HÀ NỘI — A range of activities to promote the Vietnamese cinema industry are being organised from now until September 21 in Poland on the occasion of the 42nd Polish Film Festival held in Gdynia.

The Việt Nam culture ministry’s Cinema Department, led by director Ngô Phương Lan, will meet Polish filmmakers to develop co-operation between two countries’ cinema industries. Polish partners have promised to attend the Việt Nam Film Festival in Đà Nẵng on November 24-28, and there they will sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with Vietnamese filmmakers.

On the occasion, the department will screen two documentaries: Phiên Chợ Vùng Cao (Highland Market) and Mũi Né - Vùng Biển Thức (Mũi Né – The Sea of Knowledge) in Warsaw to promote Vietnamese tourism, especially the potential of Hà Giang and Bình Thuận, two provinces mentioned in the films.

These documentaries, each 12 minutes long, have subtitles in English and French. They were produced by the Việt Nam Administration of Tourism and the Cinema Department, and have been screened in Singapore, South Korea, Cuba and Canada. Previously, the Cinema Department worked with friendship associations in two countries and the association of Polish film producers to present the film Em Chưa 18 (Jailbait), directed by Lê Thanh Sơn, to local audiences and Vietnamese people living in Poland.

The film screening held at the Kino Kultura Cinema in Warsaw was attended by 200 filmgoers and diplomats.

Piotr Gadzinowski, vice president of the Poland-Việt Nam Friendship Association, expressed his gratitude to the Việt Nam Cinema Department on their efforts to enhance co-operation between the cinema industries of the two countries.

“I highly appreciated the initiative of presenting new Vietnamese films in Poland,” he said. “Through the screenings, Polish audiences have a chance to understand more about Việt Nam’s cinema, tourism and culture.” — VNS