The Ho Chi Minh Film Festival (HIFF) has wrapped up its inaugural edition with ambitious plans to become the largest film festival in Southeast Asia. Over eight days, the festival showcased more than 100 films, attracting over 280,000 visitors, including international guests. Industry professionals present at the festival were impressed by its scale and ambition, which included a script lab, workshop, and project market, as well as a “content and tech expo” focusing on new media and emerging technologies. Despite some areas for improvement, HIFF Executive Director Pham Minh Toan expressed satisfaction with the event’s success and the positive feedback received from international attendees, exceeding their expectations for a first-time film festival. Pham, who also runs Vietfest, the event company behind HIFF, and has organized several editions of the Ho Chi Minh City International Music Festival (HOZO), believes that an international film festival is crucial for Ho Chi Minh City’s vision of becoming the center of Southeast Asian cinema. The festival aims to attract international filmmakers, studios, and distribution companies to the city, fostering the growth and integration of its film market with the global arena. In 2023, Vietnam achieved the highest box office revenue in Southeast Asia, surpassing Indonesia, despite having a smaller population. This exceptional figure highlights the potential for rapid growth in the Vietnamese film industry. However, Pham acknowledges several challenges that HIFF must address, including the need for a major cinema center to host large-scale movie events. The festival’s programming was spread across multiple venues this year due to the lack of adequate infrastructure, complicating organization and operations. Additionally, censorship regulations posed some obstacles, leading to the removal of several films from the final program. Despite these challenges, HIFF successfully organized various programs, including a Southeast Asia competition, a first or second film competition, and Vietnam Panorama. Filipino filmmaker Sheron Dayoc’s “The Gospel of the Beast” won the festival’s Golden Star Award, while Singaporean director Nicole Midori Woodford won the Jury Prize for “Last Shadow At First Light.” Malaysian auteur Chai Chee Sum won Best Director for “Oasis Of Now,” which also earned Ta Thi Diu the best actress prize. Chai Yee Wei’s “Wonderland” received two acting awards, with Mark Lee winning best actor and Peter Yu winning best supporting actor.
Ho Chi Minh Film Festival Aims to Become Southeast Asia’s Largest
