Vietnamese-born filmmaker Tran Anh Hung named jury president at Shanghai International Film Festival

Filmmaker Tran Anh Hung in an interview with VnExpress in March 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

The SIFF committee announced on their official website that Hung would participate in this year’s event, scheduled to take place from June 14 to June 23.

"The works of this Vietnamese-French director and scriptwriter blend the expressions of Eastern and Western cultures, with sensitivity, delicacy, and a romantic style," the committee noted in the announcement.

Accepting the invitation, Hung expressed his anticipation to discuss the development of film as an art form with his fellow jury members and the public.

"The Film Festival is always a good opportunity to discover new talents, or to enjoy films made by established filmmakers," the filmmaker said in the event’s promotional video.

Hung has a strong connection with the SIFF. He previously served as a judge for the main competition categories at the 14th SIFF in June 2011, where he also held a press conference for his film "Norwegian Wood" during the festival.

"After thirteen years, we look forward to meeting filmmaker Tran Anh Hung in Shanghai and reuniting on the screen," said a representative of the committee.

At 62, Hung is an alumnus of the esteemed École Louis-Lumière film school in France.

His film "The Scent of Green Papaya" from 1993 was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, making it the only Vietnamese-language film to receive an Academy Award nomination to date.

He won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for "Cyclo" in 1995, and his adaptation of Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s renowned novel "Norwegian Wood" in 2010 was also a contender for the Golden Lion.