First started in 2003, the Vietnamese International Film Festival (also known as ViFF) is a biennial

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

organized by the non-profits Vietnamese-American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

s VietNamese Language and Culture (VNLC). ViFF takes place at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

, the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, and other locations in and near the

Little Saigon Little Saigon ( vi, Sài Gòn nhỏ or Tiểu Sài Gòn) is a name given to ethnic enclaves of expatriate Vietnamese mainly in English-speaking countries. Alternate names include Little Vietnam and Little Hanoi (mainly in historically communist ...

area of

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Part film festival and part community-service event, to date ViFF is the only film festival reserved for filmmakers of Vietnamese heritage in the world outside of Vietnam.

VIFF 2003 and 2005

ViFF 2003 and ViFF 2005 showcased 48 and 37 films (both shorts and features), respectively, directed/produced by filmmakers of Vietnamese descent from the U.S., France, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Vietnam. As a result, many films by Vietnamese-heritage filmmakers, both new and previously released, have gathered here. Films by

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominated director

Trần Anh Hùng Trần Anh Hùng (born December 23, 1962) is a Vietnamese people, Vietnamese-born French film director and screenwriter. Early life Hùng was born in Mỹ Tho, South Vietnam. Following the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, h ...

have been shown at ViFF. Notable premieres at ViFF include the world premiere of Victor Vu's ''

First Morning First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

'' (''Buổi Sáng Đàu Năm''), '' The Rebel'', directed by Charlie Nguyen, and the North American premiere of Pham Nhue Giang's '' Deserted Valley'' (''Thung Lũng Hoang Vắng'').

VIFF 2007

In 2007, the eight-day festival took place from April 12 to April 15 and from April 19, to April 22. If featured record number of films: a total of 51, including 13 features submitted by filmmakers of Vietnamese descent from around the world. The festival opened with the world premiere of the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, '' The Rebel'', directed by Charlie Nguyen and closed with the feature debut, '' Dust of Life'', directed by Le Van Kiet. The Spotlight Program on April 14 showcased screenwriter Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc, whose work is featured in ''

Living in Fear ''Living in Fear'' is the second and final studio album from the supergroup The Power Station, released in 1996. Background In the pre-recording stage of the album, the band had the same lineup as for their previous album in 1985 (Robert Palm ...

'', directed by

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and ''

Journey From the Fall ''Journey from the Fall'' ( vi, Vượt Sóng) is a 2006 independent film by writer/director/editor Ham Tran, about the Vietnamese re-education camp and boat people experience following the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. This drama was released ...

'', a film by

Ham Tran Ham Tran () is a Vietnamese American film writer, editor, and director. He is of Hoa (Chinese Vietnamese) ancestry, specifically Teochew. He earned an MFA in film directing from the UCLA Film School and is most famous for his thesis film ''The A ...

VIFF 2009

In 2009, the festival was held on April 2–5 & 9-12, 2009 at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...

VIFF 2011

In 2011, the 5th festival with ''Reel Momentum'' is the theme, was held on April 7 to 17, 2011 presented over 60 short and feature movies of 100 received. The Awards presented at ViFF 2011: * Grand-jury ''Trống Đồng Award'' for best feature film: '' Bi, Don't be Afraid!'' (Bi, Đừng sợ !) - directed by Phan Dang Di * Grand-jury ''Trống Đồng Award'' for best short film: ''Phía Sau Cái Chết (Behind Death)'', directed by Ta Nguyen Hiep * Audience Choice Award for best feature film: ''Touch'' (directed by Minh Duc Nguyen) * Audience Choice Award for best short film: ''Fading Light (Theo Hướng Đèn Mà Đi)'', directed by Thien Do; and ''Things You Don’t Joke About'', directed by Viet Nguyen * Spotlight Award : ''

Mother Fish ''Mother Fish'', also known as ''Missing Water'', is a feature film written, produced and directed by Khoa Do. The film draws largely from Khoa Do's own experiences as a Vietnamese refugee, and reflects on the perceived fear in the general popula ...

'' (directed by

Khoa Đỗ Khoa Do (Vietnamese: ''Đỗ Khoa'', ), is a film director, screenwriter, and philanthropist. He received the Young Australian of the Year Award in 2005. Early life and family The Do family left Vietnam in 1980 as Vietnamese refugees, fleein ...

)

ViFF 2013

ViFF 2013 ran from April 4–7 & 11-14, 2013 at Edwards University Town Center 6 (Irvine), UC Irvine, UCLA, and Bowers Museum (Santa Ana), with record number of films and audience members. * Inspiration Award:

Tran Anh Hung Trần Anh Hùng (born December 23, 1962) is a Vietnamese-born French film director and screenwriter. Early life Hùng was born in Mỹ Tho, South Vietnam. Following the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, he immigrated to Fra ...

for his contribution to Vietnamese and world cinema * Spotlight Awards: ''Stateless'', directed by Duc Nguyen and ''A Tree Workers Case'', directed by Daniela Agostini. *Grand-Jury Trống Đồng Award for Best Feature: ''

War Witch ''War Witch'' (french: Rebelle) is a 2012 Canadian dramatic war film written and directed by Kim Nguyen and starring Rachel Mwanza, Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien and Serge Kanyinda. It is about a child soldier forced into a civil war in Africa, an ...

'', directed by

Kim Nguyen Kim Nguyen is a Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for his 2012 film ''War Witch (Rebelle)''. The film was the top winner at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards;In the Name of Love IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

'') *Best Vietnamese Actress:

Ngo Thanh Van A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(''House in the Alley'') *Best Cinematographer: Nguyen K’ Linh (''

Blood Letter ''Thiên mệnh anh hùng'' (天命英雄), known as ''Blood Letter'' and ''Sword of the Assassin'' in English, is a 2012 Vietnamese martial arts action fantasy directed by Victor Vu, produced by Phuong Nam Films and Saiga Films, in association ...

'') *Grand-Jury Trống Đồng Award for Best Short Film: ''Picture. Perfect'', directed by Winston Titus Tao *Audience Choice Award for Best Feature: ''Mr. Cao Goes to Washington'', directed by S. Leo Chiang *Audience Choice Award for Best Short: ''Stateless'', directed by Duc Nguyen.ViFF 2013 Wraps Up
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Viet Film Fest 2014

Viet Film Fest (formerly the Vietnamese international Film Festival-ViFF) is now an annual event. The festival moved closer to the heart of the Vietnamese community with a majority of the screenings centralized at the UltraLuxe Cinemas at Anaheim Gardenwalk. From April 10–13, 2014 Viet Film Fest (formerly the Vietnamese international Film Festival-ViFF) received unprecedented support from the community, with a turnout of about 4,000 attendees over four days. Viet Film Fest 2014 showcased 29 films, including 8 features and 21 short films, from countries all over the world such as Vietnam, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Japan, the United States, and (for the first time) Korea. The award recipients this year are: * Grand-Jury Trống Đồng Award: Funny Money (Tiền Chùa) directed by Thien Do * Spotlight Award: ''

Number Ten Blues Number Ten Blues ( ja, ナンバーテン・ブルースさらばサイゴン, zh, link=no, 第十藍調, vi, Đệ-thập lam-điệu) or Goodbye Saigon ( ja, サヨナラ・サイゴン, zh, link=no, 告别西貢, vi, Giã-biệt Sài-gòn ...

''/''Goodbye Saigon'' directed by Norio Osada * Best Actress: Ninh Dương Lan Ngọc for her performance in Thúy * Best Actor: Khương Ngọc for his performance in Funny Money (Tiền Chùa) * Best Short Film: Burn to Send (Đốt Về Trời) directed by AnDinh Ha * Audience Choice for Best Feature Film: Công Binh: The Last Fighters of Viet Nam directed by Lam Le * Audience Choice for Best Short Film: Hanoi Fly Boy directed by Viet Phuong Dao

Viet Film Fest 2015

In 2015, the 8th festival will be held on April 16–19 at UltraLuxe Anaheim Cinemas.

References

* * * * *
Ðại Hội Ðiện Ảnh Việt Nam Quốc Tế, cái gạch nối hữu hiệu
{dead link, date=July 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Người Việt 2005

External links

Official site

VIFF 2007 Trailer
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090412192346/http://www.vietfilmfest.com/2009/ VIFF 2009 Festivals in Orange County, California Film festivals in Los Angeles Orange County, California culture Asian-American film festivals Vietnamese-American culture in California Vietnamese community organizations Vietnamese diaspora