The 2006 International Sports Film Festival will open tomorrow at HCM City Television (HTV), featuring everything from cartoons to documentaries, all with an athletic flavour.

Keep your chin up: A scene from a film on female martial artists.

The festival drew 64 entries, which also includes sports news reports, movies, game shows and even TV commercials from 18 television stations and film companies at home and in Thailand, Singapore, Laos, the Philippines and Hungary.

Film companies from Hanoi, HCM City and other provinces sent their latest works, hoping the festival will bring their productions some much needed publicity, said Nguyen Hong, head of HTV's Sports Office, a member of the organisation board.

"Foreign filmmakers' works focus on the lives and works of disabled sportspeople, and also promise new perspectives and ideas for audiences," he said.

HCM City's Television Film Studio (TFS), one of the country's biggest film companies, introduced Nu Vo Si (Female Martial Artist), a film by young director Hong Ngan, while Singaporean director Matt Lim, submitted his inspirational feature work, Ball is Round.

The highlight documentaries are Khat Vong (A Thirst for Playing) and Vuon Xa Tren Doi Nang (Rising up with the Crutches), produced by TV stations from Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces.

The films portray the will of disabled people who overcome difficulty to enjoy a successful life. "Making sports-related films and documentaries is new to Vietnam," said Hung, adding that joining the festival is a great chance for local filmmakers to exchange skills and experience in an international setting.

Hung also said the winners will be sent on to join the 2006 Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs (FICTS) in Milan from November 25-October 1.

In 2003, HTV's documentary Hoa Song (Wave Flower) won the FICTS's top prize for Reportage in the Individual Sport category, Guirilande D'Honneur, outpacing more than 20 films from different countries.

Directed by Nguyen Thanh Lam, the film focuses on the lives of fishermen in Binh Thuan Province's Phan Thiet beach, who organise races in the region's famous coracles (round boats).

Along with the two-day event's activities, a seminar on producing sports films is also to be included for local and foreign filmmakers, movie critics, and cultural researchers.

The festival is organised by the Ministry of Culture and Information, the National Sports and Physical Training Committee, the Cinematography Department and HTV, with HTV2 showing festival submissions daily starting at 9am and 9pm.

(Source: Viet Nam News)