April 23, 2009
Trống Đồng Awards went to FOOTY LEGENDS (feature), directed by Khoa Đỗ and A Summer Rain (short), directed by Ela Thier.
Audience Choice Awards went to OPERATION BABYLIFT: The Lost Children of Vietnam (feature), directed by Tammy Nguyễn Lee and Delivery Day (short), directed by Jane Manning.
Irvine, CA-The 4th biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF) closed on April 12th to a cheering crowd with the Southern California premiere of ALL ABOUT DAD, a feature debut by Mark Tran. The night went on with a jungle-themed gala. All events took place at the University of California in Irvine (UCI).
Carrying the theme of Into View, the 8-day film festival featured over sixty short and feature films by emerging and established filmmakers from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and the United States. The event attracted more than 3,000 cinema enthusiasts from all over the world and was extensively covered by international and local press.
The prestigious Trống Đồng Awards were presented to FOOTY LEGENDS (feature), directed by Khoa Đỗ (Australia) and A Summer Rain (short), directed by Ela Thier (USA). “I am thrilled that FOOTY LEGENDS has been awarded the 2009 Vietnamese International Film Festival’s highest honor, the Grand Jury “Trống Đồng” Award in Irvine,” said director Khoa Đỗ. “For an Australian film to be recognized in this way is very rare and on behalf of all Australians back home, we are delighted to accept this award.”
Audience Choice Awards went to OPERATION BABYLIFT: The Lost Children of Vietnam (feature), directed by Tammy Nguyễn Lee and Delivery Day (short), directed by Jane Manning. “Being invited to join the growing Vietnamese American artist community and have our world premiere at VIFF was a huge honor. With the adoptees and Babylift volunteers in attendance, it was truly a special and unique evening. “We are so grateful for the warm reception we received at VIFF and even more thrilled to receive the Audience Choice Award,” producer/director Tammy Nguyễn Lee said.
ViFF also presented the Spotlight Award to actor Dustin Nguyễn to celebrate the great achievements that mark his acting career. The award was handed to Dustin Nguyễn by the renowned actress Kiều Chinh.
ViFF was spread throughout Southern California with screenings at UC Irvine’s Film and Video Center and Edwards University Cinema 6, both in Irvine, UCLA in Los Angeles, CA, and Bowers Museum, Santa Ana.
ViFF is presented by the two non-profit organizations Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) and UCLA’s Vietnamese Language and Culture (VNLC). ViFF was established in October 2003 to showcase Vietnamese and Vietnamese Diasporic filmmakers. ViFF’s mission is to support, celebrate, and project a diversity of visions and voices from filmmakers of Vietnamese descent and films by, for, and about the Vietnamese people and culture.
ViFF is made possible by sponsorships/support of: Ford Foundation; UC Irvine (School of Humanities, Department of Film and Media Studies, Film and Video Center, Community & Government Relations, UCI Advancement,Vietnamese American Community Ambassadors (VACA), Department of Asian American Studies, International Center for Writing and Translation (ICWT), Cross Cultural Center, Vietnamese American Coalition (VAC), Vietnamese Student Association(VSA), Asian Pacific Student Association (APSA), UCLA’s Campus Programs Committee of the Program Activities Board, Campus Programs Committee of the Program Activities Board, Undergraduate Student Association (USAC); Bowers Museum, Wells Fargo, Union Bank, State Farm, Dr. & Mrs. Jan Vilcek, Jayvee Hiep Mai, Elite Insurance, Nguyet Cam Music, Wave Releasing, Chakra Restaurant, DTN-Tech, Karuna Healthcare, White Knight International, Inc., St. Anselm’s Cross Cultural Community Center…
Media sponsors: VAN-TV, VHN-TV, LA18 (KSCI), VNCR, QMS Media Group, Little Saigon Radio, Hon Viet TV, Viet Tide, Saigon TV, VBS TV, OC Life Magazine….
Co-presenters: American Red Cross – Orange County Chapter, API Equality-LA, Asian Pacific American Program, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., Asian Pacific Legal Center Asian Pacific Student Association (APSA) at UC Irvine, Club O’ Noodles, Hawaii International Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian, Pacific Film Festival, Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA), Project MotiVATe (MotivatingVietnamese American Teens), San Diego Asian Film Festival, St. Anselm’s Cross-Cultural Community Center, The Cambodian Family, UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation (VACF), Vietnamese American Coalition (VAC) at UC Irvine, Vietnamese American Community Ambassadors (VACA) at UC Irvine, Vietnamese American Law Student Association at Chapman University School of Law (VALSA), Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans (VAYLA-NO), Vietnamse Student Association (VSA) at UC Irvine.
