Film fest to screen European, Vietnamese documentaries in Hanoi, Saigon

The festival, to be held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from May 31 to June 9, will feature biopics on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British painter David Hockney, as well as documentaries on environmental and social issues like coastal erosion, natural disorder, and postpatrum depression.

Documentaries on contemporary art in Vietnam and ten European countries including Austria, Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany, Israel, and Spain will also be screened, media reports said. 

Many films that will be screened this year have won important awards and nominations. "So Help Me God" ("Ni juge, Ni Soumise"), which follows an eccentric Belgian judge and her behind the scenes journey of real-life criminal investigations, won the prestigious César award as well as Belgium’s Magritte du Cinéma award this year. 

Among the Vietnamese films to be screened is "Remember: You’re alive" ("Hay nho: Ban dang song"), which chronicles the story of a rural girl facing cancer. It won Vietnam’s Golden Kites Award in 2018.

All movies are screened free of charge. All Vietnamese films will carry English subtitles, but not all foreign ones will do so, organizers have said. 

The screenings will take place at the Studio for Documentary & Scientific Film in Hanoi and Hoa Sen University in Ho Chi Minh City.

The festival is an annual event organized by European Union National Institute for Culture (EUNIC) and the DSF.