Sports, Shorts And More

The “SOUND OF THE PANPIPE” is one of the films that Vietnam will present this year at the Milan, “SPORT MOVIES & TV Festival", which runs from October the 27th to November the 1st, 2005

With a rich selection of new sport films produced in 2004, Vietnam will present to the Italian audience movies that have earlier participated to a national sport film festival. Since the year 2002, Vietnam organises the “National festival of Sport Movie & TV” every two year These productions included features, documentaries, games, and other movies programmes – from 20 studios nationwide.

Unlike for short films, where organizers of European Short Films Festivals such as the French Clermont-Ferrand film festival regularly comes to Vietnam with the goal of stimulating a – rather limited production of short films, it seems that Vietnamese films on sport are enjoying a descent success and have found their niche in the Europe main Sport Film Festival that is Milan.

Not less than seven prizes and mention of honour including the “GUIRLANDE D'HONNEUR” - the most important award of the Italian film festival have been given to the Vietnam Sport Cinema since it first participated to the Festival in 1999. The year later, “GOING AMID DAILY LIFE”, by director Hoang Manh Cuong - a documentary about a wheelchair racer strongly impressed the jury and the Italian audience of the “SPORT MOVIES & TV Festival which counts yearly with around 230.000 spectators.

Presenting the sports moral values with those who write, play, shoot and produce films for cinema and television is the main goal that the organizers continue to target now with the 23rd edition of the festival. This is highlighted within the six festival sections, and also within a pre-selection of films sent from TV broadcasting and sporting federations worldwide. The other aim of the organizers is to give to the audience a chance to see the sports from different perspectives.

As a mater of fact, film on sport is a rich film genre, but it counts only a few European festivals, which specialized in it. Amazing when one consider the various connections between sport activity and community life, or sport and Culture, sport and Art.

In this regard, the “SOUND OF THE PANPIPE” presented by Vietnam for example, is a film on sport, and a film on an ethnic group and its tradition in Vietnam.

The films depict the close ties between physical training and the ability required to play the panpipe – a music instrument, of the major importance in the H'Mong ethnic minority of the Northern Vietnam.

Panpipe dance are performed during fairs and market, which are the main community cultural events of these mountainous people. The dance consists of jumps, heel and ground kicking. The best dancer is the one who combines the strongest skills to play the instrument and the beauty of the dance movements. The film is one of the 190 films selected to compete for the "Guirlande d'Honneur 2005" and for the other prizes.

Mister Nguyen Xuan Vinh, director of the Vietnam Sport Cinema, and award winner of the “Guirlande d'Honneur” in 2002 for “ REACHING THE HIGH PEAKS ” is a regular guest of the Italian film festival. He says that the strength of Vietnam film studio is definitely not to be found in the technical facilities, but on the content side. Vietnam is a rich country in terms of subjects and shooting locations. He hopes that the three films that he brings with him can persuade European sport film professionals to consider the potential for films on sport that represents the sport of the ethnic and minority groups in Vietnam.

SHOOT GOALS – SHOOT MOVIES

Another unusual, yet smart approach of film on sport is the one proposed for the last edition of Berlin Talent Campus. "SHOOT GOALS! SHOOT MOVIES!” an initiative of The Berlin Festival, in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe Institute representations in the World. These institutions led an international competition on the topic of football and the Culture as a parallel competition to the coming FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. Over 600 filmmakers applied to this competition. Forty five of them were selected by the Berlinale Talent Campus.

Young filmmakers across the world were given the opportunity to submit extra - short films from 30 seconds to 5minutes on the topic of "Football and Culture”, in the different countries. The directors of the selected short films were invited to attend the Berlinale Talent Campus 2005 and will spend a week in Germany for the FIFA World Cup 2006.

Have you ever wished to see a football match without football players, just the ball and the supporters? Watch the short - short from Danish filmmaker (link under).This short from “Shoot goals! Shoot Movies” and a long list of other resulting works from the Talent Campus last edition are now on show at the organizer website:

This year again, the organizers have launched the call for short. Young filmmakers from around the globe are called to submit Short - Short on a new theme that is “The Hunger, Food & Taste”.

Curry, knedliki, noodles, goulash, and rice, from all countries will be on the set, and served short at the next Berlinale Talent Campus!

Curry, knedliki, noodles, goulash, and rice, from all countries will also be downloadable right from the organizer website, of course!

RELATED:

Sport Movies and TV festival 23rd edition

The Chinese famous director Zhang Yimou's movie “ NEW BEIJING GREAT OLYMPICS” won the top prize "La Guirlande d'Honneur" in the International Festival of Sport Movies and TV in Milan in 2003.

SHOOT GOALS! SHOOT MOVIES!

The 45 selected short films will be released on DVD soon.

In the meantime here are some of the shorts (Quick time).

Jeannette Ehlers Denmark

Andibachtiar Yusuf Indonesia

Khavn De La Cruz The Philippines

by Gyora Gal Glupczynski