It’s Time To Act – The First Nature Film Festival in Vietnam

“#It’s Time To Act – A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam” is the first nature film showcase featuring international and local environmentally themed films and conversations on sustainability and harmony with Nature in Vietnam.

Spanish Ambassador to Vietnam María Del Pilar Méndez Jiménez delivered the opening speech of the first International Nature Film Festival in Vietnam. Source: baoquocte.vn

It will take place from September 23 to October 7, against the backdrop of the United Nations General Assembly, joining the framework of international activities during Climate Week 2022 (September 19-25).

is coordinated by the Embassy of Spain in Vietnam with contributions from participating 14 countries including Europe, Latin America, Canada, and Vietnam (Belgium–Wallonie-Bruxelles, Brasil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Perú, Spain, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Vietnam).

WildAct Vietnam, a wildlife conservation organization, is the organizational partner of the first edition of this Festival, joined by the Vietnam Film Development Association, the Delegation of EU to Vietnam, and nine environmental organizations from Vietnam including Center for Nature Conservation and Development-CCD; Green Innovation Join Stock Company – GREEN IN; Gaia Nature Conservation; Vietnam Green Generation Network – Live&Learn; Three Monkeys Wildlife Conservancy; People and Nature Reconciliation – PanNature; Vietnam Sustainability Social Enterprise VSSE; Wild Rhino | Vietnam Be My Hero Campaign and ƯƠM Arthub in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ambassador of Spain to Vietnam María Del Pilar Méndez Jiménez shared the vision of “#It’s Time To Act – A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam”.

It is always a Spanish priority to be a bridge bringing together countries and peoples in favor of global public goods,she said. As the coordinator of “#It’s Time To Act – A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam”, Spain works together with institutions, society, individuals, and the environmental community of 14 countries across three continents, with the common intention of fostering international cooperation in raising awareness around what a sustainable future looks like, to pool one message: Only One Earth.

“#It’s Time To Act – A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam” is a project part of the EULAT 4 Culture Special call for funding Europe-Latin America cultural relations, with dedicated funding from the Spanish government, initiated by Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) in the context of its current 2021-2022 presidency of EUNIC.

The principal aim of the call was to put into action the Joint statement EUNIC/RIDCULT adopted by EUNIC at the June 2021 General Assembly in Toledo (Spain), with the purpose of fostering the contribution of culture to promoting dialogue, knowledge and exchange between the peoples of Europe and Latin America in diverse global settings.

Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Shawn Steil introduces the movie Hadwin's Judgment. Source: baoquocte.vn

Dr. Oriol Solà Pardell, Secretary, Administrative, Consular and Cultural Affairs of Embassy of Spain, coordinator of the festival, is confident that the film festival will inspire audience to protect and preserve Nature, and that the festival is an international effort to bring Hope to Nature.

“Let’s save the future”, said Dr. Oriol.

Meanwhile, Dr. Trang Nguyen, founder of WildAct Vietnam, commented on how the festival will leave an impact among the young audience.

“Documentaries may serve as an increasingly important tool for engaging people in conservation efforts, as outdoor experiences become less common in human’s lifestyle. Scientific evidence has shown that nature documentaries increase sensitivity to the species portrayed, increase environmental citizenship, increase support for conservation organizations, and generate positive attitudes and social norms than can support policy change. This film festival is a wonderful opportunity for the Vietnamese citizens to celebrate, connect and most importantly, act for nature”.

Representative of the Vietnam Association of Film Promotion and Development, Ngo Phuong Lan, said that this film festival will continue efforts on environmental protection through cinematic language in Vietnam, especially contributing making a positive impact on young people.

Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Film Promotion and Development, spoke at the event. Source: baoquocte.vn

The festival with environmental films will be showing 17 feature films, documentaries, and short films with subtitles in Vietnamese. Many film screenings will be open free for the public and in a hybrid format (both online & offline) in more than five venues in Hanoi and HCM City, including National Cinema Centre, National Documentary Film Studio, University of Hanoi, Casa Italia, Goethe Institute and ƯƠM Arthub.

At this event, Vietnam also participated with two documentaries, one about the problem of white pollution - extremely painful plastic pollution, the other belongs to a group of young authors who have just won the Green Screen Award, was organized by the Vietnam Association of Film Promotion and Development in August 2022.

Together with the showcase, participating embassies and environmental non–profit organizations from Vietnam will have the chance to raise general awareness about environmental issues, mainstreaming the environment during two weeks of environmental screenings in Vietnam.

The film screening schedule, ticket registration and introduction about each film can be found here.

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