Forty years of Vietnamese cinema since the Doi Moi (Renovation) period will be a highlight of the 2026 Asian Film Festival in Da Nang, showcasing Vietnamese identity on the big screen through noteworthy cultural diplomacy.
The fourth Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) is scheduled to run from June 28 to July 4, 2026.
The seminar organized by VFDA in the framework of the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF 2025)
With the theme "DANAFF - Bridging Asia to the World ," the film festival is envisioned as both an artistic event and a platform for connecting the film industry in the region.
According to the organizers, this year's event has been expanded, and is expected to gather approximately 900 delegates, including leaders, artists, and experts in international fields; of which more than 200 are international guests.
The film festival's highlights include competition programs (comprising Vietnamese and Asian films), non-competition programs, and professional activities (workshops, training, networking, exhibitions, etc.).
Here, many core issues such as intellectual property protection, the face of Vietnamese cinema over the 40 years since the Doi Moi (Renovation) period (1986-2026), and the strategy for building a film industry ecosystem will be discussed in depth at specialized workshops.
Of particular note this year is the selection of Vietnamese films from the 40 years of Doi Moi (Renovation) period. The social context has shifted from the post-war, reunification era – a time when Vietnamese cinema still bore the strong imprint of the centrally planned economy – to a market economy under state management.
Dr Ngo Phuong Lan had the remarks at Vietnam Film Week - The Journey of Light organized by VFDA at Paris, France in 12/2025
"With changes in both quality and quantity, many works have left a strong impression from 1986 to the present," said Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, Director of the film festival. "This will be a key program of DANAFF in 2026."
Another important feature of this year's film festival is "Focus on American Cinema" Representatives from the organizing committee shared that the program will showcase films that are representative and outstanding examples of Hollywood cinema, rather than focusing solely on popular "blockbuster" films.
The program not only offers a multifaceted perspective and the opportunity to access the best of world cinema, but also allows us to reflect on the development of our own domestic film industry.
Following the success of the 2024 film festival, the DANAFF Workshop & Project Market and Talent Incubators Workshop will return and launch before the official film festival date.
Through the two categories, the Vietnamese Film Project and the Asian Art-house Film Project, many ideas have continued to develop and take shape, participating in international film festivals and gradually entering the production phase after just one year.
According to Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, Vice Chairwoman of the Da Nang City People's Committee: "The film festival is being implemented in a way that combines film promotion, production networking, and professional dialogue, contributing to expanding substantive and long-term cooperation for Vietnamese cinema."
The 3rd Da Nang Asia Film Festival - DANAFF III
The DANAFF film festival is directed by the Da Nang City People's Committee and organized by the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with the Vietnam Film Development Association (VFDA).
First held in 2023, the program is considered a noteworthy cultural event, contributing to economic development and promoting the city, becoming a bridge connecting domestic and international culture in general and cinema in particular.
In 2025, the third season of DANAFF, along with numerous activities promoting bilateral and multilateral film production in the US and France, and creating a space to promote Vietnamese films at the Cannes, Busan, and Tokyo International Film Festivals, organized by the VFDA, was included in the list of the most outstanding cultural activities of the year by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, and the Sports and Culture Newspaper (Vietnam News Agency).
