Young artists learn and develop their careers during the CJ Short Film Making Project 2024, a national contest that provides opportunities for their projects and began in HCM City last week. Photo courtesy of CGV Việt Nam.

HCM CITY — Young filmmakers are encouraged to join the CJ Short Film Making Project 2024, a national contest that targets young Vietnamese film talents by the CJ Cultural Foundation and CGV Việt Nam.

The event’s theme is “Thời Khắc Vàng- Toả Sáng Đam Mê” (The Golden Time - Shine for the Best), and it aims to help young filmmakers learn and develop their careers.

It will give financial support worth VNĐ1.5 billion (US$58,935) for the best five film projects.

Candidates should send their entries to the contest by May 31 at http://duanphimngancj.cgv.vn.

Famous directors and producers, such as Trịnh Đình Lê Minh, Trần Thị Bích Ngọc and Hàm Trần, are invited to become mentors during the filmmaking process.

Independent director Phan Đăng Di of Hà Nội is also included.

The mentors will train and share information, skills and experience in film, including casting, shooting, and pre- and post-production.

They will help to ensure that the productions from the event meet qualifications for international film festivals.

“Through the CJ Short Film Making Project 2024, we hope young filmmakers, amateur and professional, will have a chance to complete their dream and introduce their art to the world,” said Ko Jae Soo, director of CJ CGV Việt Nam.

The CJ Short Film Making Project began in 2018 and aims to bring works by young Vietnamese filmmakers to international film festivals.

The contest’s entries have featured different genres, and various topics and stories covering love, life and humanity.

Its best films have been selected to screen and compete at over 50 international film festivals around the world.

One of the contest’s highlighted winners is Phạm Ngọc Lân, who graduated from the Hà Nội University of Architecture but later followed his passion to make independent films.

Lân won the Best Film at the International Competition for Fiction & Documentaries at the 16th VIS Vienna Shorts Festival in Austria in 2019, one year after winning at the CJ Short Film Making Project.

His 19-minute black and white film, Một Khu Đất Tốt (Blessed Land) tells the story of a mother and son looking for a father’s tomb at a cemetery.

The work also won Special Mention Award from the jury at the International Shorts Competition at the 20th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival in the Canary Islands in 2019.

His previous film, Cu Li Never Cries, received the Hubert Bals Fund for Script Development at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam, and was chosen for the L’Atelier Cinefondation at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. — VNS