The documentary film initiative "Voices for Tomorrow" officially returns, continuing to pursue the goal of promoting sustainable development through the lens of cinema.
Accordingly, on April 9 in Hanoi, the Goethe Institute Hanoi in collaboration with the TPD Cinema Talent Development Support Center (under the Vietnam Cinema Association) announced 3 independent documentary film projects for "Voices for Tomorrow/ Speaking for the future".
Mr. Oliver Brandt - Director of the Goethe Institute Hanoi said that this year the program will focus on topics such as social inclusion, livelihoods, waste management and urban development, exploiting life stories in Vietnam to bring a closer and more multi-dimensional perspective on the community.
Through this, the selected documentaries will be like a dialogue tool, helping to approach complex social issues through practical interaction with local partners.
The period 2025 - 2027 marks a new turning point in the approach. For the first time, filmmakers proactively choose CSO organizations to accompany them from the beginning, thereby developing projects based on personal creative orientation but still closely linked to the actual context.
In order to improve production quality, the program organizes a pre-production sound workshop with the participation of Haki Sound, the unit that also undertakes sound post-production for selected projects.
Participating filmmakers are selected by a panel of advisors including typical faces in the field of contemporary documentary films: Director Ha Le Diem, Nguyen Hong Anh and Nguyen Hong Quan. These are filmmakers with international experience, representing many different creative perspectives.
Among them, Ha Le Diem is known for the documentary film "The Children in the Mist" which was shortlisted for the 2023 Oscars. Nguyen Hong Anh is a Vietnamese-born director working in Germany, with the work "Saigon Kiss" marking his presence at many international film festivals. Nguyen Hong Quan is a filmmaker and lecturer, with many years of experience in documentary filmmaking.
Through the process of cooperation with civil society organizations, the projects developed not only reflect contemporary environmental and social issues in Vietnam, but also expand access to domestic and foreign audiences.
3 typical projects selected this year include: The project "Tam Giang Lagoon/Pha Tam Giang Lagoon" by Phan Thi Huynh Nhi and Dao Hoang Duy exploiting the story of protecting the lagoon ecosystem, associated with the efforts of the local community in planting and preserving mangrove forests. The project cooperates with the Center for Social Research and Development (CSRD) to access materials and actual locations.
Independent Living" by Nguyen Ho Bao Nghi and Nguyen Anh revolves around the journey of making a living and fighting for the right to independent life of a man with cerebral palsy in an urban environment with many barriers. The project receives support from Cham Vao Xanh in connecting the community and providing professional knowledge.
Meanwhile, "Lội nhớt/ Hanoi is Drenching" by Nong Nhat Quang and Hoang Thao takes viewers into the underground club space in Hanoi, where a generation of queer artists are shaping a new identity amidst the changing urban context. The project cooperates with Hanoi Pride and the Institute for Social, Economic and Environmental Studies (iSEE) to approach the community and research context.
Through this initiative, Vietnamese documentary filmmakers have more conditions to develop projects in a specialized way, while expanding opportunities to bring works to the international market, contributing to spreading social stories from Vietnam to the world.
