HANIFF VII aims to discover and honor new cinema talents; introduce outstanding works of world cinema and connect, exchange and cooperate for mutual development, creating opportunities to expand the Vietnamese cinema market, integrating into the international cinema market.
About 800 domestic and international delegates and guests will attend HANIFF VII. 117 films from 51 countries and territories such as the United States, France, Sweden, the Russian Federation, Denmark, Norway, China, Japan, etc. were selected by the Preliminary Selection Council and the Final Selection Council from more than 500 films registered to participate in the Film Festival's programs.
There are 11 feature films in the competition, of which the Vietnamese film is "Once Upon a Time There Was a Love Story" (adapted from the story of writer Nguyen Nhat Anh) directed by Trinh Dinh Le Minh, produced in 2024 by Hoan Khue Film Production Joint Stock Company.
19 short films were entered into the competition, including 11 foreign films and 8 Vietnamese films, including documentaries, animations and feature films. There were 7 films in the German Cinema Focus Program; 39 films in the World Cinema Panorama Program; 33 films in the Contemporary Vietnamese Film Program, including feature films, documentaries and animations, and 9 films in the Film Program celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital (October 10, 1954 - October 10, 2024).
There are three Juries (BGK) for feature films, short films and AFCNet, each BGK has 1 Vietnamese member). For feature films, the BGK has 5 members: Mr. William Pfeiffer - Film Producer, USA - Chairman; Ms. Sophie Linnenbaum - Director, Screenwriter, Federal Republic of Germany. Mr. Chartchai Ketnust - Film Director, Film Producer, Thailand. Ms. Terez Vincze - Film Critic, Hungary and Mr. Hua Vi Van - Actor, Film Producer, Vietnam.
The Opening and Closing Ceremony - Award Ceremony were held at Ho Guom Theater, 40 Hang Bai, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. The idea of the script for these two ceremonies was inspired by traditional folk art and culture interwoven with modern architectural works that are symbols of Hanoi.
The main activities of HANIFF VII include the exhibition: "Vietnam's heritage recognized by UNESCO - Experience through cinematic footage" hosted by the Vietnam Film Institute, held from November 7-11, 2024. The exhibition introduces about 200 images from films by domestic and international filmmakers capturing images of Vietnam's heritages recognized by UNESCO.
Within the framework of the Festival, there are 2 seminars held with the theme "Spotlight on German Cinema" and the theme "Developing film production exploiting historical themes and adapted from literary works".
A familiar activity is the Film Project Market organized by the Department of Cinema in collaboration with Binh Hanh Dan Company Limited. This is a place to support producers, directors and screenwriters in the Asia-Pacific region to introduce their film projects to investors and domestic and foreign film experts through seminars, workshops and networking events taking place within the framework of the program. International Project Market: Selecting 4 outstanding film projects from countries in the Asia-Pacific region to award prizes; Domestic Project Market: Selecting 4 outstanding projects from Vietnam to award prizes of the Project Market.
The film screening program, in addition to the cinema screenings, will include outdoor screenings and interactions with movie stars taking place over three evenings during the festival at the Walking Street, Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi. The opening film of HANIFF VII is “Once Upon a Time There Was a Love Story” which will be shown at 3:00 p.m. on November 7, 2024 at the National Cinema Center.
