Veteran Vietnamese actress judges AIFFE Film Festival

Vietnamese actress and director Hong Anh is one of the judges at the 6th ASEAN International Films Festival (AIFFA) in Sarawak, Malaysia from August 2 to 4.

Others in the jury panel include Malaysians U-Wei Bin Haji Saari and Effendee Mazlan; Turkish Ihsan Nurullah Kabil and Indonesian Viva Westi.

AIFFA was established in 2013 for ASEAN directors, cinematographers, actors and fans to converge to celebrate excellent movies from the region.

“I’m honoured to be one of the judges at AIFFA 2023,” said Anh.

Born in 1977 in Tra Vinh province, Anh began her career as a dancer when she was 14. In 1995, she turned to film after winning a top prize at the Movie Actors with Potential Contest launched by HCM City’s Cinematography Association.

She has performed in dozens of award-winning films and TV shows produced by State-owned and private film companies, including Việt Nam Film Studios and HCM City Television’s Film Studio.

Anh won two Best Actress awards at the Golden Kite Festival and Vietnam Film Festival in 2001 and 2008, launched by the Vietnam Cinematography Department and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In 2013, she began working as a film director and producer after opening the Blue Productions film agency.

At the festival, Anh and the jury will judge 34 movies from Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and the Phillippines.

Two Vietnamese movies Memento Mori: Dat (Memento Mori: Earth) and Dem Toi Ruc Ro (The Brilliant Darkness) will vie for the AIFFA Awards.

Scripted and directed by Marcus Manh Cuong Vu, Memento Mori: Dat was inspired by true stories from the book Diem Den Cuar Cuoi Doi (Destination of Life) by Dang Hoang Giang.

The movie tells of a young dying mother as she tries to record farewell messages for her daughters and fights for an organ donation. The 85-minute movie will be shown on August 3 with English subtitles.

Memento Mori: Dat has been nominated for the New Current Award at Busan International Film Festival and Best Film at BaliMakarya International Film Festival.

Dem Toi Ruc Ro is a movie by American Aaron Toronto who won awards at the Golden Kite Awards 2022 given by the Vietnam Cinema Association including Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography, Best Leading Actress, Best Screen and Best Supporting Actor.

The movie brought home the best story and best female performance awards at the 2022 Santa Fe Film Festival in New Mexico, the US.

It focuses on domestic abuse telling of the funeral of a grandfather whose family members believe they have been left a fortune. His children soon discover that their father lost a fortune gambling and the mafia is coming to collect the debt. They must pay by sunrise or else there will be another funeral.

The movie will be shown on August 4./.

VNA