A scene in Vietnamese film “Mắt biếc”, known in English as “Dreamy Eyes”.

Vietnamese drama film “Mat biec” (Dreamy Eyes), alongside a series of films based on the various cultures and people of ASEAN member states, will be screened in late May.

As part of the activities to mark the 55th founding anniversary of ASEAN, of which Vietnam is a member country, the ASEAN Film Week is being co-organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hanoi's, Ho Chi Minh City's and related agencies.

The event is a cultural activity aimed at connecting the cultures of ASEAN countries, contributing to building a peaceful, dynamic and stable ASEAN community, and at the same time introducing special works of cinema of ASEAN member countries.

The organizers have selected seven films from ASEAN member countries to be premiered during the event, including "Dreamy Eyes" of Vietnam, “Fear” of Cambodia, "Filosofi Kopi 2: Ben and Jody" (Indonesia), “Dearest Sister” (Lao), “The Journey” (Malaysia), “The Great Myanmar” (Myanmar), and “Pad Thai: The Secret Recipe” of Thailand.

In Hanoi, movie screenings will start at 6 pm and 8 pm from May 27 to June 1, while in HCM, movies will be shown at the same time on days from May 28 to June 2.

Tickets will be distributed at cinemas from May 27 at the National Cinema Centre, Hanoi and from May 28 at CineStar 135 Hai Ba Trung, HCM City.

The opening ceremony will take place at 7:30 pm on May 27 at Screening Room No. 1, Hanoi-based National Cinema Centre.

The opening film of film week is "Dreamy Eyes" which tells the love story of Ngan, a rural boy from Quang Nam province, and his childhood friend, Ha Lan, during their school years. When Lan turns to love a rich man but is betrayed, Ngan still stands beside Lan.

The film is based on a novel of the same name written by bestselling children’s author Nguyen Nhat Anh. The book “Mat Biec” was published in 1990 and it has been reprinted several times by the Tre (Youth) Publishing House.

Released at the end of 2019, the film, which was also the Vietnamese entry for best foreign picture at the 93rd Oscars, recorded box office revenues of USD 8 million, joining the list of just 13 local blockbusters that have so far crossed the USD 4.4 million benchmark.

At the 2021 Vietnam Film Festival, ‘Dreamy Eyes’ also bagged best soundtrack for Christopher Wong, best cinematography for Dominic Pereira, and a special mention from Thua Thien Hue Province People’s Committee for best portrayal of Hue City, which hosted this year’s event.

Representing Indonesia, "Filosofi Kopi 2: Ben and Jody" is a sequel which set two years after the first movie, following Jody's and Ben's journey when finding new investors and a crew to rebuild Filosofi Kopi from scratch right in the middle of a changing coffee culture in Jakarta.

Made-in-Cambodia movie "Fear", is about Meala, a beautiful 22-year-old girl who took her first job as a teacher in a deserted village in Cambodia. She saw that the people who lived there had a worried look on their face. Someone has murdered several young women in the area in the past two months. But instead of returning to Phnom Penh for safety, Meala decides to stay in the village to find out who the killer is. Soon Meala felt she might be harmed.

“Dearest Sister” representing Laos at this year’s ASEAN Film Week, follows Nok, a girl who is sent to the city to help her cousin Anna while she waits for eye surgery. While living together, Nok discovered that Anna could communicate with the underworld, predicting events that would happen through numbers, so Nok continuously won the lottery and began to live like a dashing city girl. Tragedy happened when Ana discovered that Nok had deceived her, used her to make money, in the end, both had to face their karma.

The movie that will represent Malaysia is “The Journey” tells the story of Onng Chuan - an old-fashioned and conservative old man. His only hope is to be reunited with his daughter Bee, who will return from abroad after graduation. But the plan was thwarted when the daughter returned with a foreign boyfriend named Benji and the two planned to get married. He tried his best but could not change his daughter's decision. According to custom, the son-in-law has to bring the invitation with his father-in-law. Unable to communicate with each other, the two men were forced to go on a long journey, but thanks to that, their feelings changed unexpectedly.

Pad Thai: The Secret Recipe, a Thai film about the vibrant culture of Thailand, goes through the beauty of Pad Thai, the country's most popular dish, by highlighting its five Fs – Food, Film, Fashion, Fighting (Thai boxing) and Festivals.

“The Great Myanmar” follows a young boy from Inlay Lake on his quest for knowledge of Myanmar traditions, culture and Buddhism with his grandfather telling him tale of the legends and myths from the past. Through this, we explore Myanmar’s National Treasures and uncover their ancient mysteries. We then revisited the ancient empire of Bagan. The establishment of the first Myanmar empire and how it has reinvigorated Buddhism throughout the region.

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