Press Room
Wednesday 8th October 2008 | UAFF
Award-Winning Vietnamese Feature To Close the 5th Annual US-ASEAN Film Festival
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Washington, DC
US-ASEAN Creative Project and the Embassy of Vietnam are proud to present “The White Silk Dress,” winner of the 2006 Golden Kite Festival (Cánh diều vàng – the Vietnamese equivalent to the Oscars). The critically acclaimed period drama about a woman’s struggles in keeping her family together in the chaotic period of the French occupation’s last years in Vietnam.
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| Dan (played by Trương Ngọc Ánh) and her husband Gu (played by Nguyễn Quốc Khánh) |
As with the American Oscars in the recent years, the Golden Kite Festival has been criticized for seemingly awarding films that have little appeal to most local cinemagoers, but White Silk Dress buckled the trend. Both the critics and the audience loved it.
Lưu Huỳnh’s film then continued to wow international audiences at numerous film festivals. At the 2006 Pusan International Film Festival, it was awarded with the CNN Audience Award. In 2007, it received the Kodak Vision Award at the Fukuoka International Film Festival and Best Foreign Film at the Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival in China. “The White Silk Dress” was Vietnam’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2008 Oscars.
The story follows Dan and her husband Gu as they flee to the south and struggle to raise their children and keep their family safe. The title refers to Dan's most valuable possesion, her wedding gift from Gu, which she will later have to let go to support the family. Through the sacrifices and hardships endured, Dan epitomizes the strength and beauty of the Vietnamese woman.
The US-ASEAN Film Festival is an annual film festival focusing on new films from the dynamic region of Southeast Asia which is often touted as the up and coming hotbed of international cinema. The festival is the flagship event of US-ASEAN Creative Project, an arm of the GRACE Heritage Foundation, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization aiming to promote Southeast Asian cultures through arts and entertainment and to promote unity and understanding between Southeast Asians and Americans.
This screening was made possible with the sponsorship of the Embassy of Vietnam in Washington, DC and the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution.
The festival is also sponsored by the Embassy of Indonesia, the Embassy of Singapore, the Royal Embassy of Thailand, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the Washington Post
“The White Silk Dress” will be shown on Sunday, October 12, 2008 at 2PM. Free tickets for the screening can be obtained one hour in advance at location – the Meyer Auditorium of the Smithsonian Institute’s Freer and Sackler Galleries (1050 Independence Avenue SW – 202.633.4880 – Limited street parking available after 6.30pm).
Contact information
Website: http://usaseancreativeproject.org/uaff/
Contact person: Karina Lee Sudyatmiko or Luwito Tardia
E-mail: info@thegraceheritage.org
Telephone: (202) 262-3775
About ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is comprised of ten countries in Southeast Asia, the region straddling continental Asia and Australia and bordering both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Diversity is a part of life for ASEAN's 575 million citizen who are more likely than not multi-lingual, living in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious community. ASEAN members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Timor Leste, the only non-ASEAN member in Southeast Asia is a candidate for membership.
About UACP
US-ASEAN Creative Project (UACP) is the arm of GH Foundation to carry out its mission in promoting Southeast Asian culture and heritage. Since 2002, GH Foundation has organized various events in arts, entertainment, literature, and sports to raise awareness of the diverse cultures and traditions of Southeast Asia. Its flagship event, the US-ASEAN Film Festival, has been running annually since 2003. It was the first film festival to celebrate films from the region.
Contact Information
US-ASEAN Creative Project by GH Foundation
1701 16th Street NW Suite 218
Washington, DC 20009
USA
+1 (202) 262-3775
info@thegraceheritage.org
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