A large audience attended the Việt Culture in Motion film festival. — Photo courtesy of the organisers

BRUSSELS — The final leg of Việt Culture in Motion, an international short documentary film festival dedicated to Vietnamese culture, ended on July 5 at Cinema Aventure in central Brussels, Belgium.

Following screenings in Paris, Lorient (France) and Prague (the Czech Republic), three free screenings in Brussels from July 3–5 concluded the festival's 14-show tour across three European cities, organised by the Art Space Association in collaboration with Le Village Français.

All films were subtitled in French and Dutch, making stories from Việt Nam and Vietnamese communities worldwide accessible to audiences in Brussels. As a non-profit community initiative, all donations raised during the festival will support disadvantaged children in Việt Nam.

The films showcased at major European cities were the result of a year-long preparation process, beginning with Việt Culture in Motion activities at 35 schools across Việt Nam and followed by a rigorous selection process conducted by a panel of filmmakers, screenwriters and cinema experts.

A highlight of this year's edition is that all 20-plus films were produced by filmmakers under the age of 30, including many high school and university students, reflecting the emergence of a confident and creative new generation of cultural storytellers.

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency in Brussels, Nghiêm Phạm Phúc Anh, the festival's communications coordinator, said the organisers hope to present Vietnamese culture through "beautiful and meaningful visual storytelling".

Through the films made by young people, the organisers aim to create a platform for them to share fresh and creative perspectives on Vietnamese culture with international audiences, he said.

The screening programme presents a rich and diverse portrait of Việt Nam. The opening night on July 3 took audiences from Hà Nội –Năm Giác Quan (Hanoi – Five Senses) to the backstage world of traditional tuồng opera in Sau Tấm Màn Nhung (Behind the Velvet Curtain), the lives of fishermen in Sức Nặng Của Nước (The Weight of Water), and the craft of folk painting in Qua Những Bàn Tay (Through Skilled Hands).

The July 4 programme featured stories about a riverside workshop run by Mrs Liên, the artistry of wood-fired ceramics, Vietnamese family meals, a teacher bringing education to remote northern border communities, and contemporary life in Hà Nội. The closing screening on July 5 highlighted the incense-making village of Quảng Phú Cầu, the weaving traditions of ethnic minority communities, and reflections on the identity of young people.

A notable feature of the project is the independence shown by the young filmmakers. With guidance from teachers, students handled filming themselves, explored new technologies independently, and used artificial intelligence (AI) for editing and subtitling. Each completed film was produced entirely by the students.

Attending the screening, Nguyễn Bá Sang, Counsellor in charge of community affairs at the Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium, said the films serve as an effective bridge introducing Việt Nam's culture, people and daily life to international audiences and overseas Vietnamese, praising the young filmmakers for helping promote Vietnamese culture.

The festival forms part of La Vivacité du Vietnam 2026 (Vibrant Vietnam 2026), a large-scale cultural initiative across Europe led by more than 50 young Vietnamese and overseas Vietnamese in partnership with cultural organisations and international partners.

The programme is spearheaded by the France-based Art Space Association, founded in 2018, which has organised nearly 100 cultural events across Europe and implemented Vietnamese cultural education programmes at around 20 schools. VNA/VNS