Discussion on female filmmakers goes online on October 19

UNESCO in collaboration with the Embassy of Canada, Embassy of Switzerland in Vietnam, and the companionship of Hanoi Grapevine, O Kia Hanoi Cultural and Creative Space, will organize the online film event called IN HER VOICE using Zoom’s video platform on October 19.
Discussion on female filmmakers goes online on October 19 ảnh 1
The program aims to analyze and discuss the opportunities and challenges of female filmmakers in the film industry, share stories about the journeys to attend international film festivals, access to cinema support funds, and priority prizes for female filmmakers. It also includes an exchange among participants.
The event will see the participation of Vietnamese directors of Thanh Van, Nhue Giang, Nguyen Hoang Diep, Korean film expert of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) Yoonhyung Jeon, Japanese Canadian filmmaker Anne Koizumi and Swiss screenwriter and film director Petra Volpe.
IN HER VOICE is part of the “E-MOTIONS project: Mobilizing film professionals for regional cooperation” which is being conducted by UNESCO and cooperative partners, with the support from the Trust Fund of Japan. The project aims to enhance the capacity and empowerment of filmmakers, as well as organize activities to connect domestic filmmakers with their peers in the region.
Nguyen Thanh Van and Pham Nhue Giang are a famous Vietnamese filmmaking couple. Both were awarded the Title of People’s Artist.
Nguyen Thanh Van is one of the veteran directors of contemporary Vietnamese cinema. His film, Doi Cat (Sandy lives), 1996 won major awards at many international film festivals such as the Amiens International Film Festival in France in 2000, the 45th Asia – Pacific Film Festival in 2000.
His wife, director Pham Nhue Giang received several local and international movie awards. Her film, Thung Lung Hoang Vang (The deserted valley) won the Silver Lotus prize at the 13th National Film Festival in 2002 and the Fipresci Award for Young Asian Directors at the 51st Melbourne International Film Festival in 2002. The movie Tam Hon Me (Mother’s soul) won the Best Actress award at the Dubai Film Festival in 2011 and the Best Film award at the Vietnam Film Festival in France in 2014.
Nguyen Hoang Diep is a director of the film Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung (Flapping in the middle of nowhere) that was world premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and won the Best Film award in theimportant category “Settimana internazionale della critica”.
In 2016, she has been honored as a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters bythe French Ministry of Culture for her efforts and contributions to cultural development. Diep and her husband, architect Nghiem Quoc Cuong established O Kia Ha Noi cultural and creative space in Hanoi in 2017.
Korean film expert Yoonhyung Jeon is currently an Expert Facility Member for UNESCO 2005 Convention and a senior manager at Korean Film Council, the government institution to support film production, distribution, education and audience development. She is also a part-time lecturer at film studies department at Kyung Hee University since 2020. Currently she is working as an international expert for EU-funded UNESCO project on the governance of culture in developing countries for strengthening film industry in Uganda and Ethiopia.
She has worked with major film festivals, including the Busan International Film Festival, independent filmmakers, producers, curators, distributors, and government institutions in South Korea and abroad.
Japanese Canadian filmmaker Anne Koizumi has produced over 30 short animated films and uses her experience as a filmmaker and animator to mentor the participants through the process of creating their own animations.
In May 2008 she was awarded the Alberta Media Arts Alliance film commission for her screenplay adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper, which is currently in production.
The latest feature “The Divine Order” by Swiss screenwriter and film director Petra Volpe was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. The film had its international premiere at the Tribeca Film festival 2017 and won three awards: The Nora Ephron Prize, Prize for best actress in an International Film and the Audience Award. “The Divine Order” was a box office hit in Switzerland and was nominated for seven Swiss Film Awards and won three. Furthermore, she wrote and directed several award-winning television movies. Volpe also wrote the screenplay for “Heidi” in 2015 the internationally most successful Swiss film of all time.

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