The Vietnam Film Week will be held at the National Cinema Center in Dong Da District, Hanoi, to celebrate the 23rd Vietnam Film Festival. Meanwhile, in Danang, the film week will be hosted by the Center for Culture and Cinema.

The poster of Hanoi-themed film Dao, Pho and Piano

The 28 films include what are considered the most outstanding productions of Vietnamese cinema in recent times, including "Girl from the Past", "Dao, Pho and Piano", "Em va Trinh" (Me and Trinh), "FANTI", "Jasmine", "Anonymous", "Glorious Ashes" and others.

The film "Dao, Pho and Piano" about the rebellious spirit of Hanoians in the anti-French war is one of the highlights of Vietnam Film Week 2023.

Directed by Phi Tien Sơn, "Dao, Pho and Piano" or Peach Blossom, Beef Noodle Soup and Piano depicts the most intense and heroic moments of the 60-day Battle of Hanoi in 1946, when the army and citizens fought to defend their capital at the beginning of the first Indochina War.

The film tells the story of a young couple who braved the dangers to see each other on the last day, February 17, 1947, before the Vietnamese troops retreated to the Viet Bac military zone and began the long war of resistance.

A scene from the movie Dao, Pho and Piano

After meeting in the middle of a street battle, the lovers had only a few hours to get married in a situation between life and death. The plot focuses on their last moments - the moments of love for life, beauty and freedom.

Against the backdrop of the fierce house-to-house, street-to-street battle in 60 days and nights, against the evil and cruelty of war, are the images of patriotic yet graceful Hanoians who willingly devote their lives to protect their beloved Hanoi as well as their passions.

The film Dao, Pho and Piano is set in Hanoi.

Another highlight of the festival is Glorious Ashes (2022) by director Bui Thac Chuyen. Set in the poor coastal village of Thom Rom in the Mekong Delta, the film follows the lives of three women whose love lives are unusual and unique in their own nature. The film is told from Hau's perspective as she experiences life with a husband who has eyes only for another woman and develops her growing friendship with her rival.

In Vietnam, Glorious Ashes was released nationwide in 2022 and soon received great acclaim from cinema experts and audiences. The film was selected as Vietnam's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. It also won a number of prestigious awards, including the Inaugural Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant from the Singapore Film Commission in November 2019, the Montgolfière d'or at the 2022 Three Continents Festival, and four awards at the 2023 Kite Awards, among others.

A scene from the movie Glorious Ashes

The 23rd Vietnam Film Festival will be held from November 21-25 in the central highland city of Dalat by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in cooperation with the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee.

The Vietnam Film Festival is an annual national arts and culture event to celebrate the country's major holidays in 2023. It is also an opportunity for artists and filmmakers to continue implementing the approved project to build and promote the national brand of Vietnam Film Festival in 2021-2030.