Vietnamese melodies open the Music Festival in France

Director François Bibonne interacts with the audience watching the film 'Once upon a bridge in Vietnam.' (Photo: Thu Ha/VNA)

It has become a tradition that as La Fête de la Musique, also known as the June 21 Music Festival, approaches, the streets of Paris and all over France are bustling with amateur and professional performances at every corner, square, from museums, bars, restaurants or even churches, hospitals... This year, the 41st Music Festival began with musical film screenings at theaters.

On the evening of June 19, at the Forum des Images theater in the center of the French capital, the music documentary “Once upon a bridge in Vietnam” by the young French-Vietnamese director, François Bibonne, was screened as an opening event for the annual Music Week in France.

“Once upon a bridge in Vietnam” tells the story of a young French-Vietnamese man’s journey to find his roots. Through music, he discovered the wonders of his grandmother’s homeland, and from there, with his love and passion for music, director Francois Bibonne made a documentary introducing Vietnamese music and culture to international friends, as well as a bridge of friendship between Vietnam and France.

The audience filled the seats and were carried away by the Vietnamese folk and contemporary music, led by the film director himself for 52 minutes. The screening ended with an exchange between the audience and the young director, with sharing about the filmmaking process, as well as the plans that director Bibonne cherished.

The film has been screened in many places in Vietnam, France and around the world . As soon as it was released in early 2022, “Once upon a bridge in Vietnam” won the Best Short Documentary award at the Los Angeles Film Awards in February 2022 and another award at the New York International Film Festival in March 2022.