In the 2024-2025 years, Vietnamese cinema witnessed a rare transformation. The number of films released in theaters has increased rapidly, the technical and artistic quality has improved significantly, while the diversity of genres also brings an increasingly professional look.
The works that created box office records appeared one after another, typically the phenomenon of "Red Rain" with a revenue of over 700 billion VND, the highest ever of Vietnamese films. Commercial success combined with stable growth in artistic quality shows that Vietnamese films are approaching domestic audiences' expectations and are competitive on the stage.
The opening ceremony was solemnly held with a lot of sound, light, and color at the United Hall (Independence Palace) - an iconic space - contributing to raising the scale of the festival, the bustling atmosphere covering the whole city with film screenings, exchange programs, streets decorated with billboards and promotional banners, demonstrating the proper investment of Ho Chi Minh City in efforts to build a film brand.
This year's film festival is also a space for the film industry to reflect on the future. At the 3 seminars, many experts emphasized that Vietnamese cinema must first integrate from thinking, because cinema is not only an art story but also a cultural product of global exchange.
A Vietnamese film, despite its strong national identity, still needs a popular cinematic language to touch the emotions of viewers in many countries. The integrated thinking from creativity to production and promotion is the key for Vietnamese films to enter the international race with more confidence.
Experts agree that, for Vietnamese cinema to truly "go far", the product needs to overcome many strict criteria: High technical quality, aesthetic thinking in line with international trends and wide attraction. When integrating not only through works but also through the organization of production, distribution and international cooperation, Vietnamese films can create a sustainable mark.
On this occasion, the Handbook "Ho Chi Minh City - Film Production Destination" was introduced to the delegates. This is a publication designed according to international standards to support film crews, providing overview information on the setting, services, infrastructure and working process in Ho Chi Minh City.
The results of the awards ceremony were not many surprises. Red Rain won the Golden Lotus Award for feature film, and won additional individual awards for effects, sound, art design, and supporting actor.
In addition to the 2 awards for geography: Sun in the dark and death in the air, the judges decision to award the third Silver Lotus to Sister-in-law is completely deserved for a family-themed film with a lot of humanity. The excellent filming award for Nguyen K'Linh of the film "Tunnel: Sun in the dark" is not controversial, but Ly Thai Dung of "Red Rain" is not inferior, the price for the bronze filming award is probably more reasonable. The director award for Ham Tran is deserved while Thu Trang's first director award with "The Billion Dollar Kiss" is the motivation for a potential young female director to continue to reach greatness.
The Best Actor Award went to Tuan Tran's delicate and expressive acting in the film "Bringing Me Out".
The Best Actress Award is a worthy award for Phuong Anh Dao in the film Mai.
In the documentary genre, Golden Lotus is for the two films "The Man Who preserves the soul of heritage" and "The Province and the Rehabilitation".
Science film genre, Golden Lotus for the film "S fine Dust - Floating Danger". In the field of animated films, it is not surprising that the two animated films shown in theaters this year are "De me: the adventure to the muddy village", directed by Mai Phuong and "Trang Quynh Nhi - The Legend of Kim Nguu", directed by Trinh Lam Tung.
This year's Vietnam Film Festival is also a test of the maturity of the film industry. Vietnam is facing an important moment: The door to international integration is more open than ever. To take advantage of the opportunity, the industry needs to continue to invest long-term, expand diversity in genres and increase international cooperation. The remaining thing is to turn aspirations into actions, turning each quality work into a cultural ambassador, contributing to the strong spread of Vietnamese identity on the world cinema map.
