Viet Nam’s beauty through the lens of cinema
Ngo Phuong Lan, President of the Viet Nam Film Development Association, said that this year the association made its mark at a number of major film events around the world, including the Cannes International Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival, the Tokyo International Film Festival, as well as the film capital Los Angeles and the city of light Paris. These are all key international film markets and important promotional targets for Vietnamese cinema.
Kicking off the 2025 external outreach programme was the Viet Nam Film Promotion Programme in the US, marking 30 years of Viet Nam–the US diplomatic relations.
Within the programme, VFDA carried out a number of film promotion activities, including connecting with producers and studios through the Viet Nam–US Film Production Cooperation Roundtable in Los Angeles; organising Viet Nam Film Day; and hosting the seminar ‘Cooperation for the development of Vietnamese cinema in the US amid artificial intelligence and the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ at Harvard University.
At the Hong Kong (China) International Film and TV Market (FILMART 2025), VFDA continued to expand its promotion efforts, introducing Vietnamese film projects, promoting the third DANAFF, and strengthening connections with producers, distributors and partners across the Asia-Pacific region.
Beyond attracting and inviting international filmmakers, producers and studios to Viet Nam, VFDA also promoted and introduced a number of Vietnamese film projects, while positioning the Da Nang Asian Film Festival as a key highlight in Viet Nam’s engagement with global cinema.
At the 78th Cannes International Film Festival, VFDA promoted Vietnamese cinema and the Da Nang Asian Film Festival through the workshop “Viet Nam – Asia’s dynamic market, a destination for international film crews.”
Beyond attracting and inviting international filmmakers, producers and studios to Viet Nam, VFDA also promoted and introduced a number of Vietnamese film projects, while positioning the Da Nang Asian Film Festival as a key highlight in Viet Nam’s engagement with global cinema.
At the 30th Busan International Film Festival, a series of events — including the workshop ‘The Pulse of Vietnamese Cinema introducing promising projects’, the Viet Nam Night programme, and the Viet Nam Cinema booth at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) — were organised, drawing a large number of directors, artists, producers, studios and other participants.
After Busan, at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF 2025), VFDA further expanded its promotion activities by organising, for the first time, an independent Viet Nam cinema promotion booth at TIFFCOM.
In the final days of 2025, the ‘Vietnamese Cinema – Journey of Light’ Week in Paris (France), jointly organised by VFDA, AVSE Global and the Embassy of Viet Nam in France, not only attracted thousands of viewers to Vietnamese historical stories told through cinema, but also served as a meeting and exchange space for international filmmakers interested in Vietnamese cinema.
Highlights of the Da Nang Asian Film Festival
To date, the Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) is the only international film festival in Viet Nam to maintain an annual schedule, with a steadily expanding scale in the number of films across programmes, films in competition, guests and accompanying activities.
In 2025, the third DANAFF saw clear growth in both scale and duration, extending from five days to seven days, featuring more than 100 films and nearly 200 screenings in outdoor cinemas — double the number of the second DANAFF in 2024.
The festival welcomed nearly 200 international delegates and guests. In particular, the presence and remarks of the Director-General of UNESCO at the opening ceremony recognised the festival as an official activity marking the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. This was an important milestone, affirming DANAFF’s standing and international credibility within the regional film event landscape.
In its move towards deeper professional development, the festival also marked the launch of the Project Incubator – DANAFF Talents, a programme that supports, trains and connects young filmmakers from Viet Nam and Asia with the international film community.
The festival serves as a bridge to promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation in film and culture, opening up many opportunities for long-term connections and collaboration with international partners. The success of DANAFF continues to affirm Viet Nam’s increasingly professional capacity to organise international film events, and VFDA’s role as a trusted focal point for cultural and cinematic diplomacy.
As the host city of the Da Nang Asian Film Festival, Vice Chairwoman of the Da Nang City People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Anh Thi stressed that, after three seasons, DANAFF has become a familiar rendezvous for cinema lovers—a place where creative talent converges alongside inspiring meetings and exchanges.
At a strategic level, the activities of the VFDA are closely aligned with the major direction set by the Party in Politburo Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW dated January 7, 2026 on the development of Vietnamese culture in the new period.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong
Speaking about VFDA’s journey to integrate Vietnamese cinema internationally, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong highly appreciated the association’s proactive participation and implementation of a wide range of promotion activities at reputable film festivals and forums, gradually building an effective coordination model between cultural diplomacy and the film industry.
The Deputy Minister underlined that, from a strategic perspective, the activities of the VFDA are aligned closely and accurately with the major direction set by the Party in Politburo Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW dated January 7, 2026 on the development of Vietnamese culture in the new period. The Resolution emphasises the need to develop cultural industries in combination with building the Vietnamese person and promoting national identity, while regarding this as an important pillar for strengthening national soft power and enhancing Viet Nam’s position on the international stage.
Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong also affirmed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to accompany and facilitate, within its authority, and coordinate closely with the association to help international film promotion activities be implemented effectively and in the right direction; contributing to Vietnamese cinema’s sustainable development, rich identity, and a standing commensurate with its potential in the region and the world.
