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Sitting in a caf at the Daewoo Hotel Hanoi, Vietnamese director Phan Dang Di is on the edge of his seat and eager to talk. Local and foreign festival films are lighting up screens across his countrys capital for the second time in two years. As one of the local scene's leading young talents, Di has spent much of the Hanoi International Film Festival near the center of the action, popping up seemingly everywhereat panel discussions, seminars, screenings and official banquets.

In 2010, Di's debut film, Bi, Dont Be Afraid was Vietnam's first feature selected to appear at the Cannes International Critics Week. A moody domestic drama, with several bold sex scenes, the film lost five minutes to censorship in Vietnama process Di describes as very painfuland was rendered almost unrecognizable in its domestic release that same year. Abroad the film was picked up by Acrobates Films and given a 60-cinema run in Paris, where it sold 10,000 tickets. The film was screened as part of HANIFF 2012again in censored form.

This summer Di will begin producing his production partner Nguyen Hoang Dieps directorial debut, Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, which was awarded 50,000 euro in financing from the Berlinale World Cinema Fund earlier this month and won the MPA-sponsored New Talent prize at the inaugural HANIFF Talent Campus last Wednesday. Di says he plans to begin shooting his second film, Big Father, Small Father, and Other Stories in the fall.

STORY:BerlinaleWorld Cinema Fund Selects Filmmakers From Vietnam, Argentina, Mongolia and Turkey

Taking time out from his hectic schedule at HANIFF, Di spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the challenges and opportunities young Vietnamese filmmakers are facing as their domestic industry gradually grows and opens to the world.

The Hollywood Reporter: What's been your impression of the second edition of the Hanoi International Film Festival?

Phan Dang Di: Well, overall, I think its been good. As you know, its a young festival and we are still learning, but its important that this is happening. It gives the Vietnamese audience a chance to see some of our important older Vietnamese films and also interesting work from around the world. The festivals new Talent Campuswhere I have done some talksis also an important step forward.

THR: How so?

Di: Because participating in these kinds of activities is the only way for young independent Vietnamese filmmakers to get their films made and possibly seen by the world now. My own case is a good example. I participated in the Pusan Promotion Plan in 2007 and L'Atelier at Cannes in 2008. Because of these experiences, I not only learned how to make a better film, and met many generous and experienced film professionals, but I learned that there are many ways to get financial support from grants and film funds. I was able to raise $600,000 to produce Bi, Dont Be Afraid (2010), from different grants such as the World Cinema Fund and through contacts I made during these trips abroad. Before I went abroad, working in Vietnam, I never would have dreamed that I would be able to raise over half a million dollars to produce my first filmno way. So, having our own talent campus that gives these 24 young Vietnamese filmmakers exposure to experienced professionals and knowledge of international standards is a great thing. Of course, not all of the students have polished projects to present; and not all of them are ready. But even if just one or two go on to do some interesting work that makes it into festivals, it will have been worth it. The fact that the talent campus was added this year also shows that the government is finally recognizing that investing in young filmmakers is the only way Vietnamese cinema will grow and develop like they want it to. Thats encouraging.

STORY: HANIFF Debuts New Talent Campus in Bid to Boost Vietnamese Industry

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Vietnamese Director Phan Dang Di Slams Government Censorship of Sex Scenes at Hanoi Film Fest

By Alex Johnston Epoch Times Staff Created: December 3, 2012 Last Updated: December 4, 2012

Flags fly at the United Nations. Google issued a warning that United Nations countries need to maintain an open and uncensored Internet during closed-door talks on the worlds global telecommunications treaty. (Amal Chen/The Epoch Times)

Google issued a warning that United Nations countries need to maintain an open and uncensored Internet during closed-door talks on the worlds global telecommunications treaty, while U.N. officials tried to assuage public fears, saying there would be no new curbs on Internet freedom.

There have been concerns that the 193-member International Telecommunication Union (ITU) talks in Dubai from Dec. 3 to Dec. 14 will result in increased Internet regulations, with countries like China and Russia claiming they need to increase monitoring and create more Web blockades.

Love the free and open Internet? Tell the worlds governments to keep it that way, reads Googles splash page Monday.

The conference has raised concerns as to how much power the U.N. has over the Internet in terms of regulation.

Vint Cerf, Googles vice president and self-described Internet evangelist, said in a blog posting Sunday that starting in 1973, when my colleagues and I proposed the technology behind the Internet, we advocated for an open standard to connect computer networks together.

Vint Cerf, vice president, Google

But starting in a few hours, a closed-door meeting of the worlds governments is taking place in Dubai, and regulation of the Internet is on the agenda, he said. Cerf took issue with the fact that only governments are allowed to vote on the decades-old treaty.

Some proposals could allow governments to justify the censorship of legitimate speech, or even cut off Internet access in their countries, he said.

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Google Warns UN of Internet Censorship in Dubai Talks

In many countries, journalists have to fight censorship when trying to publish critical stories. The organization Reporters Without Borders has launched a website to publish stories otherwise suppressed by the censors.

When something is banned, it's bound get people curious. Videos and images that are suppressed, therefore, often spread like wildfire on the Internet: the topless photos of Kate Middleton, future queen of England, were online everywhere within hours. And it's this principle that Reporters Without Borders now wants to use for journalistic content.

"We believe that there has to be a platform to publish stories that are being censored in the very countries where they should be published," Matthias Spielkamp, board member of Reporter Without Borders in Germany, told DW. The focus is explicitly on well-researched features by journalists who, because of a lack of press freedom, cannot publishtheir storiesin their country's newspapers, TV or radio.

The website is not meant to be platform like WikiLeaks and isnot intended to bea place for tabloid stories, Spielkamp explained. The project is getting financial support from the European Union, the city of Paris and from donations.

Support for censored authors

One of the first stories published is from Morocco, whereOmar Brouksy is no longer allowed to workas a publisher. In October, the government withdrew his accreditation because the journalist had beenoverly critical of the royal family's role during a recentelection.

Brouksy's text, however, continues to be available online. Reporters Without Borders published the piece in agreement with the author on their website, wefightcensorship.org. Online with text,the page also explainswhy each story is being censored.

The website offers to publish anymaterial that's being censored in an author's home country.Articles are sent anonymously, and in a way that the author's identity cannot be traced. Reporters Without Borders, which itself does ask for the author's identity to check whether the story is credible,offers to keep the writers anonymous for their own protection,explained Spielkamp.

Should the stories not be writtenin English or France, they will be translated for the page. All the material will also be offered for download, and even outrightcopying of an entire workisencouraged. Readers can post the stories on social media networks as well as on a list of regional services.

More security than a blog

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New website fights censorship

A U.N. conference that kicked off today in Dubai has sparked fear of Internet censorship in the U.S. -- something U.S. Ambassador Terry Kramer said he is doing everything in his power to prevent.

Nothing regarding the Internet do we want subject to U.N. review and regulation, Kramer told FoxNews.com.

Monday marked the first day of an 11-day conference. Kramer, who leads the U.S. delegation at the conference, said that the first day had gone well and so far delegates are still in the early stage, talking about what should be reviewed when. No specific regulations have been debated yet.

- Terry Kramer, U.S. chief envoy to the ITU

But regulations likely to come up soon are far reaching with signification ramifications, ranging from changes to the way web addresses like ".com" are distributed to charging websites for sending information (for example, a company like Google or Amazon could be required to pay cable companies a charge every time someone used their site.)

[Proposals] on content review and on pricing the transfer of content, which would essentially tax the Internet we are actively opposing those, Kramer said.

While almost all of the U.N. meeting is secret, many documents have leaked, including one proposal from the Russian delegation declaring "the sovereign right to regulate the national Internet segment."

It echoes a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin last year calling for global control over such [Internet] exchange. This is certainly a priority on the international agenda.

Kramer said the Russian proposal worried him.

Candidly, we were very concerned with the Russian proposal. I think it was the most stark in nature of all the proposals that have been put out, because it basically is proposing Internet governance managed either by the ITU or the national government. There are traffic routing proposals in there that would open the door to potential censorship, which obviously we dont agree with, Kramer said.

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CENSORSHIP FEARS: US Tries to Stop UN From Controlling the Internet

Youtube censors and blocks recent vlog from playing on mobiles
Youtube censors and blocks recent vlog from playing on mobiles... Youtube... wtf is this shit ? why you being a dick , supporting mindless censorship which indicates you have no freaking brain ? You supporting the anti-ET agenda , you xenephobic towards ETs ? and hybrids like myself ?From:LadyDanielle ZanaViews:12 5ratingsTime:01:15More inNonprofits Activism

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Youtube censors and blocks recent vlog from playing on mobiles - Video