“Memento Mori” by Marcus Manh Cuong Vu and “Dem toi ruc ro” (The brilliant darkness) by Aaron Toronto have been selected to compete with 120 others at the festival which will be opened in Kuching, Malaysia, on August 2.
“Memento Mori” is a psychological, family film with the theme of near-death cancer patients, premiered in Vietnam in October 2022. The context of the film is a residential area of poor working people in the highlands with the story of a family who has a cancer patient. Van - a woman who accepts her cancer is in the final stage and finds many ways to connect and send messages to her relatives including her biological father, husband and children - is determined to fulfill her wish to donate organs for medicine - a job that is not yet popular and subject to many prejudices in the society.
"Dem toi ruc ro” tells a story about domestic violence in Vietnam. It’s the last night of a funeral. The grandfather has died leaving the family a fortune – but the grandchildren soon find out that their father has not only lost their entire inheritance gambling, but he’s also deep in debt to the mafia, and that night the gangsters will come to collect their debt. Their father must pay by sunrise, or else there will be another funeral. As they suffer through their crucible, the family’s demons of neglect and abuse all come out.
The biennial AIFFA began in 2013 to celebrate Southeast Asian movies. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition of the festival was made available online on a small scale. Therefore, this year’s 6th edition is expected to be a big comeback, in terms of both scale and quality.
At the last AIFFA, Vietnamese film Dao Cua Dan Ngu Cu (The Way Station) by Hong Anh won three prizes including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director of Photography.
A new feature of this year’s AIFFA is a short film competition for university students with the theme of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). AIFFA 2023 will grant 12 official awards for Southeast Asian filmmakers.
The Gala Awards Night will take place on August 4, 2023.
