Culture and differences in the flat world
The unique cultural identity of each nation helps the national image to be recognized, creating a difference compared to the rest of the world. And the journey to bring proud national culture and image to the world has been jointly strived by many cultural sectors for decades.
Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan - former Director of the Department of Cinema, Chairman of the Vietnam Association for the Promotion of Cinema Development (VFDA) has had a long process for the Hanoi International Film Festival and the Da Nang Asian Film Festival to attract the attention of filmmakers around the world.
Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan recounted: "In 2010, on the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism directed the Department of Cinema to plan and develop a project to build and develop the Vietnam International Film Festival. In 2012, when I was Director of the Department of Cinema, I asked to change the name to Hanoi International Film Festival, because in other countries, international film festivals are often associated with the name of a place, a city.
Later, when I was Chairman of the VFDA, I continued to make projects and develop plans for the Da Nang Asian Film Festival, in collaboration with the Da Nang City People's Committee.
To build a cultural brand of international stature, like film festivals, there will be many difficulties and challenges. First is finance. Then comes the mechanism, the way to link and build an ecosystem to help film festivals be organized annually... The biggest difficulty is building a brand for that film festival. There must be a brand to attract investors, brands, and businesses. And there must be a brand to maintain and develop sustainably and long-term.
According to Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, in the early stages of developing the project to organize the Da Nang Asian Film Festival, she and her colleagues had to call for investment and financial support from close friends.
It will be difficult in the early stages. But, when we build trust and build a brand, the event will immediately attract investors, artists, and international filmmakers. From 2023 to now, the Da Nang Asian Film Festival has increasingly received more attention from businesses and filmmakers, creating momentum for many young film talents to shine" - Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan said.
According to Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, with film festivals or many cultural events, in the early stages, there will be financial difficulties because these are often unprofitable projects. However, cultural events have strong spillover effects, widespread influence, creating a sustainable and long-term development posture.
Investing in festivals and cultural events of international stature is also one of the goals set out in Resolution 80-NQ/TW.
Over the past decade, in many fields of the cultural industry, efforts have been made to build international-level events and festivals, such as International Fashion Week, International Film Festival, International Exhibition... Most recently, the World Cultural Festival was held for the first time at Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hanoi.
Cultural events connecting with the world are the fastest and shortest path to bring Vietnamese culture, art, and image to the world, so that we can both integrate to learn and introduce and promote. Both preserve the beauty and quintessence in national culture, and create soft power, national brand, and Vietnam's uniqueness before the world.
Cultural position shapes national brand
Talking to Lao Dong reporters about the contents of Resolution 80-NQ/TW, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hoai Son - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Education assessed that Vietnam has had very strong "certifications" in terms of international cultural prestige such as the UNESCO heritage system.
As of December 2025, Vietnam has 17 intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO. This is an extremely important "iconic capital", because these heritages create international trust and affirm Vietnamese identity. But according to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hoai Son, the heritage recognized by UNESCO is only a "brand resource", not automatically becoming a "national brand" if there is no modern storytelling, productization and distribution mechanism.
Vietnam has had "brand highlights", even elements that have been recognized by the world, but to call it a national cultural brand in the full sense - that is, having a production ecosystem, stable quality standards, international distribution capacity, consistent storylines and sustainable spread - we are still in the "approaching" stage, "forming". I believe that to have a national cultural brand, it must be considered a large-scale social organization project, not a communication campaign. The national brand is not born from slogans, but from the storytelling capacity of a nation that is "industrialized": There is creativity, there is production, there is distribution, there are standards, there is accumulation of trust" - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hoai Son said.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hoai Son's analysis, on the path of building a national brand from culture, the State needs to play the role of "architect" and "leader". The State designs institutions, creates a healthy competitive environment, invests in infrastructure, orders projects that are open-ended, supports creative clusters, and most importantly, protects copyright - protects creative space.
The State also plays a role in cultural diplomacy to open markets and create international cooperation corridors. This spirit is also emphasized in discussions on national brand positioning through cultural values and cultural diplomacy. Businesses are "market engines", when they are ready to invest, produce, innovate business models, apply science and technology, improve quality standards, build supply and distribution chains, and bring cultural products internationally.
The national cultural brand is the result of an ecosystem, where the State builds and protects "ice roads", businesses and creative communities take off with high-class products, and society is a space for enjoyment, evaluation and spread.
Artist Dao Hai Phong (in the field of Fine Arts - Exhibitions): Currently, in my field, artists often spontaneously bring paintings to exhibitions abroad on individual invitations. I hope that the art and photography circles will be given systematic conditions for painting exchange activities to be organized in a formal way.
Meritorious Artist Kieu Minh Hieu - Director of the Vietnam National Drama Theatre: Improving the economic life of artists, training and supporting talents to strengthen the personnel of the industry is also an urgent issue raised.
