MINI VIENTIANALE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS
The Mini Vientianale International Short Film Festival returns to the silver screen from March 11-13 2016. The festival showcases an exciting line-up of national and international short films to the Vientiane community both indoors for daytime screenings and under the stars in the evenings at the Cinema Department, off Khouvieng Road. The final evening of the festival on March 13 will be held at the Cultural Hall for the screenings and awards ceremony of the annual Vientianale Short Film Competition. All screenings are free and open to the public.
Vientianale International Film Festival celebrates the art of film and the diversity of Lao culture in the country’s capital, Vientiane. The annual festival showcases an exciting programme of international feature and short films, emerging as an important platform for local filmmakers to screen their works.
PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
This year’s program is shaping up to be as diverse and captivating as ever, with 90 short films from more than 30 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. The short films span multiple genres including drama, comedy, animation, documentary, storytelling and experimental – and none run longer than 30 minutes.
Special features include award-winning films from the Berlinale International Film Festival, British Academy of Film and Television, Binisaya Short Film Festival in Cebu (Philippines) – along with a discussion on Cebuano film from Binisaya director Paul Douglas Grant, Chaktomuk Short Film Festival in Cambodia, and a selection of shorts from Interfilm Berlin – Germany’s biggest short film festival – handpicked by Interfilm director and festival guest Heinz Hermanns.
Families will not want to miss the Spotlight on Luxembourg on Saturday afternoon which showcases some of the country’s finest animated films, including Oscar winning short Monsieur Hublot. The children’s program also includes whimsical shorts from KuKi International Short Film Festival for Children and Youth, and Kids Docs – a collection of short documentaries.
VIENTIANALE SHORT FILM COMPETITION & GUEST JUDGES
A well-established highlight of the festival program is the screening of locally-made short films entered in the Vientianale Short Film Competition. This year the
competition received a record number of 40 entries from emerging filmmakers across Laos. For the first time there was no competition theme for filmmakers to work to, allowing them to demonstrate their talents on a subject of their choice.
To judge the Vientianale Short Film Competition, the festival employs an independent jury. Each member of the selection panel has established their own reputation in the world of Lao cinema, and they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the competition.
This year’s independent jury consists of professionals from all facets of the Lao filmmaking industry and includes Laos’ first female feature film director Ms Mattie Do; claymation artist and fine arts professor Mr Souliya Phoumivong; Mr Peter Pan, director, cinematographer and co-founder of Chillax Productions video production house; Mr Xaisongkham Induangchanthy, independent filmmaker and co-founder of Lao New Wave Cinema; and Ms Simmany Keokene, from the Department of Cinema, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
All competition entries are screened and awards presented on the final evening of the festival, Sunday March 13, at the Cultural Hall. We can’t wait for you to see what these filmmakers have come up with!
For the full festival programme please visit www.vientianale.org or www.facebook.com/vientianale
