Vietnamese, Italian Professionals Discuss Ways to Improve Quality of Int'l Film Fests in Vietnam

Speakers participate in the film talk.

The event was held in the framework of the 2023 Italian Film Festival, which takes place from November 27 to December 2 in Hanoi. At the talk, professionals in the movie industry talked about their experiences and lessons learned while holding and attending international film festivals and made recommendations for Vietnam to better generate international film festivals.

According to the speakers, while Vietnam has held a considerable number of international film festivals, namely Hanoi International Film Festival, Da Nang Asian Film Festival, and Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival, there are still improvements needed to make impactful festivals that attract a large audience in the future.

To better leverage the country's potential, film director and producer Nguyen Hoang Diep suggested that film festivals should be a place to display and screen films. They should not only serve contestation but also sell and distribute film products and create opportunities for cooperation between countries in the field.

According to Pham Minh Toan, Executive Director of the first Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival – HIFF 2024, international film festivals should bring positive opportunities to boost the domestic film industry, create chances for the audience to interact with filmmakers globally, and organize interesting activities such as fan meetings. These events also help showcase to foreign friends the beauty and wonder of Vietnam through the large screens and contribute to the economic growth by attracting more tourists visiting the country.

Toan said that Vietnam needs to cooperate in film production with other countries to promote the domestic film industry and better utilize the country's beautiful landscape.

Film critic and journalist Le Hong Lam said that Vietnam’s international film festivals need to provide a playground for Vietnamese young filmmakers to thrive in the industry.

Meanwhile, Antonio Termenini, who is the director of the Asian Film Festival in Rome and the President of Cineforum Robert Bresson, the biggest challenge is not the budget but how to create an identity for a film festival. "Organizing an international film festival in places like Bangkok, Rome or Ho Chi Minh City is always difficult because they are all very large cities. You need a precise picture of what activities you want to do at an event like this", he said.

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