Five Vietnamese film directors will present their movies at the 19th Busan International Film Festival that will open tomorrow.

A scene from Le Van Kiet's mystery-thriller Diu Dang (Gentle). The movie, together with four other movies by Vietnamese directors, will be presented at the 19th Busan International Film Festival. — Photo ffashion.vn

Although Vietnamese films have been invited to the annual festival in previous years, the unprecedented participation of five films is an auspicious sign for the country's cinema industry.

Phan Dang Di's 2010 movie Bi, Don't Be Afraid won several international film awards, including the SACD Best Screenplay Award at Cannes International Critic's Week and the Best Film Award at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, and he will introduce his latest movie project titled Tiec Trang Tron (Fullmoon Party) at the event.

Fullmoon Party will compete with 29 other projects in the "Asian Project Market" category to search for production and funding opportunities.

Four other movies will be presented in the "A Window on Asian Cinema" category, which offers audiences a comprehensive panorama on Asian cinema over the past year.

This year, a total of 57 movies from 28 countries and territories will be screened in this category.

Director Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh will present his film Nuoc (2030) – a science-fiction thriller set in the near future in southern Viet Nam where global warming has hit the land.

Female director Nguyen Hoang Diep will also present her award-winning debut feature Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere).

The 98-minute film, which is about mundane realities, recently won the Best Film prize at the 2014 Venice International Film Festival's International Critics' Week.

Le Van Kiet will unveil his mystery-thriller Diu Dang (Gentle) – a modern Vietnamese adaptation of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel A Gentle Creature. The film features Vietnamese-American actor and director Dustin Nguyen.

Bui Kim Quy will premiere Nguoi Truyen Giong (The Inseminator) – a movie about an old man living isolated on a mountain peek together a daughter who longs to get married and his mentally handicapped son. As he realises his life is coming to an end, his last mission is to continue the family's male lineage by finding a bride for his son.

The feature was set amid the picturesque landscapes of Sa Pa, and was shot in one month with a surprisingly modest budget of less than VND150 million (about US$7,000).

The Busan International Film Festival – one of the most significant film festivals in Asia – will wrap up on October 11.

VNS/VNN