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20 Years of Varan – Documentary Filmmaking in Vietnam
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/
Times
Nov 19 | Nov 21, 2025
13:30 – 17:30
Fulbright University Vietnam (Hanoi) | Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Cinema (HCMC)
Other Events
“The Unseen Studio” Receives Commendation at Golden Kite Awards 2025
Nguyễn Thiên Ân began his filmmaking journey entirely self-taught, through short fiction films filled with color and imagination. He gradually found his way to real-life stories and the direct cinema approach through documentary work. This transformation did not close off his earlier path but opened a new creative direction: an intriguing interplay between reality and fiction, between observation and construction.
“The Unseen Studio” Receives Commendation at Golden Kite Awards 2025
Nguyễn Thiên Ân began his filmmaking journey entirely self-taught, through short fiction films filled with color and imagination. He gradually found his way to real-life stories and the direct cinema approach through documentary work. This transformation did not close off his earlier path but opened a new creative direction: an intriguing interplay between reality and fiction, between observation and construction.
FIND OUT
A Screening of Three Short Films by Varan Vietnam Trainees at CinEscape
What the three films share is not theme or geography, but approach: patient, close, and unimposing. The people on screen are neither staged nor embellished. They are simply seen, and sometimes, being seen is enough. CinEscape remains a space where films like these can find the audience they deserve.
A Screening of Three Short Films by Varan Vietnam Trainees at CinEscape
What the three films share is not theme or geography, but approach: patient, close, and unimposing. The people on screen are neither staged nor embellished. They are simply seen, and sometimes, being seen is enough. CinEscape remains a space where films like these can find the audience they deserve.
FIND OUT
Screening “Looking Back – Reincarnation”
Chuỗi chiếu phim mang tên CinEscape được sinh ra từ một niềm tin: rằng thông qua điện ảnh, những điểm chạm trong cảm xúc sẽ lộ rõ. Rằng chỉ thông qua góc nhìn thị giác, con người mới có thể khai mở các giác quan còn lại, để lục tìm trong quá khứ những giá trị đã làm nên bản chất của họ trong thời đại này.
Screening “Looking Back – Reincarnation”
Chuỗi chiếu phim mang tên CinEscape được sinh ra từ một niềm tin: rằng thông qua điện ảnh, những điểm chạm trong cảm xúc sẽ lộ rõ. Rằng chỉ thông qua góc nhìn thị giác, con người mới có thể khai mở các giác quan còn lại, để lục tìm trong quá khứ những giá trị đã làm nên bản chất của họ trong thời đại này.
FIND OUT
Closing Varan’s 20th Anniversary Film Week
During the exchange, directors Phạm Thị Hảo, Trịnh Đình Lê Minh, Lê Thị Thắm, Nguyễn Thiên Ân, and Nguyễn Hồ Bảo Nghi joined students, faculty, and cinema enthusiasts to look back on Varan's 20-year journey in Vietnam, a path defined by the spirit of direct cinema, the continuity between generations, and reflections on documentary filmmaking.
Closing Varan’s 20th Anniversary Film Week
During the exchange, directors Phạm Thị Hảo, Trịnh Đình Lê Minh, Lê Thị Thắm, Nguyễn Thiên Ân, and Nguyễn Hồ Bảo Nghi joined students, faculty, and cinema enthusiasts to look back on Varan's 20-year journey in Vietnam, a path defined by the spirit of direct cinema, the continuity between generations, and reflections on documentary filmmaking.
FIND OUT
