How The Ho Chi Minh Film Festival Plans To Become Southeast Asia’s Top Event

deadline.com:

After wrapping its inaugural edition, the Ho Chi Minh Film Festival (HIFF) has set its sights on becoming the largest film festival in Southeast Asia.

Showcasing more than 100 films over eight days, the festival received over 280,000 visitors, including international guests, over eight days earlier this month (April 6-13).

Industry professionals present at the festival told Deadline that they were impressed by the scale and ambition of the festival, which included a script lab, workshop and project market and a “content and tech expo” focusing on new media and emerging technologies. “It can be said to be a success, although there are still a few things we could have done better if we had more time to prepare,” HIFF Executive Director Pham Minh Toan told Deadline. “We are happy because most of the international friends who attended responded positively — what happened in Ho Chi Minh City over the eight days exceeded their expectations of a first-time film festival.” Pham runs Vietfest, the event company behind HIFF.

He has also organized several editions of the Ho Chi Minh City International Music Festival (HOZO). With government support through the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and the city’s Department of Culture and Sports, the film festival wants to cement Vietnam as a top player in the regional film industry. “An international film festival is a necessary push for the vision of Ho Chi Minh City becoming the center of Southeast Asian cinema in the coming years,” said Pham. “The international film festival will attract international filmmakers, studios and distribution companies to Ho Chi Minh City, thereby promoting the city’s film market to develop and integrate with the world.” In 2023, Vietnam took the