sell their goods. Petty irritations escalate until they learn to share what they have.

INSTANT NOODLE Vũ Điệu Đường Cong Like its English title, Instant Noodle packs a lot of satisfaction in a tight package: belly laughs, biting social and film-industry commentary, with some romance to spice it up. The setting is contemporary Saigon, where Long, a young single dentist, spends long hours in his fledgling practice, waiting for clients and living on ramen. His parents hound him to find a girl, settle down, and have children, but apparently young dentists these days just can’t get with the program. All that changes when Van Tram, a headstrong actress working on a belly-dancing movie (thus the Vietnamese title) chips a tooth on set. She happens into Long’s office for some emergency dental work, and not long after, his pursuit of Van Tram thrusts him into the adrenalin-charged, drama-filled world of Vietnamese movie-making, where an ensemble of larger-than-life characters frantically works to churn out “instant noodle” dramas. Soon enough, life imitates art, with all its heated encounters, unexpected consequences, heartaches, intervening love interests, and a family tragedy. Through all the high drama, both Long and Van Tram must ultimately come to terms with what is most important in their lives. Will it be career, financial security, love, or family? Instant Noodle is writer and director Nguyễn Trọng Khoa’s second feature film. 14 Days / 14 Ngày Phép screened at ViFF in 2011. Nguyễn attended film school at the University of Southern California, and now lives and works as a filmmaker in Saigon. James Dinh

Director Nguyen Trong Khoa Producers Nguyen Trong Khoa Nguyen Thụy Kim Phuong Screenwriters Nguyen Trong Khoa Nguyen Thụy Kim Phuong Cinematograher Pham Van Khue Editor Aaron Toronto Music Xuan Hieu Tang Nhat Tue Tieu Chau Nhu Quynh Sound Mike Dawson Cast Vo Thanh Tam, Kim Phuong, Viet Anh, Minh Luan, Hoai Linh, Hong Van, Tang Nhat Tue, Tieu Chau, Nhu Quynh, Binh Minh, Hai Hung, Siu Black, Hoang Son, Viet Anh, Cindy Thai Tai Viet Nam, 2012 Vietnamese with English subtitles 112 min, color Narrative

INTERVIEW Victor Vu director of SCANDAL and BLOOD LETTER

Scandal combines elements of action, romance and thriller. Is this a blend of your previous films or were you trying something new? The film actually begins as a mystery, drama. Then it becomes a suspense thriller, and finally ends in violent horror. This evolution is in tune with the main character’s psychological development. The real challenge was shifting between genres without the audience noticing too much. Where did the inspiration for the film come from? The concept actually developed while I was location scouting for Blood Letter. Originally, it was simply a suspense thriller that centered around Vietnamese show business. Then I heard rumors about “black magic” being used in the Vietnamese entertainment world and was fascinated. Whether these stories are true is really up for debate. But to me, they had all the right elements for a good old-fashioned suspense thriller. When we started on the screenplay, my co-writers and I made it our goal to keep the audience guessing until the very end! Do you consider your film pure fiction, or is it a commentary on the state of Vietnamese entertainment industry? Is it as competitive as the film suggests? I think there’s a dark side to everything. Show business is no exception. Although the film is a completely fictional story, it explores very reallife problems and complexities in the Vietnamese entertainment industry. At the heart of it, Scandal is about ambition and greed. I see the film as a cautionary tale. It’s what “may happen” if human ambition and greed run out of control. How was it working with Vân Trang again? Of course she’s a major star, but what else made you choose her for this central role? I’ve worked with Vân Trang in two of my previous films. She’s a true artist with enormous skill and professionalism. She’s proven to be a very versatile actress, shifting between many types of characters. In Scandal, the character Ý Linh goes on an emotional and physical roller coaster, which requires an actress with range and experience like Vân Trang. When she came in to read for the role, she displayed both the vulnerability and intensity of Ý Linh. What is your next project? I’m in pre-production for a horror/comedy set in the misty valleys of Da Lat, Viet Nam. Long Bui

SCANDAL Bí Mật Thảm Đỏ Victor Vu’s newest film, Scandal casts a bright spotlight on the big dreams and bigger fights of Viet Nam’s entertainment industry. Ý Linh (Vân Trang) finds herself in competition with Trà My (Mai Thu Hường, aka. Maya), a fast-rising model, singer and actress who doesn’t buy the starlet’s ingénue act. The two competitors go head to head for gigs but things take a sinister turn when a mysterious condition makes Ý Linh wonder if she has been cursed. As she loses everything to Trà My, including her husband, Ý Linh goes to the tabloids to accuse the other woman of using dark magic. After the husband commits suicide, Ý Linh begins to see her own death everywhere at the hands of her bitter enemy. A Vietnamese American, director Vu holds a BA in film production from Loyola Marymount University. Now working out of Viet Nam, Vu is a prolific filmmaker known for his wide array of genres, including comedy, horror, and martial arts/kiếm hiệp films like Blood Letter, also being screened at ViFF this year. His long-time fascination with romantic intrigue and the supernatural finds a perfect combination in this twisted tale of revenge. Scandal is part soap-operatic confection, part thriller—and a sidelong critique of the increasingly vicious relationship between Viet Nam’s tabloids and its burgeoning movie industry. Long Bui

Director Victor Vu Producers Pham Viet Anh Khoa Tran Thi Bich Ngoc Screenwriters Victor Vu Hong Phuc Cao Tan Loc Cinematograher Nguyen K’Linh Editors Thang Vu Victor Vu Music Christopher Wong Sound Julian Duy Tran Cast Van Trang, Maya, Minh Thuan, Khuong Ngoc, Lan Phuong, Hoang Anh, Quyen Loc Viet Nam, 2012 Vietnamese with English subtitles 100 min, color Narrative

INTERVIEW Marcus Vu Manh Cuong director of YXINE FILM FESTIVAL

What do you think of the content and quality of the films screened during YxineFF 2012? Based on the theme, “Individual,” Yxine 2012 called on the filmmakers to be themselves. As a result, we screened 66 widely diverse films. One notable thing this year was that many films focused on the subjects of children, youth, and school. This reveals the concerns of the younger generation in the context of an increasingly flat world. The search for the “I,” the struggle for love and protection, or violence in school were represented in multidimensional and shifting perspectives.

One of the most exciting developments in contemporary Vietnamese cinema is its many film festivals, both in Viet Nam and overseas. Yxine Film Festival (YxineFF) stands out among them. YxineFF festival-goers don’t have to travel far. They just need to get their laptops, because this film fest is online. Behind YxineFF is Yxine (pronounced “why ciné”), a voluntary, independent, and nonprofit organization founded a decade ago in Berlin, Germany, by Marcus Vu Manh Cuong.

YxineFF 2012 reflects the progress that the festival has made in its three years of existence: more international, more professional, and better quality films. We hope to share the voice of a younger global generation through the films screened at this past YxineFF and through the selection to be shown at ViFF 2013. Which film left the strongest impression on you? Why? It’s difficult to choose the number one film—this was a challenge that YxineFF jurors also faced because of the individuality of the films. Yet as the person who had to choose a set to submit to ViFF, I had reasons to pay special attention to Nguyen Dinh Anh’s “Uncle and Nephew (Hai chú cháu)” This is a debut short film by a filmmaker who did not have formal training and it addresses the controversial topic of homosexuality in the Viet Nam countryside. Its use of cinematic language, blending image and music, is artistic and persuasive. “Uncle and Nephew” gave me faith that the festival would continue to receive other excellent films. Fortunately, the result did not disappoint. Several films screened during different YxineFF, such as “Hai chú cháu,” “Dawn,” “16:30,” “An Interrogation,” “Chuyện mọi nhà,” and “Một ngày,” will be screened during ViFF 2013. What are some of the strengths of these films that ViFF audience should pay attention to? “Dawn” is a story set in the Bronx in New York, but filmed in Los Angeles, dealing with issues of discrimination; it has a bold and surprising ending. In “16:30,” the audience gets to explore a different Saigon, a Saigon of alleys and dead-ends, navigated by the footsteps of homeless children. “An Interrogation” takes place in Paris but is a story familiar to overseas Vietnamese everywhere; it concerns the interrogation of a young woman who married a French person in order to stay in France. “Chuyện mọi nhà” uniquely experiments with a form of communication that almost belongs to the past: the radio and its role in the lives of Hanoians of different backgrounds. “Một ngày” is special in that it is the first short “zombie” film made in Viet Nam. This is a carefully considered selection of YxineFF films that carries international messages. What are your aspirations for Yxine in the future? The future will depend more and more on the internet and social networks. This challenge demands that film must also change and that there be new ways to bring films to the audience. Right from its inception, Yxine has latched onto the internet and relied on social sharing as a foundation. This is continually reaffirmed by YxineFF and by other activities. I hope that Yxine will continue to be a beloved name and is recognized for spreading the love of film on an international level. 18

Quan Tue Tran

DAWN

ON DUTY WITH SHU QI Trực Nhật Với Thư Kỳ

UNCLE & NEPHEW Hai Chú Cháu

AN INTERROGATION Un Interrogatoire

Director: Leon Le USA, 2012 10 min, color Narrative

Director: Đỗ Quốc Trung Viet Nam, 2012 18 min, color Narrative

Director: Nguyễn Đình Anh Viet Nam, 2012 14 min, color Narrative

Director: Nghiêm Quỳnh Trang France, 2011 16 min, color Animation

A young Black man detects what he considers a racist glance from an Asian stranger and confronts him, only to discover that what they share in common is what angers him the most. In striking at the other, they each hurt and expose themselves.

The prettiest girl in school is now assigned to the seat beside the shyest young man, and neither of them seems happy with the new arrangement. But high school is mean, and you need allies.

A young boy lives with his uncle in a small village, where they seem to have only each other. Upon overhearing gossip about the man’s personal life, the nephew hatches a heartbreaking plan to bring his uncle happiness.

The interrogation in question is an immigration interview, and the young woman being questioned is an art student from Viet Nam, who has married a Frenchman for residency papers. With her hopes and feelings on the line, nothing is black and white.

ONE DAY Một Ngày

THE STORY OF ONES Chuyện Mọi Nhà

GO PLAYING WITH ICE Chở Đá Đi Chơi

16:30

Director: Nguyễn Vũ Minh Đức Viet Nam, 2012 15 min, color Narrative

Director: Phạm Ngọc Lân Viet Nam, 2012 9 min, color Experimental documentary

Director: Nguyễn Trí Viễn Viet Nam, 2012 20 min, color Narrative

Director: Trần Dũng Thanh Huy Viet Nam, 2012 12min, color Narrative

A strange man in a mask shuffles wordlessly and doggedly through a series of errands. No one knows where he is heading, but today is special, and he is on a mission.

A static camera places viewers into a series of spaces, guided only by the sound of the radio tuned to Vietnamese state broadcasts The portraits and settings layered atop the aural landscape raise questions, provide humor, offer context and unsettle what seemed clear before entering the room.

A sloth-like man, third in a line of ice sellers, is driving his wife crazy as he daydreams and neglects his work. Questioned by his son, and worried that he has also disappointed the spirits of his father and grandfather, he sees the latter in a vision, and discovers that this passion for art and nature may run in the family.

Life starts at exactly 16:30 each day for four homeless kids who race around the city selling lotto result sheets.

INTERVIEW Luu Huynh director of IN THE NAME OF LOVE

Most current films take place in the city. How and why did you decide to choose the river as a place to shoot? The magnificent scenery of the La Nga floating village is so unique and magical. I fell in love with it. I wanted to shoot my film here so much, I wrote the script for it, knowing shooting on the water is always a nightmare for filmmakers.   What were the challenges involved in shooting on and around the river? Shooting on water while also on a shoestring budget is not easy. You have to plan very carefully and yet no matter how carefully you plan you always face difficulties. After two weeks of shooting we endured a three-day storm. When the storm was gone, the tide was high and the water became muddy. All the floating houses were dislocated, so we had to move them back, as close to their original positions as possible.   Some of the scenes were very violent or sexually explicit. Do you feel Vietnamese audiences are ready for these things or are you pushing them to experience new forms of raw storytelling? I only tell the story. Let audiences be the judge.  How was it bringing together powerhouse actors like Huy Khanh, Dinh Y Nhung, and Thai Hoa? Did they get along? How much did they get to craft or shape their roles? It  was a wonderful experience working with all these talented actors. They know how to bring their characters to life. They spent months preparing for their roles and put their personal lives on hold. Such dedication to work on this film. To make it as real as possible, I even asked them to make the slaps and punches real.  Most viewers will agree that the character Linh, played by the fantastic Thai Hoa, is the creepiest villain in recent Vietnamese film. How did you develop the character?   Thai Hoa is well known for his roles in comedy films. Once I asked him to play the villain, I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I love the challenge. I do have my moments of madness, especially when I stand behind the camera. I made him suffer. I made him hate me. It helped him to transform his comic, lovable face into the creepiest villain that I’ve envisioned.  What are you working on currently? I am working on a drama/action film called Blind Fury / Hiệp Sĩ Mù, which will be shot in Hanoi and Saigon. I want to do something entertaining for a young audience before I do my personal film. I just finished location scouting  in Hanoi. Long Bui

IN THE NAME OF LOVE Lấy Chồng Người Ta A good thriller puts you in a stranglehold of suspense, not releasing its grip until the very end. In the Name of Love by Lưu Huỳnh does just that, in a controversial film loaded with dark humor, gory violence, and raw sexuality. Huỳnh again proves why he’s one of Viet Nam’s top directors, as he gives us an entertaining psychosexual drama that delivers a stunning lesson about the price of love. The movie tells the story of Lụa (Đinh Y Nhung) and her husband Khánh (Huy Khánh), a young couple in a small fishing village. Their loving marriage is marred only by Khánh’s sterility, and thus their inability to have the children he so longs for. For her husband’s happiness, Lụa secretly arranges to be impregnated by another man in the village (Thái Hòa)—but when their son is born, it quickly becomes clear that she has made a terrible choice of sperm donor. The film puts a different spin on the traditional love triangle, as it shifts from drama to thriller, and accelerates into surreal violence. An intimate story about the lengths people will go through to find happiness, the film shatters any notions of rural life as more peaceful than that of the city. Instead, it can be wild, passionate and dangerous. In the Name of Love will leave you breathless. Long Bui

Director Luu Huynh Producers Luu Huynh Phan Minh Screenwriters Luu Huynh Tien Vang Cinematograher Luu Huynh Editor Luu Huynh Sound Duc Tri Cast Thai Hoa Dinh Y Nhung Huy Khanh Viet Nam, 2012 Vietnamese with English subtitles 115 min, color Narrative

INSPIRATION ViFF 2013 Inspiration Award Recipient

Tran Anh Hung director of NORWEGIAN WOOD

The most famous of Vietnamese diasporic directors, Trần Anh Hùng has had an illustrious career. An exacting artist, Trần is rigorous about the details of composition, music, mood, and setting in his deeply poetic films. He is committed to developing a cinematic language of his own, one that allows him, with each film, to demonstrate the beauty and banality of the everyday on the one hand, and convey with tenderness the sorrows of war, love, and poverty on the other. Trần was born in Da Nang, Viet Nam, and emigrated to France when he was 12 following the fall of Saigon. In France, Trần studied at the prestigious film school Louis Lumière College, where he made two short films titled “La femme mariée de Nam Xuong / Thiếu phụ Nam Xương” and “La pierre de l’attente / Hòn Vọng Phu” (1989). Four years later, Trần directed his first feature film, The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), which won the Caméra d’Or prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. The Vietnamese government also submitted this film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was the first “Vietnamese” film ever to be shortlisted for this award. Trần followed up this film with Cyclo, which won the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival in 1995. Soon thereafter, he made Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000), a languorously beautiful film set in Hanoi and Hạ Long Bay. With his most recent film, Norwegian Wood, Trần exquisitely recreates Japanese writer Murakami’s world of politics, suicide and youthful despair. Trần’s oeuvre is comprised of films that are now an integral part of a world cinema cannon. Many Vietnamese filmmakers have been inspired to follow in his footsteps. And so it is that we, at the Vietnamese International Film Festival, salute Trần Anh Hùng not only for making films about the Vietnamese in importantly humanistic ways but also for continuing to make films that push the boundaries of cinema. Lan Duong

NORWEGIAN WOOD Norwegian Wood, the novel by Haruki Murakami, is a masterwork of postmodern despair—stark, subtle, monotone; Norwegian Wood, the movie by Trần Anh Hùng, is a hybrid effusion—lush, rich, emotional. The world that the movie explores bristles with nostalgia in a way that the book’s mise en scène does not: saturated colors, polyester shirts, cluttered dorms. This is not the landscape of modernity but of coming-intomodernity: a world of precipice and edge. This is a universe at a doorway before an economic boom period, that might just as well recall present-day Viet Nam as it does a Japan of yore—a world altogether easy to forget ever existed. Into this world, two lovers are brought together by a loss—a suicide—that is the hole in the center of their broken lives. Trần Anh Hùng’s genius takes over where Murakami’s ends. We get the suffering but also the exuberance, the profound sadness but also the ecstasy. Heavy themes dot the landscape of this Norwegian wood: mental illness, infidelity, guilt, repression. Fans of Haruki Murakami’s writing, just like all fans of all books-cum-movies, will likely be disappointed by riffs and departures, but just as Murakami took the iconic Beatle’s song “Norwegian Wood” and turned it into his own story, so Trần Anh Hùng has adapted the narrative into his signature creation. It represents an entryway into the director’s own special world of heartbreaking, tender emptiness. Khanh Ho

Director Tran Anh Hung Producers Chihiro Kameyama Shinji Ogawa Screenwriter Tran Anh Hung Cinematograher Mark Lee Ping Editor Mario Battistel Music Jonny Greenwood Can Cast Kenichi Matsuyama Rinko Kikuchi Kiko Mizuhara Japan, 2010 Japanese with English subtitles 133 min, color Narrative

INNOCENT MEMORY

HIBAKUSHA

Director: Nguyễn Thị Nam Phương Singapore, 2012 3 min, color Animation

Director: Steven Nguyen and Choz Belin USA, 2012 40 min, color Narrative, documentary, animation/graphics

A ballad the director dedicated to her parents for the hardship they underwent to give her the life she has today.

An animated short featuring Kaz Suyeishi, an 84 year old woman, who vividly recalls her horrific experiences as a 17-year-old Hiroshima student, on the morning of August 6, 1945, when the atomic bomb dropped on her hometown.

JULIAN Director: Bao Nguyen USA, 2012 40 min, color Documentary

On January 24, 2009, Lance Corporal Julian Brennan of Park Slope, Brooklyn, became the first combat death in Afghanistan during the Obama presidency. The film follows his passage to the Marines, exploring his experiences growing up, his fear of telling his family, and the impact of his decision on his loved ones. Told through the family’s vivid home video footage, Julian’s own video diaries, and present-day interviews, the film is a study of a young man’s inner demons and an intimate portrait of family dynamics, grief, and the mysteries locked therein. 24

PANDORA’S BOX Chiếc Hộp Pandora

KFC

THE WINNING LOTTERY TICKET Số Độc Đắc

WHERE DOES THE WIND BLOW? Ngọn Gió Về Đâu?

Director: Đặng Việt Đức Viet Nam, 2012 19 min, color Narrative

Director: Lê Bình Giang Viet Nam, 2012 12 min, color Narrative

Director: Nguyễn Đức Tú Viet Nam, 2012 8 min, color Narrative

Director: Trịnh Đình Lê Minh Viet Nam, 2011 37 min, color Documentary

Tũn and Nhi, two lonely kids in the neighborhood, find a new friend: a mysterious homeless man.

In this darkly brutal film, gang members turn to killing each other after a man hunt.

An unexpected meeting between a double agent assassin and a prostitute who is at the end of her life.

With a mixture of humor and sympathy, this documentary follows a touring singer as he performs on makeshift stages in the Vietnamese countryside.

PICTURE. PERFECT Director: Winston Titus Tao USA, 2012 24 min, color Narrative

In an aptly named film, a photography competition at the high school means a chance not only at dreams but at groceries, for Russell and his little sister. But when their addict father trades even that for drugs, desperation sets in.

LOVE PUZZLE Cưới Ngay Kẻo Lỡ A romantic comedy, Cưới Ngay Kẻo Lỡ was one of the most anticipated movies in Viet Nam in 2012. The story revolves around 3 main characters. Son is a handsome and talented fashion photographer, who did not much care for serious, committed relationships until he met Khanh Linh, an editor for a fashion magazine trying her best to climb the corporate ladder. Then there’s Tram, a makeup artist and confidante to Khanh Linh, who has worked closely with her for years—but is actually a cross-dressing man and her secret admirer. Son and Khanh Linh meet under the kind of enmity-inducing circumstances typical to the genre, only to be forced to work together, of course. The film satisfies all the requirements of challenging and then uniting its lovers—but comes with some worthy detours that you might not see coming around the gender bend. Cưới Ngay is a light-hearted romp designed to deliver laughs. This is the third romantic comedy to come from Charlie Nguyen, who has also directed highly acclaimed dramas such as The Rebel / Dòng Máu Anh Hùng (2007). A Vietnamese American, Nguyen is a director, producer, and screen writer who has worked in feature films, television series, sitcoms, and documentaries as well as commercials. Cưới Ngay features many a popular actor, including Thai Hoa and Johny Tri Nguyen. Thai Ha

Director Charlie Nguyen Producer Jimmy Pham Nghiem Screenwriter Charlie Nguyen Cinematograhers Diep The Vinh Nguyen Vinh Phuc Editor Nguyen Van Nhan Music Christopher Wong Sound Franck Desmoolin Cast Johnny Tri Nguyen Dinh Ngọc Diep Hoang Phuc Thai Hoa Viet Nam, 2012 Vietnamese with English subtitles 100 min, color Narrative

HERE . . . OR THERE? Đó . . . Hay Đây? Here or . . . There, directed by Siu Pham, is an experimental feature that challenges the viewer to an unusual cinematic adventure. Using nontraditional storytelling with elements of surrealism, the film raises more questions than it answers, and lingers in the mind long after the viewing. Written by Jean Luc Mello, who also stars as “a man,” Here … or There is a film within a film. This becomes apparent gradually, as Mello’s French-speaking gentleman goes about his day with his Vietnamese wife, in the Viet Nam countryside. What seems at first the uneventful existence of an old married couple turns bizarre, as alternate realities begin to emerge, and only partially coalesce when viewers discover that the characters are all cast members of an internal film. As director, Pham makes rich use of the lush landscape from Viet Nam’s countryside, in both cinematography and symbolism. The film combines abstract imagery with realist storytelling techniques, and experiments also in its use of sound. Interspersed with the movie’s dialogue is a vivid cacophony from Viet Nam’s natural environment. Well-executed by its supporting cast, the result is a haunting glimpse into the minds of Pham and Mello. Khoa Vu

Director Siu Pham Producer Vinh Son Nguyen Screenwriter Jean-Luc Mello Cinematograher Cong Danh Phan Editors Julie Beziau Jean-Luc Mello Music Jamasp Jhabvala Sound Franck Desmoulins Manh Hoang Tran Cast Jean-Luc Mello Tu Mai Dang Vinh Son Nguyen Viet Nam, 2011 French, Vietnamese with English subtitles 91 min, color Narrative

BLOOD LETTER Thiên Mệnh Anh Hùng Directed by Victor Vu, this martial arts historical-fantasy begins when a young boy turns up mysteriously at a remote monastery. He spends twelve years under the tutelage of a powerful monk. Now a young man, Nguyen Vu (Huynh Dong) discovers his true identity: He is the last descendent of Nguyễn Trãi, a high scholar of the 1400s. Falsely accused of assassinating the king, Nguyễn Trãi and his extended family were put to death by the machinations of the queen (VânTrang). Although two eunuchs escape from the royal court with the truth of the king’s murder, they are hunted down. One of them manages to write his testimony in blood before he dies…but the Blood Letter disappears. As Nguyen Vu sets on a quest to clear his grandfather’s name, the Blood Letter suddenly resurfaces and everyone in town is now after it. Our hero meets two feisty, swordwielding sisters, Hoa Xuan (Mi Du) and Hoa Ha (Kim Hien), who have their own reasons for wanting to destroy the Queen, and the three join forces. But not so fast: the Queen has sent her deadliest warrior, Tran Tong Quan (Khuong Ngoc), to stop them. Blood Letter is the first film to explore Vietnamese history via the kiếm hiệp (sword fighting) genre. The film’s action director is martial arts superstar Johnny Tri Nguyen (The Rebel and Clash), and fight sequences are captivating, full of special effects. The cinematography, of breathtaking crystal lakes framed by lush mountains, showcases the beauty of Viet Nam’s countryside. This visually stunning film recreates scenes and costumes worth seeing, and a story that you’ve never heard this way before. Danh C. Tran

Director Victor Vu Producers Pham Viet Anh Khoa Le Lam Vien Screenwriters Hong Phuc Doan Nhat Nam Victor Vu Cinematograher Nguyen K’Linh Editors Nguyen Vi Bao Victor Vu Nguyen Minh T Music Christopher Wong Sound Julian Duy Tran Cast Huynh Dong Midu Khuong Ngoc Van Trang Minh Thuan Viet Nam, 2012 Vietnamese with English subtitles 100 min, color Narrative

PURPLE SALEM Salem Tím

DAWN

EGG BABY

STEVEN AND THE BEETLE

Director: Chu Ánh Nguyệt Viet Nam, 2011 7 min, color Narrative

Director: Leon Le USA, 2012 10 min, color Narrative

Director: Nadine Truong USA, 2009 20 min, color Narrative

Director: Piotr Loc Hoang Ngoc Poland, 2012 12 min, color Animation/graphics

Young internet daters arrange to meet for the first time. Things don’t go quite according to plan.

Allison is confronted with her parents’ sexuality, an egg baby project and, for the first time, the attention of a boy. What is her own stance on love and sex, and how much of what she is being taught can she believe?

Humans and insects don’t fraternize in this town. But one day Steven makes a friend, and the friend is a beetle.

HUMAN FORMING Đúc Người

ON DUTY WITH SHU QI Trực Nhật Với Thư Kỳ

ONE DAY Một Ngày

Director: Ngô Bửu Nguyên Viet Nam, 2012 15 min, color Animation

Director: Đỗ Quốc Trung Viet Nam, 2012 18 min, color Narrative

Director: Nguyễn Vũ Minh Đức Viet Nam, 2012 15 min, color Narrative

A young ironworker meets a bearded stranger who claims to “cast” humans: giving old people back their young bodies, and ugly people the beauty they desire.

The prettiest girl in school is now assigned to the seat beside the shyest young man, and neither of them seems happy with the new arrangement. But high school is mean, and you need allies.

A strange man in a mask shuffles wordlessly and doggedly through a series of errands. No one knows where he is heading, but today is special, and he is on a mission.

BATTLE B-BOY

RUN Director: Bao Nguyen Viet Nam, 2012 4 min, color Music video

Official music video for Viet-English rap artist Suboi’s song “Run,” from the 2012 album of the same name. Kinetic collage of young life in Saigon.

In Battle B-Boy, dancers take the word “battle” literally. Crews cross break-dancing and martial arts, battle for prize money, and fight to the beat. The film gives us a group of young b-boys (and one b-girl) who have entered the underground world of violent dance battles. The gang revolves around Mike (Jae Phan), who originally joins up with these criminal activities to earn money for his father’s heart surgery, but in order to progress he must enlist the help of his friends to assemble a team capable of winning the grand prize of $100,000—each! They call themselves Random Tactics, because they are poor inner city kids who’ve had no previous formal training, and they utilize their individual moves in order to be a stronger team. Though originally hesitant, largely due to the fact that the gang can’t afford health insurance should something go wrong, with plenty of cool training sequences, Random Tactics soon becomes the team to beat. Mike and his friends battle their way to the top, and will ultimately face their dirty-fighting nemesis: The Typhoons. Battle B-Boy is the first feature film both written and directed by Frank Lin. Whether it’s martial arts or dance, this is a film about heart, and about fighting for friends and family.

Chanel Phillips

Director Frank Lin Producers Jeff Lam Jason Inouye John Kreng Screenwriter Jeff Lin Cinematograher Jason Inouye Editor Dayne Tanioka Music The LowKeys Theo Caesar Pozzie Mazerati BrokenGlass Music Cody Westheimer Sound Ricardo Garza Cast Jonathan Phan, Ricky Cole, Richie Greenfield, Ingel Catindig, Alison Dahlstrom, Gavin Tran, Megan Nguyen, Longkue Steven Villn Lor, Josh Ventura, JD Rainey, John Kreng, DJ Shy, and Bailey Bailrok Munoz USA, 2012 English 89 min, color Narrative

PLAY LUNCH

BBOY

MY ASIAN AMERICANA

PICTURE. PERFECT.

Director: Cassandra Nguyen Australia, 2011 10 min, color Narrative

Director: Vincent Tran USA, 2012 12 min, color Narrative

Directors: Anida Yoeu Ali & Masahiro Sugano Cambodia, 2011 3 min, color Documentary

Director: Winston Titus Tao USA, 2012 24 min, color Narrative

Her mother has packed little Molly a huge lunch, and asked her to make sure and finish it. But while the other kids have already eaten and are off having fun, Molly watches on, still eating. A chance encounter, though, gives her an idea that combines food, football and friendship.

Growing up the suburbs of middle America, Vicious (Vincent Tran) feels himself blending into the blandness of his environment. But while walking through the city, his life is transformed when he sees a bboy breakin’ on the streets.

It’s the simple things they miss. Exiles and ex-pats, they grew up in the United States but are long and far from home. These are the narratives of Cambodian Americans impacted by US deportation policies.

UPSTREAM Ngược Dòng

STEVEN AND THE BEETLE

16:30

Director: Lê Hoàng Viet Nam, 2012 14 min, color Narrative

Director: Piotr Loc Hoang Ngoc Poland, 2012 12 min, color Animation/graphics

Director: Trần Dũng Thanh Huy Viet Nam, 2012 12min, color Narrative

It isn’t easy being a free spirit in this strictly regimented school, but our protagonist has always been inspired by the lead of a female friend, who seems to flout every rule. Unfortunately, she’s not all she seems.

Humans and insects don’t fraternize in this town. But one day Steven makes a friend, and the friend is a beetle.

Life starts at exactly 16:30 each day for four homeless kids who race around the city selling lotto result sheets.

LITTLE HANOI

MAMA, I’M NOT COMING BACK HOME Tết Này Con Không Về Director: Trinh Dinh Le Minh USA, 2011 16 min, color Documentary

As a documentarian, director Trinh Dinh Le Minh is interested in telling small stories, but telling them well. His camera is a quiet presence here, as it follows three men from Viet Nam who have lived in the US for several years for work and school. For each, it is painful to tell their parents that this year, once again, they will not be coming home. Trinh was born in Ho Chi Minh City, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Film Production at the University of Texas at Austin, as a Fulbright scholar. This is one of two documentaries by Trinh being screened at this year’s ViFF. The other, Where Does the Wind Blow, screens in Set 8. 32

Little Hanoi brings to light the strenuous living conditions of Vietnamese immigrants at the Czech/German border, who must rely on small trade and odd jobs to survive. Early on, roommates Chung and Nguyet admit that life in the Czech Republic is not what they imagined it would be. Their lives revolve around the struggle to earn money, in a country where their opportunities are limited. In hard economic times as have befallen the country, such work as is available to the Vietnamese (running casinos, massage/beauty parlors, etc.) provides little to no income. After a rift in their friendship, Nguyet moves to Slovakia and the documentary continues to follow their separate lives, as the girls become mothers. Struggling to fend off poverty and contend with racism, they ponder the futures of their children, who are Eastern Europeans. Chanel Phillips

Director Martina Sakova Producers Martina Sakova Martin Kleinmichel Screenwriters Martina Sakova Martin Kleinmichel Cinematograher Ines Thomsen Editor Brano Gotthardt Music Martin Kleinmichel Sound Martin Kleinmichel Cast Chung Nguyet Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2012 Vietnamese, Czech, German with English subtitles 78 min, color Documentary

THE CRUMBLES

TWISTER Director: Stephane Gauger USA, 2012 3 min, color Music video

Official music video for Giana Nguyen’s “Twister,” directed by Stephane Gauger of ViFF 2011’s Opening Night film, Saigon Electric. A love song shot in the urban landscape of L.A.

The Crumbles is an independent film about young musicians navigating friendship, romance, and L.A.’s indie music scene. A cast of colorful characters holds day jobs at coffee shops and bookstores to pay the rent while aspiring to be actors and musicians. The story centers around Darla, a responsible and somewhat staid young woman who dreams of starting a band. Enter Elisa: her creative, energetic, and flaky friend who shows up after a break-up and crashes on her couch indefinitely. Add Darla’s sensitive crush down the street, Dante, and an adorable stray dog that becomes part of the gang, and you have the recipe for a dynamic band that seems set to take the LA indie music scene by storm. But, the group has a lot of drama (and hang-overs) to overcome before they can make that happen. The film is interspersed with a number of energy-driven, underground music performance scenes, which stand on their own as a soundtrack worth listening to. Director Akira Boch has directed a number of shorts, music videos, and documentaries. The Crumbles is his first feature film. One of the main characters (Elisa) is played by Teresa Michelle Lee, who is also featured in Beyond the Mat, this year’s opening night selection. Lee is working on a documentary about her grandmother in Viet Nam. Coproducer Lisa Nguyen is also Vietnamese American. The producers of The Crumbles actively encouraged people of color to audition and intentionally cast women in the lead roles. Ivan V. Small

Director Akira Boch Producer Gena S. Hamamoto Screenwriter Akira Boch Cinematograher James Yuan Editor Akira Boch Music Quetzal Flores Sound Curtis X. Choy Cast Katie Hipol Teresa Michelle Lee Ebony Perry Jeff Torres USA, 2012 English 75 min, color Narrative

MOTHER’S SOUL Tâm Hồn Mẹ

HANOI PUBLIC MARKET Director: Michael Digregorio Viet Nam, 2012 27 min, color Documentary

As Hanoi’s public market is slated for redevelopment, its merchants struggle to keep their stalls afloat. In a city being rapidly expanded by developers, the fates of this traditional economic hub and its vendors are uncertain.

Adapted from a short story of the same title by renowned writer Nguyen Huy Thiep, Mother’s Soul follows a motherdaughter relationship on the edges of modern-day Hanoi. When a single mom, played by Hong Anh (The Moon at the Bottom of the Well), falls in love with a handsome truck driver, her tight-knit teamwork with her daughter falters, and with it their fragile livelihood. As the mother becomes deeply involved with her lover, the young girl struggles to take care of herself and to recall her mother to her duties. The girl is by turns a 10-year-old running around the corn field with an orphaned friend, and role-playing as a mother herself. Director Pham Nhue Giang (Deserted Valley) brings a welcome focus on the complexity of the relationships between her female characters. The young actress Phung Hoa Hoai Linh delivers an impressive performance as the daughter, both angry and yearning for her mother’s love. Phung received the Best Actress Award in the AfricaAsia films category at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2011, for this role. The film’s cinematography—of the fields, the Red River, and rainy Hanoi—lends added beauty to the story. Pham studied Film Directing at the University of Theaters and Films in Hanoi from 1982 to 1987. Her feature film Deserted Valley / Thung Lung Hoang Vang received the Silver Lotus Award at the 13th Vietnamese National Film Festival and was screened at ViFF in 2005.

Ysa Le

Director Pham Nhue Giang Producer Vuong Duc Screenwriter Pham Nhue Giang Cinematograher Ly Thai Dung Editor Sylvie Gardmer Music Luong Minh Sound Roman Dymny Cast Hong Anh Phung Hoa Hoai Linh Truong Minh Quoc Thai Bach Tung Lam Viet Nam, 2011 Vietnamese with English subtitles 95 min, color Narrative

PLAY LUNCH

THE RIP Lỗ Thủng

TRAINING DOGS

Director: Lê Bình Giang Viet Nam, 2011 12 min, color Narrative

Director: Ty Sanga USA, 2007 5 min, color Narrative

Director: Nguyễn Thị Minh Phương Viet Nam, 2012 15 min, color Documentary

Director: Cassandra Nguyen Australia, 2011 10 min, color Narrative

In this understated Saigon tale, a young man on a motorbike blows a flat, and takes it to a streetside repair station run by an old man in uniform. The two share stories, connecting over the servicing of the tire, and make something human of a simple exchange. But in today’s Viet Nam, is all as it seems?

In this unsentimental father-son story, Michael returns home from school bruised and beaten. Disappointed, his father is determined to teach him to fight.

With the intimacy of the hand-held camera, we enter the young filmmaker’s home and observe her parents and her pre-teen brother. They are a well-to-do family in modern Viet Nam, but childhood is full of heartbreak for a chubby boy who keeps falling short of the mark.

FOREVER IN HIATUS

ACT THREE

SANTA LAND

Director: Andy Nguyen Viet Nam, 2012 24 min, color Narrative

Director: Vince Pham USA, 2012 10 min, color Narrative

Director: Kim Oanh Nguyen USA, 2012 12 min, color Documentary

A washed up Western pop star lives in exile in Saigon, pedaling a xích lô (bicycle taxi) aimlessly through the streets. When he meets a 16 year-old girl who discovers his strange history, something has to give.

An actress’s memories begin to blur with her role, as her character’s life and death become indistinguishable from her own.

What does Santa do the other 364 days of the year? This short documentary follows the men behind the beards who play him, and discover this holiday gig is not part-time. Watch as retirees Ray and Marlene Kraatz, the official Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus of Zephyrhills, FL, share with us what it takes to be Santa and Mrs. Claus.

GIVE ME A TICKET TO CHILDHOOD Cho Tôi Một Vé Về Tuổi Thơ

PEARLS OF THE FAR EAST Ngọc Viễn Đông Pearls of the Far East takes the viewer on a languid, artful journey through seven shorts (entitled “Childhood,” “The Message,” “Blood Moon,” “The Boat,” “Awakening,” “The Gift,” and “Time”). Each stand-alone story explores the internal worlds of a Vietnamese female character, spanning different ages, locations, and time periods. There is relatively little dialogue; rather, director Cuong Ngo invites us to accompany the camera as it explores the sometimes mundane, often unexpected, and frequently stunning landscapes of Viet Nam—from the Mekong Delta to Mui Ne, Da Lat, Saigon, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hanoi, and Sapa. The last short is set in a snowy North American winter landscape representing the geographic dispersal of Viet Nam’s diaspora. Journeys through childhood, separation, adolescence, regret, renewal, secrecy, desire, memories and aging offer sensory forays into an array of character emotions sure to catalyze our own. Director and producer Cuong Ngo was born in Saigon, Viet Nam, and holds degrees in theatre and film from Viet Nam and Canada. A rich cast of Vietnamese and Vietnamese American characters, including Ngo Thanh Van, Truong Ngoc Anh, Nhu Quynh, Hong Anh, and Kieu Chinh, bring to the screen a variety of acting styles and personalities. Writer Nguyen thi Minh Ngoc is also an actress and screenwriter for the film, which is based on her award-winning short stories. Pearls of the Far East is Ngo’s feature film debut. Ivan V. Small

Director Cuong Ngo Producers Igor Szczurko Tom Yarith Ker Cuong Ngo Screenwriter Minh Ngoc Nguyen Cinematograher Mikhail Petrenko Editor Sylvie Gardmer Music Alexina Louie Alex Pauk Sound Arthur Zaragoza Cast Kieu Chinh Nhu Quynh Truong Ngoc Anh Ngo Thanh Van Viet Nam, Canada, 2011 Vietnamese with English subtitles 103 min, color Narrative

MR. CAO GOES TO WASHINGTON

RETURN TO SENDER Director: Anida Yoeu Ali Cambodia, 2012 8 min, color Documentary

A video letter that collects testimonies by Khmer exiled Americans, extradited to Cambodia under harsh US deportation policies.

AWAKEN: STORY OF A DREAM ACT STUDENT Director: Dieu Huynh USA, 2011 7 min color Documentary

Follow an undocumented student’s fight for the DREAM Act and a chance to contribute to this country he calls home.

Mr. Cao Goes to Washington is director Leo Chiang’s second film to deal with the Vietnamese American community’s political mobilization following Hurricane Katrina. Chiang’s A Village Called Versailles (2009) began with the fight to rebuild New Orleans East, and ended with optimism for finding new voice in local politics and the Catholic Church. One of the indirect results of that mobilization was the election of Joseph Cao, a local attorney and former Catholic seminary student, to the US House of Representatives. But seven years after Katrina, many of those visions remain unrealized. The rise and fall of Representative Cao partly reflect this story. In Mr. Cao, Chiang focuses on Cao’s aspirations and frustrations in representing Louisiana’s second congressional district from 2009-2011. It is, in Chiang’s words, “a fish-out-of-water character study and a commentary on the American political climate at large.” A Republican, Cao defeats a scandal-plagued opponent to win an overwhelmingly Democratic and mostly African American district. He prides himself on moderate bipartisanship and a collaborative relationship with President Barack Obama, but in many ways suffers for it. As the only Republican to vote for the President’s Health Care bill, he is lashed by his own party. Later, opposed to abortion provisions within the final version of the bill, he votes against it, and angers many in his constituency. Despite his attempts to appeal to voters as an ethical individual and independent thinker, Cao is increasingly abandoned by his Republican voting base, and by Democrats alienated by the rightward swing of Cao’s party. Chiang’s documentary is a valuable look inside the arrival and departure of the first Vietnamese American to sit in Congress. Ivan V. Small

Director S. Leo Chiang Producer S. Leo Chiang Screenwriter Minh Ngoc Nguyen Cinematograhers S. Leo Chiang Bao Nguyen Editor Matthew Martin Music T. Griffin Sound Phillip Perkins USA, 2012 English 71 min, color Documentary

HOUSE IN THE ALLEY Ngôi Nhà Trong Hẻm As with most horror films, the beginning of this one is replete with gory visuals. Its outset is not a murder, however, but a terrible miscarriage. This sets up the premise for the rest of the film, as the young couple, Thanh and Thảo, try to deal with the loss of their baby. Time passes, and the couple tries to renovate their strangely intractable new home, while Thanh also has to deal with a workers’ revolt at his factory. Meanwhile Thảo is haunted by the absence of her baby and cannot, or is not allowed to, let go of the past—that being the kernel of every good horror film: the past is never past and the horror of it always intrudes on the present. With good performances from seasoned actress Ngô Thanh Vân and newcomer Trần Bảo Sơn, the film thematizes contemporaneity in the lives of the Vietnamese in a novel way. We witness how the couple, beset by the problems of modern life, comes undone in gruesome fashion. Ngôi Nhà Trong Hẻm is also a glimpse into a kind of popular cultural Vietnamese filmmaking that churns out genre films like the horror film and the comedy fairly regularly in today’s market. Raised in southern California and educated at UCLA, Vietnamese American director Lê Văn Kiệt is one of the few transnational Vietnamese filmmakers who have ventured to make horror films for a mostly young Vietnamese audience. It will be interesting to see if another one lies in his future. Lan Duong

Director Le-Van Kiet Producer Tran Trong Dan Screenwriter Le-Van Kiet Cinematograher Joel Spezeski Editor Le-Van Kiet Music Kevin J. Doucette Bryan Morton Sound Reece Miller Cast Thanh Van Ngo Son Bao Tran Viet Nam, 2012 Vietnamese with English subtitles 93 min, color Narrative

VIETTE A true-to-form independent film, this coming of age story set in Southern California follows the title character’s quest for independence as it spans various formative time periods in her young life. Director-actress Mye Hoang brings to light the struggles of second-generation Asian Americans hoping to break free of their parents’ strict control— even as they strive to graduate high school at the top of the class and get into the best colleges to please them. Her desire to attend Ivy League schools far away from home, and a forbidden love for a white boyfriend, receive stern opposition from Viette’s family, especially her unforgiving father. Bringing a strong feminist perspective to cinema, Hoang provides a quirky vision and powerful voice for the heartache found in the difficult passage to adulthood. Negotiating the world of stereotypes and sex, Viette’s wish for happiness is a portrait of someone trying to please everyone around her except herself. As a modern-day story of the trappings of the American Dream, the film’s edgy and fresh style of storytelling breaks away from traditional themes of guilt, alienation and shame to discover the beauty within tender moments of passion and vulnerability. Hoang’s first feature film, Viette was a finalist for Best Narrative Feature and the Emerging Filmmaker Award at SFIAAFF, and won the Audience Choice Award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for Best Feature. Long Bui

Director Mye Hoang Executive Producer Nick Zahorcak Producers Mye Hoang Eric Hanes Wade Winningham Screenwriter Mye Hoang Cinematograher Andrew Amsden Editor Hutch Cast Mye Hoang Sean McBride Joshua Bednarsky Chi Pham Yen Ly Anh Vo Julie Sufana Eric Hahn Martin McSweeney USA, 2012 English 90 min, color Narrative

WITH OR WITHOUT ME Trong Hay Ngoài Tay Em

THE SACRED TRACE OF LUY LAU Dấu Thiêng Luy Lâu Director: Dao Thanh Hung Viet Nam, 2012 32 min, color Documentary

A temple named Luy Lau in the Thuan Thanh countryside marks the first site of Buddhism in Viet Nam. This documentary follows the meeting of two men—an old writer who has spent his life in Thuan Thanh and a young artist who has grown up in the city—as they team up to preserve the history and culture of this monument. How will they bring this story to Viet Nam’s youth? Comic books. 40

In Dien Bien province, along Viet Nam’s northwest border, poppy plants once grew plenty and wild. The legacy of that drug-farming today is a local population plagued with heroin addiction and HIV. With or Without Me follows two men, both addicts, who endure their personal affliction in different ways. Thi strives to overcome his drug problem, but Trung wants to die. Directors Swann Dubus and Tran Phuong Thao followed their subjects for half a year, allowing the characters to tell their stories in raw unscripted terms. As the men navigate tough decisions with their friends and spouses, the camera offers a window into their unstable mental states and decisions under the influence of a drug habit. This is a film of extraordinary sensitivity toward its subjects, a breakthrough work examining the heavy costs of the heroin industry in Viet Nam’s quickly changing society. With or Without Me presents the daily activities and realities of a population often stigmatized as abnormal or dysfunctional in the media. It is an unstinting yet sympathetic portrait of people with uncertain futures, whose battle reveals the fine line between fate and choice. Long Bui

Directors Tran Phuong Thao Swann Dubus Producers Tran Phuong Thao Swann Dubus Cinematograher Swann Dubus Editor Julie Beziau Sound Tran Phuong Thao Viet Nam, 2011 Vietnamese with English subtitles 80 min, color Documentary

SELF-PORTRAIT AT THE AGE OF 30 Nỗi Buồn Trên Cây

SHE WHO HAS NO MASTER

THE SMALL SLEEP

THE LAST SUPPER Bữa Ăn Cuối Cùng

Director: Hoàng Trần Minh Đức Viet Nam, France, 2012 24 min, color Experimental

Directors: Julie Thi Underhill, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Dao Strom USA, 2012, 22 min, color Experimental

Director: Wesley Nguyen USA, 2012 6 min, color Experimental

Director: Nguyễn Thành Trung Viet Nam, 2011 17 min, color Narrative

A woman’s thirtieth birthday has her wondering whether she has chosen poorly, in the balance between duty and self.

A triptych by three women writer-filmmaker-artists on the shifting terrains of historical and personal violence. Underhill’s “spoils” negotiates the connections between militarism and family violence. Pelaud’s “letgo” incorporates poetry and family photographs in a meditation on her French father and Vietnamese mother. In Strom’s self-mythology, a woman drifts through landscapes after inheriting war and exodus.

A visual poem to death, large and small.

A young girl’s mental illness takes a turn for the worse.

THE ROOM Căn Phòng

THE MAN IN THE FISH BOWL Người Đàn Ông Trong Bể Cá

Director: Nguyễn Hồng Quân Viet Nam, 2012 18 min, color Narrative

Directors: Lê Lâm Viên, Đỗ Như Trang Viet Nam, 2012 18 min, color Narrative

This dreamlike narrative toys with time, using both repetition and suspension to evoke the emotional ambivalence of a man without his lover.

A man wakes up from a dream and finds himself locked inside a strange room. He cannot remember how he got there.

INTERVIEW Duc Nguyen

director of STATELESS

What inspired you to make this documentary? It was serendipity. We were already planning to go to the Philippines to shoot my previous documentary, Bolinao 52, when we found out there were approximately 2000 Vietnamese refugees still living in the Philippines, without any national status. I learned more about their story through the work of people like Brian Doan, a photographer who published a book with VAALA called The Forgotten Ones. And then we met Trinh Hoi, the legal advocate fighting for their asylum. We got to the Philippines at the same time the US immigration officials did. So we followed and filmed the interview process and the refugees themselves. What was your overall goal in making this film? The goals changed over time. When we started out, we hoped to raise awareness for these people who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get to come to the US through the resettlement program in 2005. Then by 2009, everyone got resettled in other countries. Now, the goal is advocacy, to help the stateless Vietnamese in Thailand and Cambodia. What do you hope viewers take away from the documentary? What the audience takes away is up to them. What I want to show in this film is the resiliency and determination of the refugees. Living in a foreign country for 16 or 17 years without the legal rights of a citizen is not an easy life. We have similar stories in this country with illegal immigrants. But living in a third-world country like the Philippines has its own set of challenges. We who have the rights of citizens or even residents sometimes do not know about these challenges. But the core of this film is revealing the anxiety these refugees endured while waiting for their fates to be decided by someone else. What did you learn from making the film? I realized the emotional tolls weigh deep into these people. Sadness cannot begin to describe how they felt. And frankly, I cannot fathom going through so many rejections and disappointments. That feeling is something I could not translate into onto the screen. The stateless taught me that hope will conquer all challenges. No matter how desperate, it was hope that kept them going. And hope can come from many sources, small or large. Are you working on more documentaries? I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any projects like this one lined up. But I hope to be able to continue telling stories that are hard to tell, whether using documentary or other forms of media. The road is wide open and we just have to wait and see. Carol Caro

THE TREE WORKERS CASE The Tree Workers Case is the biggest case of labor exploitation to be uncovered in the EU in the past two decades. Approximately 2000 workers, mostly Vietnamese but also from new EU countries, were systematically exploited in the national forests of the Czech Republic between 2009 and 2010. Contracted to cut down trees in the dense state forests, they are abandoned to near starvation, untreated injuries, and without pay for months of work. In this moving documentary, workers who were lured to Europe only to be enslaved—having in many cases invested their entire life savings or taken out enormous loans to pay for transportation—tell their stories for the first time. However, despite extensive documentation by lawyers and human rights activists, not a single case has yet been brought to court. The film exposes corruption extending from the police force all the way up the Czech legal system, as the forestry industry’s violations of human rights continue.

Director: Daniela Agostini Germanay, Czech Republic, 2012 52 min, color Documentary

Chanel Phillips

STATELESS A short documentary by director Duc Nguyen, “Stateless” tells the story of a group of Vietnamese boat people stranded in the Philippines. Denied entrance into the United States in the 1980s, this group of refugees was without a country for over 16 years, after the closure of the camps. Without legal status or rights, as citizens of nowhere, some of the refugees formed families with Filipinos and had children, but could build no future. When US officials agreed to look at their cases once more, the small group was given a second chance for resettlement. The film “reveal[s] the anxiety these refugees endured when waiting for their fate to be decided by someone else,” explains Nguyen. “Stateless” shows their struggles and hopes to find that place to finally call home. Carol Caro

Director: Duc Nguyen Philippines, USA, 2012 57 min, color Documentary

RESTAURANT SPONSORS

FOUNDING SPONSORS

LIMOUSINE SPONSOR

School of Humanities, Department of Asian American Studies, Vietnamese, American Oral History Project, Department of Film & Media Studies, Center for Asian Studies, UC Irvine Libraries’ Southeast Asian Archive, Vietnamese American Community Ambassadors-an Alumni Chapter, Cross Cultural Center, Vietnamese American Coalition, Asian Pacific Student Association, Southeast Asian Student Association, Vietnamese Student Association.

OFFICIAL PRINTING SERVICE

Asian American Studies Center, Center for Southeast Asian Studies

“FRIENDS OF ViFF” SPONSORS

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR

THIEN DO THI TRUONG

COMMUNITY SPONSOR

MEDIA SPONSORS

VENUE SPONSORS

MAJOR SPONSORS DR. THAI QUOC HA

DOANTUONG NGUYEN ALEX VAN HIEN CHAU

MR. & MRS. THAN NGUYEN

Boch grew up in San Juan Bautista, CA, next door to renowned Chicano theater company El Teatro Campesino, where he first learned about theater and film production. He has an MFA in Film Directing from UCLA. His short films, documentaries, and music videos have appeared on MTV, PBS, and in film festivals across North America and Japan.

ANDY DEJOHN

Charlie Nguyen

Nguyen has worked in film, television, commercials, documentaries and live concerts. His film credits include the Weinstein Company’s awardwinning hit release, The Rebel/ Dòng Máu Anh Hùng (2006), and the Viet Nam box-office record-breaking comedy Long Ruồi (2011). He is currently in production of a martial arts gangster film, Bụi Đời Chợ Lớn.

Choz Belen

DeJohn is graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. His thesis film, “Mother’s Milk,” won the 2012 Fotokem First Film Gold Award and the 2009 Jack Nicholson Award for Screenwriting. His documentary What’s in a Smile? (2010) airs on the Documentary Channel. He has also worked for the Discovery Channel, History Channel and Nat Geo.

Belen made his first mark in the industry in such films as Orphan, The Factory, and Whiteout. His first major independent work was as director for the music video “Sleep,” written by Deep Foundation and featuring Jay Legaspi. Far East Movement, known for their hit “Girls On the Dance Floor,” will have Belen direct their next video, “I Party.”

Andy Nguyen

“Purple Salem” is the first short film Chu has directed.

Nguyen was born in Florida, but spent summers in Viet Nam where his uncles were at the forefront of post-war cinema. He has made films in both countries, winning more than a dozen awards including the Playboy/ Bombay Sapphire Imaginative Filmmakers Spotlight Grand Prize (2012). He is pursuing an MFA in directing at Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program.

Anida Yoeu Ali

Performance artist, writer and global agitator, Ali is a Muslim Khmer American. She earned her MFA in Studio Arts/Performance from School of the Art Institute Chicago. “My Asian Americana” won the public vote for the White House “What’s your story” Video Challenge. Ali has received grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, the NEA, and the Illinois Arts Council.

Bao Nguyen

Nguyen’s photography and films have appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, MTV, Vogue, HBO, and PBS. His first feature, Once in a Lullaby, premiered at Tribeca 2012. He is a 2011 PBS/WGBH Producers Workshop Fellow and a participant of the 2012 Berlinale Talent Campus. His MFA in Social Documentary Film comes from the School of Visual Arts.

Cassandra Nguyen

“Play Lunch” is Cassandra Nguyen’s first film. Since its completion in 2011, the film has won prizes in Chicago, New Jersey and Sydney. The story is based on her childhood memories of receiving large, packed lunches from her mother.

Chu Anh Nguyet Cuong Ngo

Ngo is pursuing his second BA in Film production at York University, Toronto. His “The Golden Pin” (2009) won Best Canadian Short at the Toronto Inside Out Film & Video Festival. Pearls of the Far East won Best Emerging Narrative Feature Filmmaker and Best Cinematography at the 2012 Geneva Film Festival; Best Music and Best Cinematography at the 2012 California Independent Film Festival.

Dan Tran

Tran is CEO of Coco Paris Media and was Board Director for VAALA in 2011. He has seven US patents in computer system design. Tran received his BA from UCLA as a Departmental Scholar, and an MSEE from Stanford University. He produced Ngôi Nhà Trong Hẻm, which was Viet Nam’s first true horror film and a box-office sensation.

Dang Duc Loc

Dang graduated from the University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and is currently working as a Japanese translator. He attended film school at the respected Hanoi DOCLAB and intends to pursue a career in film.

Dang Viet Duc

Dang graduated from the University of Theatre and Cinema HN in 2010, specializing in theoretical critique. He is currently studying directing at SKDA, with plans to continue to hone his practical training in industry. “Pandora's box” is his first film.

Dao Nguyen Thuc

Dao was born in 1987, and studied computer engineering in Malaysia. After a period of working, he left that industry and returned to Viet Nam. It was then he decided to try film.

Dao Thanh Hung

Dao is a graduate of the short filmmaking program at the Uni. of Southern California. A Ford Foundation scholar, he specialized in directing. He received a National Award at the Short Films Festival in 2006 from the Vietnamese Association of Film and Cinema.

Dieu Huynh

Huynh is a undergraduate in Political Science, minoring in Asian American Studies and Labor Workplace Studies. He found documentary filmmaking thanks to the UCLA Center for EthnoCommunications program. He hopes “Awaken” will be shown widely to help the DREAMers and encourage systematic change in America’s immigration policies. Huynh is learning Chinese for his trip to China in Spring 2013.

Daniela Agostini

Agostini was raised bilingually in Bozen/Bolzano, Italy, and now lives in München. She has studied ethnology, political science and social psychology (MA). A trained journalist, Agostini worked for a newspaper for three years, and now freelances for print and television. Since 1998 she has worked for public broadcasters, writing and directing documentaries on social and political topics.

Do Nhu Trang & Le Lam Vien

Do and Le were both born in 1991. They met at film school in Hanoi, and found commonalities in style and views on film. The two have collaborated on several occasions in various film projects.

Do Quoc Trung

Do graduated as valedictorian from film school in 2012, specializing in directing. He was awarded a scholarship to attend Talents campuses in Viet Nam, Korea, Japan, the Philippines. He has made six short films in 2008 and won several awards at film festivals. He intends to make his feature drama debut in 2013.

Duc Nguyen

Nguyen has worked in documentary film and television for over 15 years. His first feature, Bolinao 52, won Northern California Emmy Awards in 2009 for Outstanding Documentary and Music Composition. In 2003, Nguyen served as assistant editor for “The New Americans” and “My Journey Home,” multi-part series for PBS. He is General Manager for Radio VNCR in Little Saigon.

Duong Minh Loc

Duong studied Interior Design but has a passion for making animated films.

Frank Lin

A graduate of UCLA’s film school, Lin has written and directed awardwinning shorts and two feature films. American Fusion (2005) won awards at numerous film festivals; a multiethnic romantic comedy, it includes stars James Hong and Pat Morita. Hysteria (2010), a psychological horror flick, premiered at Scream Fest. Battle B-Boy is his first venture into the action genre.

Giana Nguyen

Nguyen is a singer/songwriter. Her debut solo album, For Now, was released in 2011. She was nominated in the 2011 Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Best Pop Song and the 2012 All Indie Awards for Best Pop Artist. Nguyen is also a piano teacher, a partner at Dancing Keys Music Studio, and a board member at VAALA.

Ha Thuc Van

Ha is CEO of Redbridge TV and Film Production, serving as both executive producer and managing director of the company. She has worked with a range of clients, from Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific to small Vietnamese NGOs. She holds a Master’s degree in International Business from Queen Mary’s College, University of London.

Hoang Tran Minh Duc

Hoang graduated from course 8 as an actor and a director at film school in TP.HCM. He has made “Nhắm” (2009), “Siêu Trộm Nhang” (2010), “Nỗi Buồn Trên Cây” (2012), and acted in “Sữa Mẹ” (2010).

Julie Thi Underhill, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Dao Strom

Underhill is a filmmaker, photographer, poet, and essayist. A Cham-French-American, her artistic and academic work addresses colonialism and war. She is in Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace and other collections. Pelaud is Associate Professor in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State. She authored This Is All I Choose To Tell: History and Hybridity in Vietnamese American Literature and co-edited Troubling Borders in Literature and Art: Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora.

Strom is author of Grass Roof, Tin Roof and The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys, and recipient of NEA and Oregon Arts Commission grants. Also a songwriter, she is currently working on a hybrid music/literary/ visual project.

Instant Noodle is writer and director Nguyen’s second feature film. His first, 14 Days, won best screenplay and silver for best film at the Golden Kite Awards in Hanoi, and the audience award at the Golden Lotus Awards in Saigon. Raised in L.A., Nguyen holds an MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, and now works out of Saigon.

Kim Nguyen

An internationally recognized Vietnamese Canadian writer and director, Nguyen holds a Master’s degree in cinematography from the Université de Montréal. He has also taught cinematographic arts and scriptwriting at ICARI in Montréal, and founded his own production company. He was awarded the 2013 Luc Perreault/ La Presse Prize by the Québec Association of Film Critics for War Witch.

Kim Oanh Nguyen

Born in Viet Nam, Nguyen is a writer/director currently residing in Los Angeles. She is a commercial director who also enjoys working on documentaries, music videos and short films. Her work has garnered numerous awards and she was recently named in Screen Magazine’s “Up and Coming Directors” showcase.

Le Binh Giang

Le graduated at the top of his class at film school in TP.HCM. He has a passion for film, and has made several short films since 2009.

Le Ha Nguyen

Born in 1992 in Hanoi, Le is currently studying directing at Hanoi’s SKDA University.

Le Hoang

Le is currently a third-year student at the University of Hanoi. “Upstream” is his debut short film.

Le-Van Kiet

Le-Van’s short film “The Silence” was awarded best student film in his class at the UCLA School of Film and Television. His feature film debut, Dust of Life, was Closing Night film for ViFF 2007. His second feature, Sad Fish, screened in ViFF 2009. House in the Alley currently holds Viet Nam’s box-office record for opening day.

Leon Le

Mye Hoang

Nguyen Thanh Trung

Born in Saigon, Le moved to the US at the age of 13. A professional dancer/actor/singer, he counts among his favorite credits Cats, Miss Saigon, Chicago, Flower Drum Song, Aida, and most recently Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. “Dawn” is his second short film. Currently he splits his time between New York, L.A. and Viet Nam, working on his third short and first feature films.

Hoang studied film and photography at Southern Methodist University and founded the Asian Film Festival of Dallas. She codirected “Press or Say 2,” which screened at Tribeca Underground and won a WorldFest Houston Remi Award for Best Comedy Short. Hoang has served as the Artistic Director of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, where she headed film programming.

Nguyen graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam in 2010, Department of Economics. Since then, he has participated in film projects at the University of Social Sciences & Humanities, on Ford Foundation funding, and has made two short films. He works in the military telecom group Viettel and is a frequent film critic for several newspapers and magazines.

Luu Trong Viet Anh

Nadine Truong

Nguyen is currently a student at THPT Trần Phú – Hoàn Kiếm – Hanoi. She is involved in the project We Film (WAFM at the Center for Film Talent Development), and is also an active contributor to many newspapers.

Luu studied film directing at the HCMC University of Movie and Theater. He has worked in the news department of Tay Ninh television, as a television writer, and as a reporter for Purple Ink magazine. He has made a number of short films and an experimental documentary about the Thu Thiem ferry, HCMC, before the ferry stopped running.

Luu Huynh

Luu was born in Saigon. He studied filmmaking at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and now works out of Viet Nam. His feature films include Michael and I (1993), The White Silk Dress (2007), The Legend is Alive (2009) and In the Name of Love (2012).

Martina Sakova

Sakova studied directing at Film Academy VSMU in Bratislava in Slovakia, at the Film Academy HFF in Potsdam, and studied experimental media design at the University of Arts in Berlin. She has worked as a producer and director since 1996, for Slovak Television, Pro7, Kurdish broadcasters RojTV Denmark, Tishk & Kurd Yek France, and several production companies.

Masahiro Sugano

A Sundance Film Festival alum, Sugano has accolades stretching from a Student Academy Award nomination in 1997 to LinkTV’s 2010 One Chicago One Nation grand prize. He holds an MFA in film/video/animation from the University of Illiniois, Chicago. His first feature film, Art of Love, is now on DVD; he is working on his second from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Michael DiGregorio

DiGregorio is an academic, filmmaker and former program officer for Media, Arts and Culture in the Ford Foundation's Hanoi office. He has a PhD in Urban Planning from UCLA. He divides his time between consulting on urbanization and climate change; and work on films that bring together his training in urban planning with his experience in media.

Truong holds an MFA in directing from American Film Institute Conservatory. One of three female directors in the AFI program, she was nominated for the VC Golden Reel Award and received the Mary Pickford Scholarship for Excellence in Directing. “Egg Baby” (co-written by Christine No) is one of her thesis films; “Shadow Man,” a Vietnam War drama, is the other.

Nghiem Quynh Trang

Nghiem completed a 2-month course of documentary filmmaking at La Fémis, and a 2-year Masters program in directing at the Ecole International de Creation Audiovisuelle et de Reallisation, both in Paris, France.

Nguyen Buu Ngo

Nguyen studied film animation at Hong Bang University. He and his co-director Huy Thanh Ta share a passion for animation, and have plans to make animated features about Viet Nam. “Human Forming” is their first step in doing that.

Nguyen Dinh Anh

Nguyen trained as an architect but has a passion for cinema. In school, he made two brief clips which won the strong approval of his friends. “Hai Chú Cháu” is his first short drama, made in 2012 and adapted from a short story of the same name by author Huu Thang.

Nguyen Duc Tu

Nguyen is a self-taught film director who studied Graphic Design at the University of Hanoi. He has directed numerous music videos and television shows in Viet Nam.

Nguyen Hong Quan

Nguyen graduated from the University of Theatre and Film Hanoi, specializing in directing. He has also worked in the film industry as a sound engineer. He took courses in film production in Dramatiska, Sweden, funded by Sida funds. Currently, he is preparing a number of short film projects and is active in the field of media and advertising.

Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong

Nguyen Thi Nam Phuong

Nguyen recently received her bachelor’s in digital animation at the School of Art and Design, Nanyang Technological University. She is currently a research assistant at the Earth Observatory of Singapore. With an extensive background in traditional art, Nguyen wishes to experiment with different ways to combine art materials and digital animation.

Nguyen Tri Vien

Nguyen was born in Hue, the central region of Viet Nam. He grew up in Saigon and studied film directing at the University of Theatre and Cinema in Hanoi.

Nguyen Vu Minh Duc

After studying directing in the US, Nguyen returned to Viet Nam. He has worked on productions such as Mỹ Nhân Kế, by Nguyen Quang Dung; Giữa Hai Thế Giới by Vu Thai Hoa; and Vũ Điện Đường Cong (screening this ViFF), by Khoa Trong Nguyen. For his first feature, he is planning a 90-minute horror film about zombies.

Pham Ngoc Lan

Pham graduated from Hanoi University of Architecture in 2009, and is currently a freelance filmmaker and photographer.

Pham Nhue Giang

A graduate of the Hanoi University of Cinematography and the Hanoi University of Architecture, Pham is a well-known director. She has won major national awards for many of her films, including Fled (1996), The Deserted Valley (2001) and Waiting for Tet (2007). Most recently, she won her second Golden Kite Award for The Real and the Ideal (2009).

Ngoc is a graduate of the Polish National Art School in Warsaw and currently a student of cultural studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw. He is studying under the auspices of the Copernicus Foundation’s “Young Entrepreneurs” program.

S. Leo Chiang

Chiang is Taiwan-born, San Francisco-based. His previous film, Emmy-nominated A Village Called Versailles, received eight film festival awards and was broadcast on PBS Independent Lens (2010). Mr. Cao Goes to Washington won the Inspiration Award at the 2012 Full Frame Film Festival. Chiang is a lecturer in the Social Documentation program at the Uni. of California, Santa Cruz.

Siu Pham

Tran Anh Hung

A French-trained and internationally acclaimed director, Tran studied at the Louis Lumière film school. His first feature, The Scent of Green Papaya, won the 1993 Caméra d’Or prize at Cannes, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, making him the first Vietnamese director to be so honored.

Tran Dung Thanh Huy

Tran graduated top of his class from the University of Theatre and Cinema in TP.HCM. “16:30” won the Golden Kite Award for Best Short Film in 2011. He was also awarded Best Directing by the 48 Hour Film Project in TP.HCM in 2011 with the film “Path of the Marble.” He has been making short films since 2006.

Tran Ngoc Sang

Pham was born in Hanoi, grew up in Geneva and now lives in Hoi An, Viet Nam. Having worked as a stage director and butoh dancer, she is now mainly known as an artistpainter, with personal exhibitions from Paris to Washington, DC. Her documentaries include Saigon’s Blues and A Script in Udaipur. Here…or There? is her debut narrative feature.

Tran studied directing at the University of Theater and Films in Ho Chi Minh City, and worked at the News Department for Tay Ninh Television. He has made a documentary about the Thu Thiem Ferry in Ho Chi Minh City. Tran studied at Doclab, a program for documentary and experimental filmmaking.

Stephane Gauger

Tran studied foreign trade and interpretation in Hanoi, but in 2001 she moved to France to pursue filmmaking. She acquired her Masters in Documentary Directing at the Université de Poitiers, France, in 2004. She now works alongside Swann Dubus in Hanoi, as co-director in a variety of documentary films, including “With or Without You.”

Gauger studied Theatre and French Literature at Cal State Fullerton and subsequently worked in camera and lighting on films including Three Seasons, Green Dragon, and Journey from the Fall. His feature directing debut, Owl and the Sparrow (2007), won over ten awards at international festivals. Gauger was featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of 2007.”

Steve Nguyen

Nguyen has helped produce over 40 independent films. His appearances in television and film include Las Vegas, Scrubs, Freaks and Geeks, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He co-manages ChannelAPA.com: a site devoted to broadcasting Asian American entertainment, which has produced numerous videos featuring notable artists in the Asian American community.

Swann Dubus

Dubus studied literature and cinema and has been filming and directing documentary films since 2000. Dubus has worked in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Tran Phuong Thao

Trinh Dinh Le Minh

Born in Saigon, Trinh discovered his passion for cinema while in high school. He has published two books: 10 Tips About Cinematography and When Young Directors Become Older. Trinh is currently pursuing an MFA in Film Production at the University of Texas, Austin, on a Fulbright. He has two documentaries being screened this festival, in sets 8 and 15.

Ty Sanga

As an Ethnic Studies major at the University of Hawaiʻi, Sanga was exposed to groundbreaking documentaries depicting minority struggles, which have inspired his work. He earned an MFA in Film Production from Chapman University. His other filmography includes the short films “Follow the Leader” and “Stones,” which was screened at Sundance.

Van M. Pham

Pham holds a BA in TV Broadcast Productions from Washington State University and an MFA from Chapman with emphasis in Film Directing. On a broadcasting scholarship at Aberystwyth University in Wales, Pham produced and directed his documentary short "A Different Corner." Pham has also directed music videos and commercials. His next feature film which will be a romantic musical.

Victor Vu

Vu holds a BA in film production from Loyola Marymount University and now works out of Viet Nam. He has directed seven feature films in a wide array of genres. His debut, a Vietnamese American drama entitled First Morning, won Best Feature at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. He has two films at ViFF this year: Blood Letter, one of the most expensive Vietnamese films ever produced; and Scandal, a major critical and box-office success in Viet Nam.

Vince Pham

Pham was born in Viet Nam and raised in Orange County. During high school, his work had already been played on network television and screened at national film festivals. He attended Orange Coast College and then moved to Hollywood. He has established himself as a music video director, commercial director, and has several short films.

Vincent Tran

Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Tran moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking professionally. His style of directing revolves around human connection and spiritual journeys. As a participant of the Global Alliance of Transformational Entertainment, Tran focuses on conscious awakening through film, for a new generation of storytelling.

Wesley Nguyen

Nguyen is devoted to the study of film and art. A keen observer and avid learner, he dreams of honing his skills and perfecting his personal art of filmmaking.

Winston & Aaron Tao

Originally from Orange County, CA, twins Winston and Aaron Tao work both in front of and behind the camera. Winston graduated from Chapman University’s Film Production program in 2012. Aaron is pursuing his Masters in Media Arts and Communications from Dallas Theological Seminary. Their thesis film, “Picture. Perfect,” swept Chapman’s annual Cecil Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Production Design. It was recently accepted into the prestigious Warsaw International Film Festival.

Tel.: 714-722-8736 vincepham0321@yahoo.com www.vincepham.com

AN INTERROGATION Một cuộc thẩm vấn Un Interrogatoire

Nghiêm Quỳnh Trang Branická 537/103 Praha 4 Prague, Czech Republic Tel.: +420 777 71 31 05 trangnghiem83@gmail.com

AWAKEN: STORY OF A DREAM ACT STUDENT Dieu Huynh Tel.: 408-569-2453 dieuhuynh@gmail.com

B-BOY

Vincent Tran http://www.youtube.com/viciousct

BATTLE B-BOY

LLR Productions Frank Lin 3365 Overland Ave #5 Los Angeles, CA USA Tel.: 310-869-2051 dangerfrog8@gmail.com www.battlebboy.com

BEYOND THE MAT

Jumpstart Pictures Van M Pham 11101 Condor Ave Fountain Valley, CA USA www.beyondthematTHEMOVIE.com

BLOOD LETTER Thiên Mệnh Anh Hùng

Phuong Nam Film Le Lam Vien 940, 3/2 Street, Ward 15, District 11 TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: 84(8) 38663 447 vienll@pnfilm.com.vn www.pnfilm.com.vn

BOOKSELLER & SHOE SELLER Bán Sách Và Bán Giày HKFilm Nguyễn Trí Viễn 24A Trần Bình Trọng Bình Thạnh Sài Gòn, Việt Nam Tel.: 0902500150 vientringuyendd@gmail.com

THE CRUMBLES

Chicken Teriyaki Bingo Productions LLC Gena S. Hamaoto 4826 Algoma Ave Los Angeles, CA 90041 Tel.: 949-872-8536 info@thecrumbles.com www.thecrumbles.com

DAWN

Leon Le 600 W. 163rd St #33 New York, NY USA Tel.: 310-962-0826 leonlenyc@yahoo.com www.dawntheshortfilm.com

EGG BABY

Nadine Truong www.nadinetruong.com

FIVE PUNISHMENTS Năm Diều Phạt

Dương Minh Lộc 36/6 Ấp Đông Thuận An Bình Dương, Viet Nam Tel.: 01657054987 locduongminh@gmail.com

FOREVER IN HIATUS

Andy Nguyen 502 W. 113th St #1A New York, NY 10025 Tel.: 813-784-5602 nguyenandy87@gmail.com www.andynguyenfilms.com

GIVE ME A TICKET TO CHILDHOOD Cho Tôi Một Vé Về Tuổi Thơ Nguyễn Thị Minh Phương 313 đường Hoàng Mai,Đền Lừ Hoàng Mai Hanoi, Viet Nam minhphuong227@gmail.com

GO PLAYING WITH ICE Chở Đá Đi Chơi

Young Media Lưu Trọng Việt Anh 89 Lê Thánh Tôn, Q1 TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam

HANOI PUBLIC MARKET

IN THE NAME OF LOVE Lấy Chồng Người Ta Vi-Phim Luu Huynh 125/12 Nguyen Cuu Van Bình Thạnh TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: 0908078110 luu_huynh@yahoo.com

INNOCENT MEMORY

Phuong Nguyen Tel.: +65 91723222 namphuong323@hotmail.com www.tutistudio.com

INSTANT NOODLE Vũ Điệu Đường Cong

WE Entertainment Nguyễn Trọng Khoa 367 Phạm Ngũ Lão TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: +84989882271 khoaman@gmail.com

JULIAN

Thought at Work Films Bao Nguyen 239 Cach Mang Thang Tam #A13 P4, Q3 TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: 01245534942 bao.minh.nguyen@gmail.com www.thoughtatwork.com

KFC

Ha Thuc Van Red Bridge Film & TV Production No 1, Trang Tien St Hanoi, Viet Nam 84-4 3944 7399

Lê Bình Giang 26 Xô Viết Nghệ Tỉnh Bình Thạnh TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: +84903681328 longw.1712@gmail.com

HERE … OR THERE Đó ... Hay Đây

THE LAST SUPPER Bữa Ăn Cuối Cùng

Siu Pham www.siupham.com

HIBAKUSHA

Studio APA Steve Nguyen PO Box 5171 Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA USA Tel.: 310-561-6860 snguyen1230@yahoo.com www.studioapa.com

HOUSE IN THE ALLEY Ngôi Nhà Trong Hẻm

Coco Paris Dan Tran 9550 Bolsa Ave #216 Westminster, CA USA Tel.: 949-701-7214 dantt@yahoo.com www.cocoparismedia.com

HUMAN FORMING Đúc Người

Tiến Lên studio Ngô Bửu 134/145, Đoàn Văn Bơ P9, Q4 TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: 0993002961; 01264488989 tienlenstudiovn@yahoo.com.vn thanh_huy_31@yahoo.com www.tienlenstudio.com

Nguyễn Thành Trung Số 33 Tân Xuân Từ Liêm Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: 0936714090 trung.rwo@gmail.com www.rworks.org

LITTLE HANOI

Projector23 Martina Sakova Reichenbergerstr.125 Berlin, Germany Tel.: +493064839650 tinasako@yahoo.de www.projector23.de

LIVING TOGETHER Chung Sống

Hanoi DOCLAB Nguyễn Trinh Thi 56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học Hoàn Kiếm Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: (844) 3734 2252, ext. 39 hanoidoclab@gmail.com www.hanoidoclab.org

LOVE PUZZLE Cưới Ngay Kẻo Lỡ

Chanh Phuong Co., LTD Tawny Truc Nguyen 69/1/15 D2 St., Ward 25 Binh Thanh Dist TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: (84-8) 6291 2179 tawnytn@chanhphuongfilms.vn www.chanhphuongfilms.vn

MAMA, I’M NOT COMING BACK HOME Tết Này Con Không Về The University of Texas at Austin Trinh Dinh Le Minh 3802 Duval St Austin, TX USA mlightvn@yahoo.com

THE MAN IN THE FISHBOWL Người Đàn Ông Trong Bể Cá Lê Lâm Viên 502B, 78 Láng Hạ Ba Đình Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: +841682498819 mr.levien@gmail.com

MOTHER’S MILK Sữa Mẹ

Andy DeJohn 115 N. Kenmore Ave #4 Los Angeles, CA USA Tel.: 773-732-2519 amdejohn@gmail.com www.mothersmilkfilm.com

MOTHER’S SOUL Tâm Hồn Mẹ

Pham Nhue Giang Hãng Phim Truyện Việt Nam

MR CAO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Walking Iris Media S. Leo Chiang 2263 15th Street San Francisco, CA 94114 Tel.: 415-829-8592 leo@walking-irs.com www.mrcaofilm.com

MY ASIAN AMERICANA Studio Revolt Anida Yoeu Ali 1348 Glen Hill Dr Glendale Hts, IL 60139 Tel.: 312-933-4426 anida@studio-revolt.com www.studio-revolt.com

NORWEGIAN WOOD

Laura Kim laura@redflagreleasing.com

ON DUTY WITH SHU QI Trực Nhật Với Thư Kỳ

Đỗ Quốc Trung 24 Thịnh yên Hai Bà Trưng Hà Nội, Việt nam Tel.: +84 987891990 doquoctrung2211@gmail.com

Shadowplayfilm Nguyen Minh Huy 485/28/23 Quang Trung P10, Go Vap TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: 0909502930 nguyen.minh.huy@gmail.com www.shadowplayfilm.com

THE OTHER WINTERS Những Mùa Đông Khác Revolver Team Lê Hà Nguyên 16 Ngõ 8 Bùi Ngọc Dương Hai Bà Trưng Hai Hanoi, Viet Nam

PANDORA’S BOX Revolver Media Dang Viet Duc 514 – K2 Thành Công Ba Đình Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: 0989388900 whoneedsgirls@yahoo.com

PAPER PLANE Máy Bay Giấy

Studio 310 Đào Nguyễn Thức 28B Điên Biên Phủ - Dãy B5 Nhà số 18, Ba Đình Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: 0914260187 imsiletndreamer@gmail.com

PEARLS OF THE FAR EAST Ngọc Viễn Đông

Oriental Pearls Production Inc. Matt Guerin 76 Shuter St, Unit 406 Toronto Ontario, Canada Tel.: 4168462171 oientalpearlsmovie@gmail.com www.pearlsofthefareastmovie.com

PICTURE. PERFECT.

Twin Taoers Ngoc Ho 1409 East Florida Place Anaheim, CA USA Tel.: 714-489-1913 ho.thien.ngoc@gmail.com

PLAY LUNCH

Noodle Films Tamara Small 5 Waterloo Crescent Lesmurdie Perth WA, Australia Tel.: (08) 6552 7721 tamarasmall@me.com www.playlunchfilm.com

PURPLE SALEM Salem Tím

TPD Chu Ánh Nguyệt 51 Trần Hưng Đạo Hoàn Kiếm Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: (04) 39366559 tpdmovie@gmail.com www.tpdmovie.com.vn

RETURN TO SENDER

Studio Revolt Anida Yoeu Ali 13348 Glen Hill Dr Glendale Hts, IL 60139 Tel.: 312-933-4426 anida@stuidio-revolt.com www.studio-revolt.com

STATELESS

Right Here in My Pocket Productions Duc Nguyen 9022 Bitteroot Cir Fountain Valley, CA USA Tel.: 510-593-5395 duc@rhimp.com www.rhimp.com/stateless

THE RIP Lỗ Thủng

STEVEN AND THE BEETLE

Trường ĐH Sân Khấu Điện Ảnh TP.HCM Lê Bình Giang 26 Xô Viết Nghệ Tỉnh Bình Thạnh TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: +84903681328 longw.1712@gmail.com

The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School Mariola Gawinek Targowa Street 61/63 Lodz, Poland Tel.: +48 42 63 45 953 mg@filmschool.lodz.pl www.filmschool.lodz.pl

THE ROOM Căn Phòng

THE STORY OF ONES Chuyện Mọi Nhà

www.yxineff.com

RUN

Bao Nguyen Thought at Work Films Bao Nguyen 239 Cach Mang Thang Tam #A13 P4, Q3 TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: 01245534942 bao.minh.nguyen@gmail.com www.thoughtatwork.com

SACRED TRACE OF LUY LAU Dấu Thiêng Luy Lâu Audio Visual Global – AVG Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: 0984181177 daothanhhung.vn@gmail.com

SANTA LAND

Backyard Productions Justin Lee 248 Main St Venice, CA USA Tel.: 310-314-1122 justin@backyard.com www.backyard.com

SCANDAL Bí Mật Thảm Đỏ

Galaxy Studios Tran Thi Bich Ngoc 9/2 Ton Duc Thang, Ben Nghe Ward District 1 TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam ngoctb@galaxy.com/vn www.galaxystudio.vn

SELF-PORTRAIT AT THE AGE OF 30 Nỗi Buồn Trên Cây Minh Duc Hoang Tran hoang.tran.minh.duc.k8@gmail.com

SHE WHO HAS NO MASTER Dao Strom 5910 NE Hoyt St Portland, OR 97213 gentlesongs@gmail.com

THE SMALL SLEEP

Wesley Nguyen wesnguyen@hotmail.com

Phạm Ngọc Lân 35 Kim Mã Ba Đình Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: 0084 983 603 447 lan.pham.architecture@gmail.com www.phamngoclan.com

WHERE DOES THE WIND BLOW Ngọn Gió Về Đâu Varan Vietnam Trinh Dinh Le Minh 3802 Duval St Austin, TX 78751 mlightvn@yahoo.com

THE WINNING TICKET Số Độc Đắt

49/51CINEMA Nguyễn Đức Tú P209, Block A, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai 3 New Saigon TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: 0905556456 ndtu28@gmail.com

WITH OR WITHOUT ME Trong Hay Ngòai Tay Em Tran Phuong Thao tpthao1977@yahoo.fr

YXINE FILM FESTIVAL Marcus Manh Cuong Vu director@yxineff.com

TRAINING DOGS

Ty Sanga 91-1010 Kupekala St Ewa Beach, Hawaii USA Tel.: 808-386-2548 tyronesanga@gmail.com

THE TREE WORKERS CASE INTER/AKTION GmbH Aleksandra Bielz Schwanthalerstr. 76 80336 Munich Germany Tel.: +49 (0)89 74219500 info@interaktion.com

TWISTER

Giana Nguyen www.giananguyen.com UNCLE AND NEPHEW Hai Chú Cháu Terre Media Productions Viet-Trieu Huynh 98/5A1 Khu Phố 2 Phường Đông Hưng Thuận, Q12 TP Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam Tel.: +841229192649 terremediapro@gmail.com

UPSTREAM Ngược Dòng

June Entertainment Company Limited Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn 149A Nguyễn Thái Học Ba Đình Hanoi, Viet Nam Tel.: 084 4 62732610 junecompany@gmail.com

VIETTE

Mye Hoang http://undertowpictures.com

WAR WITCH

Tribeca Enterprises Ian Tarbert itarbert@tribecaenterprises.com

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Abraham Ferrer Nhu-Ngoc Ong, PhD Alex Van Nhuan Nguyen-Tong, M.D. Anderson Le Peter Trinh Anhabelle Pham Phu Thien Giao Barbara Gaerlan, PhD Phillip Hoang Bui Binh Ban Pho Bolsatv Cát-Vi Phuong Nam Phim Chanh Phuong Films Postique Chau Haller Quinn Bui Chaulinh Mai, D.D.S. Quoc Thai Chosen Stephane Gauger Chuong T. Bui, Esq. Tam Nguyen Dan Huynh (Nguoi Viet Daily News) Davina Samuel Tam Nguyen (VACOC) Diane Lamperts Technicolor Dinh Xuan Thai Thai Phi Do Tai Thang Thanh Ngoc Doantuong Nguyen Thanh Tam Duy Anh Ton Thanh-Thao Nguyen Freevn.net Thao-Ly Nguyen Galaxy Thien Do Georges Van Den Abbeele Thomas Phan Gia Ly Thu-Huong Nguyen-Vo, PhD Giana Nguyen Tran Thi Bich Ngoc Hoa-Binh Le Travis Beneian Hien Chau VanAnh Nguyen Hon Viet TV Victoria To-Uyen Hong Van Vinh Hoang Huong Tho Jack Toan Jonathan Bao Huynh Special thanks to all our Katie Thuy-Tien sponsors, the press, and Kelly Doan especially the artists, staff, Ken Dat Duong, Esq. and volunteers of ViFF 2013! Kiet Nguyen Kurt Anderson Lorna Paul Marcus Manh Cuong Vu Matt Maccabe Me Viet Nam Radio & Nhu Hao Michael Nam Nguyen Michelle Thai, M.D. Mike Peterson Nancy Warzer-Brady Ngoc Lan Nguyen Manh Trinh Nguyen Nhu Nhu Khue Nha Lan

Asian American Studies Program, California State University Fullerton Asian Pacific Student Association–UC Irvine Bowers Museum California Young Women’s Collaborative (CYWC) Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network  East West Players Theater El Centro Cultural de Mexico Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) Horizon Cross Cultural Center Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) National Association of Asian American Professionals–Orange County Oceanside Museum of Art Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA) Pacific Arts Movement Project MotiVATe Social Assistance Program for Vietnam (SAP-VN) Southeast Asian Student Association–UC Irvine The Cambodian Family The Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation UC Irvine Libraries Southeast Asian Archive UCLA Asian American Studies Center UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation (VACF) Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County (VACOC) Vietnamese American Coalition–UC Irvine Vietnamese American Community Ambassadors–A UCI Alumni Chapter Vietnamese American Oral History Project at UC Irvine Vietnamese Student Association–UC Irvine Visual Communications

FILM TECHNICIANS Alex Van Duc M. Nguyen

MASTERS OF CEREMONIES Thuy Vo-Dang and Tran Tuong Huy

GUEST RELATIONS Titi Mary Tran, Chair Ann Phong Carol Caro Danh Tran Diana Esquivel Duc Nguyen Joe Reinsvold Kim Xuyen Vo Lisa Le Suzie Ng Tanya Truong Thang Nguyen Vi Tran Vivian Nguyen

OPERATIONS MANAGER Ethan Nguyen

LIVESTREAM Stefan Nguyen OPERATIONS MANAGERS Julie Vo Wolfgang Shane PHOTOGRAPHERS Carol Caro Chris Le David Pham Duc Nguyen Ha Lam Holly Ha Nguyen Hung Vuong Khoa Huynh Khoa Vu Matthew Garza Michael Burr Quyen Lam Thy Le Triet Dang Truc Lam PUBLIC RELATIONS Stefan Nguyen, Chair Chanel Philips Charlie Lee Diana Esquivel Hieu Vu Jane Le Julie Vo Khanh Ho Khoa Vu Kristine Hoang Lisa Le Suzie Ng Tam Le Thuy Vo-Dang Vivian Nguyen Ysa Le

RECEPTION & AFTER-PARTY COORDINATORS Darlena Tran Helena Tran Thuy Vo-Dang Giana Nguyen Stefan Nguyen SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM COORDINATORS Tram Le Tu-Uyen Nguyen TRAILER / TEASER Doantuong Nguyen (ViFF 2013 official trailers & awards announcement) Stephane Gauger (Inspiration Award clip) Thi Truong (ViFF introduction clip) Thien Do (Pre-ViFF2013 trailer) TRANSLATIONS Anh Thang Dao Joe Reinsvold Tue Quan Tran Tung Tran Ysa Le WEBSITE Quyen Lam, Webmaster James Dinh

VOLUNTEERS Ai-Vy Tran Alyce Van Amy Nguyen Anh Ngo Charlie Lee Chau Nguyen Christopher Le Danny Tan Duc Luong Duy Tran Elaine Won Ethan Nguyen Holly Ha Nguyen Huan Denny Nguyen Jane Le Jeff DeGuia Jen Pham Jenny Quach Jessy Needham Joe Reinsvold June Vu Khoa Ha Khoa Huynh Khoa Vu KimLoan Ta Kristine Hoang Le Xinh Tran Leanne Tu Lisa Le Mai Tran Martin Nguyen Natalie Newton Ngoc Tram Nhan Nguyen Phi Duong Phuc Doan Phuong Nguyen Richard To Stephanie South Susie Willemsz-Geeroms Thang Nguyen Tony Vu Tram Le Tramanh Hoang Triet Dang Trinh Mai Truc Bui Van Nguyen Vi Tran

VAALA’s objectives include: • To produce artistic programs that promote the vitality of Vietnamese arts and culture • To implement the arts as an educational tool for exploring the Vietnamese experience, with a focus on the diaspora • To provide a space for artists and audiences of all backgrounds to interact in an ongoing dialogue • To facilitate communication, tolerance and understanding among people of diverse identities • To advocate inclusiveness by utilizing the arts to transcend boundaries both within the community and globally

Vietnamese Language & Culture www.vnlcclub.info Founded in 1994 to preserve and promote Vietnamese culture, VNLC has grown to encompass serving the greater community in our mission statement. To realize our goal of community outreach and sharing the Vietnamese culture, we run several tutorial and cultural projects. With our Friday Tutorial, we provide free Vietnamese language lessons and cultural studies classes to college students here on the UCLA campus. Our Saturday Tutorial program, which takes place in the San Fernando Valley area, offers Vietnamese language classes to children of age five to high school. In the same area, our REACHE (Rendering Encouragement in Academic Commitment for Higher Education) project makes available to students at Canoga Park High School the opportunity to receive tutoring for all academic subjects. 52

Every year, we put together a Tet Festival at UCLA both to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year and to expand the understanding of the Vietnamese culture. Additionally, we collaborate with VAALA (Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association) on many artistic and cultural projects, one of which is ViFF, the first-ever Vietnamese International Film Festival. Furthermore, we are planning a new project which involves traveling back to Viet Nam to serve the community there. VNLC is not simply a community service organization but is also a close family that has a lot of fun together. New members often give as their reason for joining VNLC the fact that they felt very welcome and that the older members make a big effort in making them feel at home. Aside from the volunteer work, we also have many fun activities like ice skating, bowling, skiing at Big Bear, camping at Yosemite, and much more!

You are an artist. You see the true beauty in creative expression. You strive to elevate our culture. You believe the arts make our community and the world a richer place. For your dedication and your passion, we salute you.

Union Bank is proud to sponsor the 2013 Vietnamese International Film Festival.

Tustin Branch– 13300 Newport Avenue, Tustin, CA 92780 Davina Samuel, Branch Manager, 714- 730- 9462 Westminster Branch– 15377 Brookhurst Street, Westminster, CA 92683 Lynn Huett, Branch Manager, 714- 531- 5408 Huntington Beach Branch– 16141 Beach Boulevard, Huntington Beach, CA 92647 Philip Myers, Branch Manager, 714- 375- 5600

unionbank.com

QUAN HY RESTAURANT

Congratulates the 6th biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival! quan hy Restaurant 9727 Bolsa Ave Westminster, CA 92683 Tel: 714.775.7179 Quan Hop Restaurant 15640 Brookhurst St Westminster, CA 92683 Tel: 714.689.0555

BRODARD RESTAURANT & BRODARD CHATEAU proudly support ViFF 2013 Brodard Restaurant 9892 Westminster Ave #R Garden Grove, CA 92844 Tel: 714.530.1744 Brodard Chateau 9100 Trask Avenue Garden Grove, CA 92844 Tel: 714.899.8273

Warmly salute the 6th biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival!

MediZen Advanced Imaging David Tuan Mai, MD 17305 Brookhurst Street Fountain Valley, Ca 92708 (714) 968-8998 www.medizenimaging.com

TOTAL REHAB & HEALTH CENTER, INC. Dieumy Michelle Thai, MD 16401 Magnolia Street Westminster, CA 92683 (714) 596-4288 www.octotalrehab.com

Every single Vietnamese Americanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life has a story to tell, and there is not a better way of telling these stories than through Cinema. Thank you for inspiring us with the shared experience between art & life, people & history.

Proudly supported by

Is proud to support ViFF 2013!

VIET TIDE (714) 262-7028

is proud to sponsor

The 6th Biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival! SAIGON BROADCASTING TELEVISION NETWORK 10501 Garden Grove Blvd Garden Grove, CA 92843 Tel. (714) 636-1121 sbtn.net

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