More than 30 short films produced during the film maker weekend of the first 48 Hour Film Project in Vietnam are being shown to the public for the first time December 13-15.
The films are being shown at Mega Star Cinema in Hung Vuong Plaza, Ho Chi Minh City, and Vincom Tower in. The Grand Awards Ceremony is set to be held on December 16 at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House.
The original screening and ceremony plan was changed due to some technical problems. However, according to Ross Stewart, Vietnam 48HFP Producer, Vietnam has hosted one of the biggest first-time “48 Hour Film Projects” in this global event.
“I always knew that we would receive a diverse collection of films from the 48 Hour Film Project in the first year. But the quality of the films that were made during the 48HFP exceeded my expectations. Some of independent film makers of Vietnam have a keen vision of visual composition and as well as a unique gift for telling stories of misconceived appearances. Many films deal with this issue and leave the audiences feeling a little guilty for judging characters and the storylines by their first impressions.”, told Ross.
The 47 participating groups were encouraged to work with a local composer and/or musicians to write and record music for the films. Each team got a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to be included in their movie. This year’s Prop was a stick of incense, the Character was “Pham Minh An” - a taxi or Xe om or Cyclo driver, and the line of dialogue was “You know, same same but different”. The number of members in each team varied from 5 to 20 and came from all walks of life with their ages ranging from 6 to 60 years old. Over the course of a weekend from October 29th to 31st, teams wrote, shot, edited and scored their films all in just 48 hours. The finished film had to be a minimum of four minutes in duration, and a maximum of seven minutes – not including credits.
Among 36 films submitted, only 31 films made it in time for the organiser’s deadline. The main awards include Best Film, Best Director and Best Acting. Afterwards, the Best Film in the 48 Hour Film Project in Vietnam will be screened at the Filmapalooza to be held at the Miami International Film Festival in the US in March next year – all films entered at Filmapalooza will compete for the coveted title of Best Film from the 48 Hour Film Project 2010 and a place in a special screening at Cannes Film Festival in France.
The late films are only eligible for the audience awards which will be voted on during the screening times at MegaStar Cinemas. Audience will be given special cards with a list of films that will be shown on that day/night and they must choose 3 of their favourite films and then put their vote in a collection box as they leave. Their votes will be counted and the special award will be given at the Awards Ceremony.
The 48 Hour Film Project began in Washington, DC in 2001, and in 2009, it was celebrated in 76 cities all over the world.
