HÀ NỘI — Short science films will be shown at Thực Nghiệm Secondary School on October 24, kicking off the 8th International Science Film Festival in Việt Nam.

The science film festival is an international programme held in 24 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In Việt Nam the festival is taking place from October 22 to December 23 in Hà Nội and HCM City in co-operation with the Goethe Institute, THD Education Solutions Company and Việt Nam Institute for Education Sciences (VNIES).

This year, the festival has the theme Food Revolution and includes 12 films from Indonesia, Germany, the US and England which were selected from 278 film submissions from international filmmakers, studios and television programmes.

The films Founders Valley - Episode 6 - Food for the Future; Checker Tobi - The Milk Check will reflect the importance of food consumption whilst others like The Show with the Mouse - Dry Freezing and Germany’s Bug Burgers will focus on the effects of food consumption on the environment. 

"We hope to show science films with numerous sideline activities not only to the students but also the teachers at secondary schools," said Hoàng Dương, director of THD company, at the press conference held on October 22 at Goethe Institute. "It will be an excellent opportunity for young audiences to participate directly in games, activities and experiments after each film to reinforce the scientific knowledge conveyed. The teachers of secondary schools will be involved and make use of the programme as a source of inspiration for their daily work."

The 8th festival will have a particular focus on teenagers. This decision has been made with respect to the plans of the VNIES’s Research Centre for Education Information and Forecast (EIFC) to promote science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) methods. The films and the sideline activities will support the interests and capacities of young people in nature and technology, in school subjects.

The sideline activities will be supported by 125 volunteers who will create an exciting atmosphere wherever they show up and inspire young audiences through films and experiments. There will be 100 experiments conducted during the festival to combine entertainment and learning for students.

A special programme for students and teachers will be held at Goethe Institute in Hà Nội on November 11 and 18. A digital learning platform will be offered to create an international discourse on how to integrate STEM into educational structures.

The festival will open on October 28 with the participation of about 150 students at HCM City’s Children House.

The festival expects to reach 10,000 participants. The International Science Documentary Film Festival has been organised by the Goethe Institute since 2005. It was first introduced to Việt Nam in 2010. Last year, the festival involved 131 schools and centres throughout the country. — VNS