Vietnamese action film to attend international film festivals

Miss Universe Vietnam 2018 H'hen Niê stars in 578: Phát Đạn Của Kẻ Điện (578 Magnum). — Photo courtesy of Galaxy Cinema

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese action film 578: Phát Đạn Của Kẻ Điên, also known as 578 Magnum, will be screened at the 45th Moscow International Film Festival and compete at the 4th Kimolos International Film Festival in Greece.

According to director Lương Đình Dũng, 578 Magnum will be featured in Moscow from April 20-27. First organised in 1935 and held annually since 1959, the Moscow International Film Festival is the second oldest film festival in the world, only after the Venice Film Festival. The Vietnamese action film will be screened at the Wild Nights programme within the framework of the film festival.

After that, 578 Magnum will travel to the Kimolos International Film Festival in Greece to compete in two categories – Best Picture and Best Director.

The director has also revealed that a producer in Germany and a partner in Italy have offered to purchase the international distribution rights for the second part of the film even though the project is still in the script stage.

The producer of 578 Magnum said that the film is being released widely in a number of European and American countries such as Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Brazil. By June 30, Dũng’s film is expected to be screened in about 50 countries and territories.

The Vietnamese movie was first introduced to film distributors globally at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 16.

Previously, 578 Magnum made its debut to international audiences in November 2022, at the 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (POFF) held in Estonia.

Adapted from the novel of the same name written by its director, Lương Đình Dũng, 578: Magnum is a heart-breaking story related to paedophilia, a topic that has never been explored on the big screen in Việt Nam.

The film stars French-Vietnamese actor Alexandre Nguyen, Miss Universe Vietnam 2018 H'hen Niê, along with the participation of foreign filmmakers, including British director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and South Korean stunt-director Oh Sea-young (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Snowpiercer). It was released in domestic theatres in May, labelled C18+.

The film caused controversy when it was released in Việt Nam and didn't do well at the domestic box office, earning only about VNĐ3.54 billion (US$149,000) in revenue.

But it has been invited to many international film festivals and selected to represent Việt Nam at the 95th Academy Awards in the International Film category.

Prior to 578: Magnum, another film by Lương Đình Dũng, Cha Cõng Con (Father and Son) was also invited to screen and compete at major film festivals around the world and won the Best Asian Film award at the Fajr Iran International Film Festival.

This year, the director will release a crime drama Thành Phố Ngủ Gật (Drowsy City) this year. According to him, the film, labeled 18+, reveals hidden corners of life, when honesty is taken advantage of and suppressed to the extreme.