HÀ NỘI — Movie buffs will get the chance to see Chilean movies at the National Cinema Centre on September 24 and 29. 

The movies A Faraway Fire and A Heart As Willing by filmmaker Diego Soto feature different perspectives on Chilean life and culture.

In docufiction A Faraway Fire, at Christmas Eve a woman leaves her abandoned car in Natacha and Germán’s parking lot, while her three children roam the city, looking for money to feed some stray dogs. Natacha can’t stop thinking about what could have happened to the woman.

Drama A Heart As Willing tells story of Nieves, who runs a small recreational pool with her son. One summer, a biker falls in love with her, but the romance seems doomed. Everything changes with the arrival of a filmmaker who decides to include both of them in her new movie. As they become film actors, the boundaries between fiction and their emotions begin to blur.

Soto holds a degree in documentary from the Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano. He has directed the short documentaries ¿Cómo se llega a La Moneda? (How do you get to La Moneda?, 2019) and Dos Octubres (Two Octobers, 2021), as well as the feature films A Faraway Fire (2019) and Deaths and Wonders (2023), which won the Special Jury Prize at the 24th BAFICI, the Special Jury Prize at the 30th FIC Valdivia and the National Competition Prize at the 27th FIDOCS.

 

Andrés Wood's award-winning Violeta Went to Heaven was also screened on September 10 at the 2026 Chilean Film Week in Hà Nội. The film is a portrait of famed Chilean singer and folklorist Violeta Parra, and is filled with her musical work, her memories and her hopes.

It won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2012.

Parra is one of the most important figures in Chilean culture, according to Chilean ambassador Nasly Isabel Bernal Prado.

"As a singer, musician, folklorist and visual artist, Violeta Parra collected, preserved and transformed folk, rural and local traditions, representing a highly creative, free and deeply critical female voice," said the ambassador. 

She expressed her belief that Parra’s image would resonate strongly with Vietnamese audiences, as both Chile and Việt Nam value memory, traditions, folk music and the ability to preserve national identities even during difficult periods in history.

The film week was organised as part of activities marking the 55th anniversary of the establishment of Chile – Việt Nam diplomatic relations. — VNS