From Festival Co-Directors Ysa Le & Quyen Lam

Welcome to ViFF 2009!

Coming to UC Irvine, UCLA, and Bowers Museum (Santa Ana)! Click on PROGRAM SCHEDULE to view our great lineup!

On behalf of the ViFF Staff, we would like to welcome you to our 4th biennial Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF): Into View! We are very pleased to showcase a record number of films this year: more than 60 feature and short films from all over the world, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.

The films cover a wide range of themes. Most of all, these films carry a very personal touch, be it a story about the villagers coming together to defend their rights; a man who is obsessed with his 3-D photography; or a young woman who slowly unfolds her war-torn family’s history through her trips to the motherland. The stories contained within the films reflect a rich body of life experiences of the Vietnamese and Vietnamese diaspora. The films not only feature a diversity of voices but they will also certainly spark conversations with other audience members because of their provocative subject matter.

ViFF 2009 carries an international flavor with the Opening Night featuring FOOTY LEGENDS, a film directed by Khoa Do, a Vietnamese Australian filmmaker who has been awarded “The Young Australian of the Year” in 2005 for his work with disadvantaged youth. Throughout the ten-day film festival, we invite audience members to take part in various activities, such as panel discussions, receptions, gala, and Q&A sessions with the cast and crew, etc.

This year, ViFF’s Spotlight Night will feature Dustin Nguyen. We would like to recognize his ground-breaking achievements as a Vietnamese American actor, one who has significantly contributed to both television and film since the 1980s. For the first time, we will also proudly showcase Vietnamese American women filmmakers’ and their works as well as facilitate a panel discussion with them. ViFF will conclude with the award-winning ALL ABOUT DAD, an impressive feature debut by Mark Tran from San Jose, California.

ViFF would not have been possible without the tireless support of our sponsors and the media. Most of all, we are indebted to our amazingly dedicated staff, all of whom had volunteered their time throughout an entire year to carry out ViFF. We love you all, ViFFers!

Now, are you ready? Let’s ViFF!

Ysa D. Le & Quyen Lam

Festival Co-Directors