According to Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Film Development Association, through the series of Vietnamese cinema activities in the US from February 28 to March 13, it will contribute to positioning the Vietnamese film industry in the international arena, as well as attracting many Hollywood film studios to Vietnam.
On February 28 (US time), on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the US, the Vietnam Film Promotion and Development Association (VFDA) in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in the US and the American Cinema Association organized a series of activities to promote Vietnamese cinema in the US.
The Vietnamese delegation was led by Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan – Chairwoman of VFDA, former Director of the Department of Cinema, and Ms. Le Minh Tam – Vice Chairwoman of VFDA as deputy head of the delegation…
Opening the series of activities to promote cinema in the US on February 28, VFDA worked and exchanged training experiences in the field of cinema with Ms. Suk – Young Kim (Vice Principal of the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California Los Angeles – UCLA), Professor Chrisi Karvonides – Dushenko (Head of the Department of Costume Design at UCLA).
At the meeting, Ms. Suk – Young Kim said that UCLA is the leading public university system in the US for cinema, located in the west of Los Angeles (California), founded in 1919, with 46,500 students. At UCLA, there is the world’s largest library and film and television archive, with the goal of preserving and restoring historical and cultural cinematographic works.
The school has trained many famous directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, James Franco, Alexander Payne… This is also the school where famous Vietnamese directors studied, such as Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh, who is well known through the film Mua len trau released in 2004.
Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan is very honored and moved to return to UCLA, because 18 years ago, the book published internationally by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) in 2007 with the title Modernity and Nationality in Vietnamese Cinema was also launched in several states and major universities in the US, including UCLA.
At the book launch, in addition to professors, lecturers and students of the school, there were also many famous scholars, researchers and filmmakers interested in Asia and Vietnam.
According to Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, the book delves into two characteristics of Vietnamese films: national character and modernity, along with the humanistic values, national identity and timeliness of successful films in each historical period of the nation. At the same time, the author also mentions the limitations of Vietnamese films when integrating internationally and presents the successful lessons of some Asian filmmakers.
DANAFF 2025 – A rendezvous of Asian cinema
On the same day, VFDA visited the studio of Digital Domain Company. This company participated in many famous film projects, major films such as Titanic, Ms. Marvel, Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten wheels; or doing special effects for a series of blockbuster movies such as: Spiderman, Ant-Man, Fast & Furious, The Game of Illusion, Avatar…
The meeting revolved around exchanging experiences about the film industry, American filmmaking technologies, Digital Domain Company and VFDA hope to soon have the opportunity to cooperate so that Vietnamese cinema has more opportunities to integrate with world cinema.
Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan said that, established in 2019, with the goal of supporting the development of Vietnamese cinema by consulting, proposing, and building film policies, VFDA has cooperated with the People’s Committee of Da Nang City to successfully organize the Asian Film Festival – DANAFF since 2023. And the 3rd DANAFF is expected to be held in June 2025, taking place in 7 days instead of 5 days like every year. DANAFF is not only a film event, but also a launching pad to bring Vietnamese films to the world.
This year, DANAFF will have a special program called “War Cinema”, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. More than 20 typical war films will be screened. DANAFF 2025 will also organize 2 “Project Markets”, creating opportunities for young filmmakers to meet and exchange with producers and directors. This is not only an opportunity for the audience to review history, but also helps domestic and international filmmakers have a deeper insight into the topic of war through the lens of cinema.
“VFDA hopes to be a bridge connecting Hollywood filmmakers with Vietnamese filmmakers to create outstanding cinematic works, promoting the common development of the two countries’ film industries”, emphasized Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan.
From February 28 to March 13, VFDA organized a seminar introducing Vietnamese cinema and the filmmaking environment in Vietnam and the US; attended The Night Before event (an annual event held before the Oscars, gathering many big names in the film industry); a roundtable conference on the humanistic values of Vietnamese cinema and cooperation opportunities in the new era; opened a screening of Vietnamese films in the US…
According to Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, the series of activities took place with the goal of introducing cinematic works with humanistic values and cultural identity, promoting Vietnamese cinema in particular, the image of Vietnam in general in the US; creating opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation with US partners in the fields of cinema, technology, and communications, contributing to positioning the film industry in the international arena and attracting Hollywood film studios to Vietnam.
