The year 2025 marks two decades of the establishment and development of the Varan documentary film workshop in Vietnam – a program that has nurtured the first generation of independent documentary filmmakers in our country. Notably, 2025 also marks 20 years since the workshop was first held in Ho Chi Minh City.

This year’s film screening and symposium series are jointly organized by Varan Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Cinema, and Fulbright University Vietnam, aiming to connect generations of filmmakers and offer students opportunities to explore the storytelling methods of direct cinema documentaries.

SESSION 1 (November 19)
Location: Fulbright University Vietnam
Time: 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM | November 19, 2025
Topic: Saigon Urban Life
Film Screening:
Tổ ấm – Phan Huỳnh Trang
Xóm Trường Tiền – Nguyễn Việt Anh Thư

SESSION 2 (November 21)
Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Cinema

Screening
Time: 1 – 1:30 PM
Topic: Labor in the City
Films:
Mùa hè nghiêm – Lê Thu Minh
Lân múa – Nguyễn Mộng Long
Những kẻ tập sự – Phạm Thị Hảo

Screening
Time: 2 – 3:15 PM
Topic: Mental Health – Workshop 2024
Films:
Phòng thu bí mật – Nguyễn Thiên Ân
Toàn ơi – Nguyễn Hồ Bảo Nghi
Gió mùa về – Lê Thị Thắm

Symposium: “20 Years of Varan – Documentary Filmmaking in Vietnam”
5:30 PM, November 21
A conversation about the development of direct cinema documentary filmmaking in Vietnam from 2004 to the present.
See you at these special screenings. Registration link here: https://docs.google.com/forms/