Speaking at the exchange, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang recalled the proud and emotional moments at the opening ceremony of the Viet Nam Film Week in France on the evening of December 5.
The presence of a large number of overseas Vietnamese and international friends who love Vietnamese culture, filling all three tiers of Le Grand Rex, Europe’s largest cinema, clearly showed the enthusiastic support of audiences for Vietnamese cinema.
The series of events and continuous screenings aim to present “the Viet Nam story” to international audiences. Each story told by cinematic language on the vivid screen during this film week represents a “frame of film” in Viet Nam’s development journey over the past half-century.
For her part, Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, Chairwoman of the Viet Nam Film Development Association (VFDA), shared deep emotions about the “first landing” of Vietnamese cinema in the “capital of light and global cinematic art”.
Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan said that the domestic cinema market has undergone a strong transformation in recent years, that surprise even people working in the sector for a long time. She highlighted breakthrough figures: Hollywood films in Viet Nam, which once held nearly 70% of the market share, had dropped to only 15% by late 2023, while Vietnamese films rose to nearly 70% this year.
She emphasised that French film projects shot in Viet Nam in the early 1990s laid the first foundations for bringing the image of Vietnamese cinema closer to French and European audiences.
“More than 30 years have passed—a long wait for an event as continuous, methodical and large-scale as today. Vietnamese filmmakers have brought their works to Paris; they have opened a door. This path must be continued steadily and consistently, and most importantly, it must carry a “Vietnamese voice”, which is capable of resonating and telling stories that conquer international audiences,” the VFDA Chairwoman stressed.
At the event, artists shared profound perspectives on their creative journeys, how they bring Vietnamese culture into each frame, and their aspirations to advance Vietnamese films further into the global cinematic flow.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Tran Nam Chung, Director of People’s Public Security Cinema, the initial success of the cinematic phenomenon “Death battle in the air” marks a step forward and also a great pressure for filmmakers in their following films.
Meeting the Vietnamese community in France, young actress Kaity Nguyen expressed her hope that Viet Nam Film Week would bring audiences impressive films and become a cherished memory reminding overseas Vietnamese in France of their homeland.
In addition, the film “Red Rain” from the People’s Army Cinema brought the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” to Paris. The film crew described it as the largest film made by the People’s Army Cinema in the past 20 years.
Throughout the challenging filming process, crew members remained devoted to the mission of continuing to tell historical stories so that audiences can better understand the nation’s history and the sacrifices of previous generations.
With nearly 10 million domestic viewers, promoting the film in a major cinema market like Paris is a significant motivation to spread the image of the homeland, country and the peace-loving spirit of the Vietnamese people to the world.
The exchange event also featured veteran actors who shared philosophical perspectives on art and community connection.
Actor and Meritorious Artist Huu Muoi said he felt fortunate to have participated in a film, which is considered a milestone of post-war Vietnamese cinema, whose “cinematic vitality endures to this day”. Director Dang Nhat Minh masterfully told the story through silence, rhythms of memory and inner voices.
Actress Tu Oanh was moved to see many overseas Vietnamese audiences fly from other European countries to join the Vietnamese cinema atmosphere in Paris.
Accompanying the film “Rain on the Butterfly’s Wings” during the Viet Nam Film Week in Paris, Tu Oanh praised the creativity and artistic ideas of the younger filmmaking generation, from directors, cinematographers to designers and art teams.
She said this demonstrates that Vietnamese cinema can place full confidence in young filmmakers, who maintain openness to global cinema while preserving Vietnamese tradition and “Vietnamese soul” in each frame.
The exchange took place vibrantly, with many questions from French audiences and overseas Vietnamese about innovations in Vietnamese cinematic language, production techniques and visual effects, to the journey of bringing Vietnamese independent films to international markets and how artists preserve the identity. The event also gathered many outstanding cinema figures from Viet Nam and the Vietnamese artistic community in Europe.
A grand and impressive opening ceremony of the Viet Nam Film Week in Paris, full screening rooms and enduring artistic values in each cinematic frame are encouragement for managers, filmmakers and artists to expand creative spaces and bring Vietnamese images closer to global audiences.
