The Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) is excited to announce the highly anticipated return of Viet Film Fest 2024, the largest international Vietnamese film festival in the diaspora. This year’s festival, with designs inspired by the surrounding Californian landscape, promises to be a must-visit destination festival. Celebrating over 20 years of Vietnamese cinema, Viet Film Fest 2024 will take place virtually on your home screens from October 5 to 20, and with a three-day in-person festival on October 11,12, and 13.
With its first screening in 2003 at University of California, Irvine, Viet Film Fest was created by Ysa Le and Tram Le to fill the void of underrepresented films centering around the Vietnamese experience. Now running successfully for over two decades, the festival has attracted thousands of national and international attention for its stunning showcase of shorts and features submitted from many corners of the world, including Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. Since becoming an annual event, this year’s festival has seen record-breaking submissions, with 39 short films and 11 features. Viet Film Fest 2024 continues its legacy of celebrating the community’s stories from all over the world and all walks of life.
Highlights of Viet Film Fest 2024:
- Viet Film Fest Launch: This red carpet event offers an exclusive first look at our highly anticipated official lineup, along with a showcase of newly collectible Viet Film Fest merchandise. Attendees will have an exciting opportunity to win prizes and hear announcements about special events at the festival. Additionally, we’ll reveal the festival’s award nominations. We are thrilled to also premiere the official Viet Film Fest 2024 trailer and feature live performances at the Launch. RSVP here. Sunday, September 22 at 3 pm.
- Red Carpet Opening, Ru, by Charles-Olivier Michaud: Based on the novel of the same name by Kim Thúy (who co-wrote the screenplay), Charles-Olivier Michaud’s Ru is the story of a formerly wealthy Vietnamese family settling into life in a quaint Québec town after fleeing their homeland as boat people. Friday, October 11 at 7 pm.
- Opening Reception Gala: Trống Đồng Awards Ceremony: Join us for a night at Bowers Museum for Viet Film Fest’s Opening Reception Gala: Trống Đồng Awards Ceremony, where we celebrate the achievements from Viet Film Fest 2024. This event serves as a grand kickoff for the Viet Film Fest 2024 and as a platform to promote VAALA’s mission of fostering a vibrant Vietnamese cultural presence in the community. We will present awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, Spotlight Award, Inspiration Award, and the Grand Jury: Trống Đồng Award for Best Short and Best Feature. Prior to the award ceremony, please join us for our reception featuring a dinner spread catered by Brodard Chateau and cash bar provided by Cir Lounge. Friday, October 11 at 10 pm.
- Free Screening Event Exclusive for Santa Ana Residents: An event to extend our gratitude to the community hosting the festival, residents of Santa Ana will be able to see the curated short film sets “But Not for Me” and “Love, Actualized” at no cost. Valid proof of residency required. Friday, October 11 at 4 pm.
- Centerpiece Screening: West Coast premiere of New Wave by Elizabeth Ai: New Wave tells the story of youthful rebellion, joy, and trauma among Vietnamese American teenagers in the 1980s who found an outlet with Eurodisco music, which influenced Vietnamese American “New Wave” music. Filmmaker Elizabeth Ai delves into the lives affected by this era and this musical movement – including New Wave icon Lynda Trang Dai and Ian “DJ BPM” Nguyen. New Wave had its world premiere at Tribeca 2024 and was a Special Jury Mention for Best New Documentary Director (by jurors: W. Kamau Bell, Nisha Pahuja, Archie Gips) and was critics’ picks by New York Times, Vogue, IndieWire, among other publications. Saturday, October 12 at 7 pm.
- Book Launch Event for Elizabeth Ai’s New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora : Join us post screening to meet the contributors to director Elizabeth Ai’s compilation of essays and stories that provide the narrative of the 1.5 Vietnamese generation. New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora by Elizabeth Ai celebrates the rebellion, reinvention, and rebirth of joy in this young generation in cultural limbo. Featuring essays from prominent Vietnamese scholars, critics, and stars, New Wave is a love letter to the first generation of Vietnamese punks and rebels who came of age in the 1980s.This event will be free to all in attendance of the Centerpiece Screening at the Frida Cinema. Saturday, October 12 at 9:20pm.
- Special 25th Anniversary Presentation: Three Seasons directed by Tony Bui with a Q&A Session (Screening in 4K): Viet Film Fest 2024 is honored to provide a twenty-fifth anniversary retrospective screening of Tony Bui’s Three Seasons. This was Bui’s first feature film, and it appears in VFF 2024 with a new 4K restoration. As the filmmaker who made the first Vietnamese American movie with a largely Vietnamese cast and crew, Tony Bui opened the doors for many others to follow. At Viet Film Fest 2024, we are pleased to present the Inspiration Award to Tony Bui for being a trailblazer to the Vietnamese filmmaking community. Sunday, October 13th at 2 pm.
- Industry Networking Event: As the wrap-up of Viet Film Fest 2024, we’re thrilled to host an exclusive industry reception and mixer for our talented filmmakers from around the world. Join us in celebrating two weeks of vibrant storytelling in Vietnamese and Vietnamese diaspora cinema as we connect, collaborate, and toast to the future of our industry. The event will feature a panel discussion on ‘Vietnamese Representation in American Filmmaking’ followed by opportunities to mingle, network, and enjoy photo ops with special guests from the film industry! Sunday, October 13th at 4:30 pm at Coffee Factory, 15582 Brookhurst St, Westminster, CA.
- VAALA x UCI SEA archives Pop Up Exhibition: “From Past to Present: The Power of Art in the Vietnamese Diaspora” This pop up exhibition will showcase the various formats of art (music, poetry, fashion – ie new wave fashion and painting) and community collectives (Project Ngoc & VAALA) created by the community from the 1970s to present. Come out and learn more about the impact and empowerment of art in the Vietnamese diaspora showcased inside and outside the Frida Cinema from October 11th -13th,2024. This collaborative pop up exhibition between the VAALA and UCI Southeast Asian Archive is curated by Julia Huynh, Curator for the Southeast Asian Archive at University of California, Irvine.
Ticket purchasing and scheduling info can be reviewed with the link below.
