After nearly a week of many exciting activities, the second Da Nang Asian Film Festival, 2024 (DANAFF II) has come to an end. Da Nang continued leaving a bold mark, from organisation to connection, promotion and communication worthy of the brand ‘the City of Events and Festivals’.

Impressive cinematic party

Following the positive results of the first DANAFF I, DANAFF II with a series of large-scale and professional events and activities, attracting a large number of prestigious domestic and foreign filmmakers, directors and actors.

A highlight of this festival is that it attracted many famous film crews and artists to theaters for interactions with the Da Nang audience after each film screening. Along with that, it also organised an exchange programme between artists and fans, creating opportunities for audiences to join face-to-face meetings with artistic talents.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Hien, a student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Theater and Cinema, said: “At DANAFF II, I meet and talked with movie idols that I had only seen on the screen before. This made me happy. In addition, through the activities of the film festival, I learned a lot of knowledge, supporting my future study and work.”

This festival saw the participation of many artists and actors such as People’s Artist Nhu Quynh, People’s Artist Lan Huong and People’s Artist Le Khanh who appeared at DANAFF I as judges.

Besides, there were many new faces, from veteran artists to directors and young actors of the Vietnamese cinema industry, also coming to DANAFF II in different roles. Whether it was the first or second time, everyone expressed their impression of the scale and thoroughness of Da Nang’s film festival organisation.

Actress Tin Nguyen from the the film crew ‘Face Off 7: One Wish’ expressed happiness, mixed excitement and nervousness when participating in the film festival for the first time. This was also the first time Tin Nguyen has tried her hand at acting, so DANAFF II was an opportunity for her to interact and learn from famous artists as well as integrated into the international cinema atmosphere.

“I am very happy with a fact that the Da Nang audience supported the film and its crew. On behalf of the film crew, thank you to Da Nang for organising a magnificent film festival, a meaningful playground for those working in the film industry, as well as fans who love this art,” said actress Tin Nguyen.

Meanwhile, as an experienced actor participating in DANAFF II as a crew member of the film ‘Soul Eater’, Meritorious Artist Chieu Xuan emphasised that the atmosphere of DANAFF II was very wonderful, especially the Da Nang audience very enthusiastically paid much attention to the film festival and cinema activities.

Exchange sessions with union members at the theater or at other activities attracted many audiences, especially young fans. Before the film festival took place, Da Nang people had lined up and bought all the movie tickets, making those working in the film industry very happy and touched.

Filmmakers, actors and actresses stride on the red carpet of DANAFF II. Photo: X.D

“DANAFF is an international film festival, with many good, quality films in both content and artistic elements from many countries. This is proof of DANAFF II’s success in attracting and gathering good series of films that are loved by the public. The presence of Vietnamese films in the Asian film competition category this time also partly proves that Vietnamese cinema is on par with countries with developed cinema in the region and around the world.”, Meritorious Artist Chieu Xuan acknowledged.

Building the brand ‘City of Cinema’

It could be said that DANAFF II was an opportunity for filmmakers and audiences to meet and build new relationships, contributing to the development of the film industry of Da Nang and the region as a whole. Through the academic activities of DANAFF II, many experts and reputable international filmmakers shared their perspectives and solutions to promote the film career in Viet Nam, and Da Nang in particular.

According to Assoc. Prof., Ph.D Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Director of the Viet Nam National Institute of Culture and Arts, DANAFF needs to find resources and remove bottlenecks to build a brand like the Busan Film Festival in South Korea, but imbued with the identity of the coastal city of Da Nang.

Meanwhile, sharing experienceto build the ‘the City of Cinema’ brand with Da Nang, Director Park Kwang Su, Chairman of the Busan Film Festival, said that the audience is an important factor determining success or failure of a film festival.

In addition to providing professional cinema training for young creative forces, the local government needs to pay attention and have a policy to enhance the audience’s enjoyment level.

“A sustainable film festival brand must have an intelligent audience that can protect the festival, or must have a way to attract a lot of young audiences. Film festivals can only develop when there are good audiences and good-quality films”, Director Park Kwang Su emphasized.

For two consecutive years hosting international film festivals, Da Nang once again affirmed its brand as a city of festivals and events. According to Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairman cum Head of the DANAFF II Organising Committee Tran Chi Cuong, DANAFF offers a good opportunity for the city’s film industry to meet, approach and discuss directly with leading experts from different Asian countries and the long-standing cinema of France.

With the favourable location of a central coastal city, Da Nang confirms that the cultural sector, especially the film industry, is a key industry in the development orientation of elevating Da Nang into a city of film events.

DANAFF serves as a bridge for filmmakers, actors, and audiences at home and abroad to exchange, learn and cooperate in the film industry.

The opinions of experts from countries with rich experience in organising international film festivals will help the city research appropriate public-private cooperation models and mechanisms to mobilise social resources  and promote investment from the community so that the DANAFF development can be on the right track, becoming a prestigious international film festival in the region.

Reporting by XUAN DUNG – Translating by A.THU, V.DUNG