578: Magnum

Synopsis
A truck driver lives an idyllic life with his little daughter until she leaves for school. One day, Hùng is informed that An suffers from post-traumatic depression. Hùng embarks on alone hunt for an unknown abuser, uncovering the massive underground forces behind him.

Director’s biography
Lương Đình Dũng was born in 1973 in a family of six sisters and brothers, in Tuyen Quang, a mountainous province in North Vietnam. Dũng had a huge interest in writing and started writing poems and short stories at the age of 12. Right from his early years of university, Dũng always wanted to make his own movie and by working hard with extra jobs, he was able to make his very first short film himself. One of his short films named “Red Happiness” (2004) was the official selection at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and his other short film named “The Boat Man” (2007) won the “Best Film” Award at Tokyo Festival. In 2010, Dũng got his Master of Fine Arts and he has been pursuing his filmmaking career until now. Dũng was on the Jury of the Vietnam Film Festival XXII for the Feature Competition Category, the Jury of the 19th Pune International Film Festival for the Feature Competition Category, and the NetPac Jury for the International Film Festival HANIFF Vietnam 2022. Always bringing different ways of storytelling in each film he made, Dũng’s trademark styles include extensive use of slow motion and wide and extremely beautiful frames, limited use of dialogues, and liberal use of scene transitions. As a filmmaker, Dũng always has a huge desire in making films and bring them to the widescreen for the audience. For him, films are the angel’s wings that can get over all obstacles and bring people together. In addition to films, Dũng keeps his habit of writing, and his action novels named “The Ownerless Girls”, a collection of poems, and short stories “Toward The Sun” were published. He is also the scriptwriter of a favorite TV drama which are “Ban Gia”, “Hoang Hon Xanh”, and “Banh Da, Banh Duc”… in Vietnam. FILMOGRAPHY 1. Hạnh Phúc Đỏ (Red Happiness, 2004) – Director – Duration: 19 minutes – Official Selection at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, 2004 2. Chuyện Ông Mờ (The Boat Man, 2007) – Director – Duration: 13 minutes – Award: “Best Fim” at 29th Tokyo Video Festival 3. Cha Cõng Con (Father and Son, 2017) – Director, Scriptwriter, Producer – Duration: 96 minutes Growing up in a mountainous area, Dũng always has a huge love for nature, for mountains. He was inspired by his mother with a big love for family, humans, and nature. His directorial debut “Father and Son”, a pure and beautiful story of family bond and nature, was prepared for nearly 10 years and officially released in 2017. – Award: Vietnam’s Official Entry at the 90th Academy Awards “Best Asian Film” at 36th Fajr Film Festival “Best Screenplay” at 20th National Film Festival Vietnam “Silver Award” at 20th National Film Festival Vietnam “Best Foreign Feature” at 26th Arizona International Film Festival Official Selection at the 20th Black Nights Film Festival Official Selection at 48th Goa International Film Festival, etc.. Screened in over 20 countries around the world (Canada, USA, Italy, Thailand, Spain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia,…) 4. Thành Phố Ngủ Gật (Drowsy City, 2022) – Director, Scriptwriter, Producer – Duration: 73 minutes Dũng’s 2nd feature film named “Drowsy City”, a dark-crime-drama movie dealing with humans, animals, and societal issues left a unique and surprising experience to the audience. “Drowsy City” marked an amazing move of Lương Đình Dũng in his filmmaking style – Awards and nominations: Nominated for “Best Film” at the 22nd Black Nights Film Festival Nominated for the “Netpac” Award at 26th Kolkata International Film festival Official Selection at Panorama section of the 49th FNC Canada, 5. 578: Magnum (2022) – Director, Scriptwriter, Producer Duration: 106 minutes His third film “578: Magnum”, dealing with child sexual abuse issues, is one of the most challenging and unique action projects in Vietnam. Awards and nominations: – Vietnam’s Official Entry at the 95th Academy Award 2023 – #Nominated for “Best Film” at the 26th Black Nights Film Festival