Oneselection, Bao Gio Cho Den Thang Muoi (When the Tenth Month Comes) byDang Nhat Minh, was the first Vietnamese feature film to be shown in aUS film festival. It won the jury panel's Special Prize at the HawaiiInternational Film Festival in 1985.
Jeanette Hereniko, the festival's founder and president of the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, selected the films.
Thirtyyears after When the Tenth Month Comes made its debut, Hawaii'sconnection to Vietnamese cinema continues to thrive. The VietnameseGovernment's Cinematography Department will start a tour of the US inHonolulu.
The festival provides American audiences an opportunityto see Vietnamese contemporary movies, said Hereniko. She also selectedTrung So (Jackpot); Khat Vong Thang Long (The Prince and Pagoda Boy);Nhung Dua Con Cua Lang (Children of The Village); Hiep Si Mu (LostEyes); Bi Mat Tham Do (Scandal 1) and Hao Quang Tro Lai (Scandal 2).
Thescreenings will be held at the Dorisk Duke Theatre. An exhibitioncalled Destinations for Shooting in Vietnam will open on July 5 at atthe Honolulu Museum of Art and the University of Hawaii System will holda workshop on filmmaking co-operation between Vietnam and the US onJuly 6.
Jackpot is a heartfelt comedy directed byVietnamese-American Dustin Nguyen, who is known in the US for his roleson 21 Jump Street and V.I.P.
The movie Children of the Village,directed by Nguyen Duc Viet, is a post-war story about a village incentral Vietnam being screened outside Vietnam for the first time. Thap,a former guerrilla leader who survived a massacre, cannot forget thepain of war.
The Prince and Pagoda Boy was released in 2010 tomark the 1000th anniversary of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel and wasVietnam's 2011 entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the US AcademyAwards.-VNA