First international nature film festival in Vietnam debuts

For the first time, a film festival will be held in Vietnam featuring international and Vietnamese motion picture-themed environment conversation and sustainable development.

Ambassador of Spain to Vietnam María Del Pilar Méndez Jiménez delivers a speech at the press conference announcing the event of #It’s Time To Act - A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam”. Photo: Hanoi Grapevine

The film festival titled "#It's Time To Act - A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam" will take place from September 23 to October 7 to join the international activities of Climate Week 2022 from September 19 to 25.
The Spanish ambassador to Vietnam, María Del Pilar Méndez Jiménez, said at the event that Spain always gives priority to being a bridge bringing countries and peoples together in favor of the global public good.
“As the coordinator of the festival in Vietnam, we are honored to work together with institutions, civil society, individuals, and the environmental community of 14 countries across three continents, with the common intention of fostering international cooperation in raising awareness around what a sustainable future looks like, to pool one message: Only One Earth,” she said.
According to Trang Nguyen, founder of WildAct Vietnam, the festival may leave a significant impact on the young audience in Vietnam. “Documentaries may serve as an increasingly important tool for engaging people in conservation efforts, as outdoor experiences become less common in human lifestyle. This film festival is a wonderful opportunity for the Vietnamese citizens to celebrate, connect and most importantly, act for nature,” she said.

Trang Nguyen, the founder of WildAct Vietnam, sends a message on environment conversation to youth. Photo: Hanoi Grapevine

Trang Nguyen also called on locals to join the film weeks, "to appreciate Mother Earth more and to have the power to speak and shout, to act, to give hope to the Earth and ourselves, for a better future, not only for the human race but for all living beings within it."

Seventeen feature films, documentaries, and short films with subtitles in Vietnamese will be screened at the festival with an environmental theme. Many film screenings will be free for the public and in a hybrid format (both online & offline) in more than five venues in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (including National Cinema Centre, National Documentary Film Studio, University of Hanoi, Casa Italia, Goethe Institute and UOM Arthub in Ho Chi Minh City).

Vietnam will bring to the film festival two documentaries called “The White Pollution”, “A Solution Against Coastal Erosion” and another 10-minute short film-themed anti-saltwater intrusion in Thai Binh Province.

The film list is available at https://www.naturefilmfestival.vn/about-8.

“#It’s Time To Act - A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam" aims to put into action the Joint statement EUNIC/RIDCULT (European Union National Institutes for Culture and the Ibero-American Network for Cultural Diplomacy) adopted by EUNIC at the June 2021 General Assembly in Toledo (Spain), to foster the contribution of culture to promoting dialogue, knowledge and exchange between the peoples of Europe and Latin America in diverse global settings.