Hue exhibition revisits Vietnam memories through lens of French photographers
“Vietnam Crossroads”, an exhibition featuring the works of three French photographers, opened in the central city of Hue on June 13, offering a distinctive lens on the country’s recent history.
The show, running through July 25, is co-hosted by the French Institute in Vietnam (IFV), the Organising Committee of Hue Festival 2026, and the Hue University of Education.
Organisers frame the exhibition as an invitation to retrace Vietnam’s historical journey. Each photo functions as a fragment of a larger story, spotlighting the vitality, determination, and resilience that have defined the Vietnamese people across periods of upheaval.
Displayed together, the works forge a shared Franco-Vietnamese memory built on friendship, mutual respect and understanding, said Franck Bolgiani, Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy and IFV Deputy Director. Photography, he added, is not just a record of reality but a universal language that bridges cultures and generations.
The 27-image show spans the 1970s through the late 1980s. Daniel Roussel, then a resident correspondent for the French daily L’Humanité, delivers a rare look at daily life between 1980 and 1986. He documented ordinary scenes with clear admiration, creating a visual archive of the post-war period. Alongside his journalistic writings and documentary films, the photos stand as a tribute to enduring resilience of the Vietnamese people.
Gilbert Bertrand’s black-and-white series, shot between 1970 and 1975 while he was posted at French cultural centres in Da Lat and Saigon, captures moments tied to pivotal historical turning points. An amateur driven by passion, Bertrand produced works that were long unpublished and is now recognised for both their artistic and documentary value, offering a window into a distinct chapter of Vietnam’s past.
Lily Franey’s emotionally charged photos, taken from 1987 onward during her working trip with the French humanitarian group Secours populaire français, document a country gradually recovering from war. Her humanistic lens captures everyday scenes infused with hope and renewal, delivering an unvarnished portrait of perseverance and rebuilding in the early Doi Moi (Renewal) years.
The exhibition debuted at the French Embassy in Hanoi and later moved to the Da Nang Museum as part of the Photo Hanoi ’25 International Photography Biennale, before arriving in Hue for the 2026 festival.
French photographers’ lens bring Vietnam's history to Paris
The portrait of President Ho Chi Minh, scenes of war-ravaged Hue city, and poignant glimpses of daily life under bombardment are among the photos featuring Vietnamese history from 1966 to 1976 now on display at the Guimet Asian Art Museum in Paris through March 12.
