HÀ NỘI  Audiences of all ages in Hà Nội and HCM City are in for a cinematic treat as 21 films from across Europe will screen from November 20 to December 6 at the European Film Festival (EUFF) in Việt Nam.

For the first time, the festival has partnered with the LUX Audience Award, an initiative of the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, and the 2026 European Award Season, highlighting the brilliance of contemporary European cinema.

Held for the first time in 2000, the EUFF has become a much-anticipated annual cultural event in Việt Nam. It has established itself as a credible platform that brings new and captivating aspects of European culture to Vietnamese audiences by showcasing films rarely seen in local cinemas.

The over two-week-long EUFF 2025 celebrates Europe’s fascinating diversity and rich cinematic tradition, featuring 21 films from different EU member states. Through a variety of genres — from children’s films, drama, romance, thriller and comedy to documentary — the festival highlights award-winning titles that have achieved success in their home countries.

Opening highlights

Czech drama Summer School, 2001, will open the festival in Hà Nội at the National Cinema Centre (NCC). In HCM City, it will screen on November 23 at CineStar Cinema.

Written and directed by overseas Vietnamese self-taught filmmaker Dužan Duong, the film tells the story of a Vietnamese teenager who returns to live with his family in the Czech town of Cheb after 10 years, igniting tensions in a long-fractured household.

 

The narrative unfolds from multiple perspectives, exploring inner psychology, masculinity and family dynamics, particularly the relationships between father, son and brother.

Filming took place in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and also in Việt Nam.

"Summer School, 2001 is a heartfelt and quietly groundbreaking portrait of a community rarely seen on screen, and director Duong brings the Vietnamese-Czech experience into the spotlight with honesty and tenderness, avoiding stereotypes while capturing both the hardship and humor of immigrant life," Prague Reporter writes.

It had its world premiere in a special screening at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2025. There will be a Q&A session with director Duong after the shows.

The festival will open in HCM City with a screening of Irish award-winning That They May Face the Rising Sun on November 21 at CineStar Cinema.

Based on internationally acclaimed Irish author John McGahern's novel of the same name, the movie is a vivid evokes nature, humanity and life itself, set in a rural Irish community of the 1980s.

 

Award-winning line-up

Its prizes include Best Film at the Irish Film and Television Awards 2024 and at the Dublin International Film Festival 2024, as well as Best Feature Film, Best Director and Avant-Garde and Genre Section awards at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema 2024.

Highlights of the festival will be the European Parliament's LUX Audience Award 2025-winning animation Flow and Spanish animation Robot Dreams. A wondrous journey through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood.

Robot Dreams tells the adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in 1980s New York City. It won Best Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, European Film Award, and the Bucheon International Animation Film Festival.

 

The EUFF offers cinema lovers an enjoyable experience regardless of their tastes, featuring standout titles such as Spanish Robot Dreams, German Afire, Hungarian Four Souls of Coyote, and Ukrainian Blind Vacation, among others. All films screen with dual subtitles in Vietnamese and English.

Free tickets are available from November 12 and no pre-registration is required for ticket collection.

In Hà Nội they can be collected at the EU Delegation to Việt Nam – 24th Floor, West Wing (office lobby), Lotte Centre, 54 Liễu Giai from 9.30am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-5pm from Monday to Friday; and at the Goethe-Institut Hanoi – 56-60 Nguyễn Thái Học Street from 8.30am-12pm and 1pm-6pm, Monday to Friday.

In HCM City, tickets can be collected at Galaxy Cinema, 116 Nguyễn Du for Sentimental Value and Flow, from 9am-10pm daily, and at Cinestar, 135 Hai Bà Trưng, from 8.30am-10pm daily.  VNS