Symposium on “Film as a Cultural Heritage” to be held in Hanoi

A Vietnamese film crew - Photo: Courtesy of the organizer

The symposium will feature film practitioners from both public and private spheres, including independent critic Le Hong Lam, specialist Le Tuan Anh from the Vietnam Film Institute, Frank Gray – director of Screen Archive South East, film festival programmer Shona Thomson, and National Documentary Film Studio delegates.

A report on the government’s film archives in Vietnam, commissioned by the British Council and undertaken by the Vietnam Film Institute, will be launched at the event.

The participants will also discuss future visions of archival film materials and examine potential for collaboration between different sectors, and between Vietnamese and international organizations.

Even though film, video and other forms of moving image are not conventionally recognized as intangible cultural heritage, they contribute significantly to humans’ attempts to record, document and make sense of history.

The safeguarding and transmission of these histories greatly depend on archiving, restoring and promoting video materials.

Increasingly significant efforts and investments have been made towards these works. Like other countries in the region, Vietnam has seen a rekindled interest in its film heritage. For many people, film resembles a time machine, which provides the opportunity to see memories playing out on screen, as well as offers a glimpse of the future.

“Film as a Cultural Heritage” symposium is part of a series of symposiums, workshops and public events, and aims to advocate for the cultural and social value of film archives and archival materials, and share and learn about ways of working with film archives, via both practical and creative angles.

It also works towards facilitating new conversations between different constituencies including state agencies and organizations, independent organizations, filmmakers, the public, and experts from other fields and art forms.

The symposium will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on January 15, 2019 with free entry.