Vietnamese animation: Aspiration to transform and reach far

For the first time, the Aspiration Stream Animation Film Festival was held to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese Animation industry (November 9, 1959 - November 9, 2024), with many rich and attractive activities.

This is not only an opportunity to honor the achievements of this unique art form, but also a place for talents to gather and express their aspirations to bring Vietnamese animation to the world .

Signing ceremony of cooperation between Sconnect International Animation Academy (SAMA) and School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) in training.

An Animator's Chance to Shine

The first Aspiration Stream Animation Festival in 2024, hosted by the Vietnam Digital Communications Association (VDCA), Sconnect International Animation Academy (SAMA) and the Vietnam Digital Content Creation Alliance (DCCA), in collaboration with the French Embassy in Vietnam, will take place from November 8 to 30 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with about 20 diverse events. Chairman of the Vietnam Digital Communications Association Nguyen Minh Hong said that the Aspiration Stream Animation Festival is organized to connect generations of artists, honor contributions to the development of the Animation industry, spread and connect values in the community, develop the digital content industry, thereby contributing to promoting the cultural industry.

Not only for generations of artists and animators, the festival wants to reach out to young people and spread their love of animation to them. Therefore, activities are held in many public places. In particular, the main event series takes place from November 22 to 24, at the Vincom Center for Contemporary Arts (72A Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District). The highlight is the Ceremony to honor 65 years of the Vietnamese Animation industry, taking place on November 22, introducing and displaying works with strong Vietnamese characteristics from typical artists, new works produced with many diverse techniques.

In addition, two seminars with the topics “Exploiting the potential of the Vietnamese animation market from domestic to global” and “Animation art in the digital age” were held on November 23. From November 22 to 24, there will be a project market and a tour to learn about Vietnamese animation.

Within the framework of the festival, there will be free animated film screenings from November 15 to 30, at cinema systems, mainly in Hanoi. Audiences will enjoy excellent animated works, which have won many awards and films by young producers, especially some typical French animated films. Typically: "The Kitchen God's Carp", "The Little Lion Dance", "The Strange Village of Potatoes", "Wolfoo and the Mysterious Island" ... of Vietnam and foreign films such as "The Adventures of the Prince", "The Magical Journey of Marona", "Little Nicolas - In Search of Happiness", "The Belleville Trio" ...

Bringing Vietnamese animation to the world

Vietnamese animation has been established and developed for 65 years, quietly and persistently producing “Make in Vietnam” animated films to serve domestic audiences, and then bringing the Vietnamese voice, image and culture closer to international friends. However, there are not many playgrounds or film festivals dedicated to domestic and international animation producers gathering in Vietnam to exchange and develop their profession, especially in the digital age with many changes in animation production.

People's Artist Pham Ngoc Tuan, General Director of Vietnam Animation Studio Joint Stock Company, expressed that the first Timeline Animation Film Festival is a significant milestone, opening up new opportunities for Vietnamese animation. According to People's Artist Pham Ngoc Tuan, there should be film festivals to gather, connect, search and cooperate with other industries to produce quality films, meet the needs of today's audiences and bring Vietnamese animation to the world.

Sharing the same view, poet Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association, whose work “The Land of the Crooked Guava Tree” was adapted into the very successful animated film “The Heavenly Guava Tree”, said that animated films are a vast “land” that has not received much attention and exploitation from Vietnamese filmmakers. The animated genre is very favorable for making films about historical or fantasy themes because it does not require expensive investment in setting up realistic scenes and characters, and it takes advantage of the development of advanced technology and techniques for artists to freely create. These are the films that affirm Vietnamese identity, Vietnamese talent and have the ability to shine in the international arena.

Meritorious artist, director, and painter Trinh Lam Tung believes that making animated films requires constant creativity, going beyond conventional views. “Animated films do not go from A to B logically, but take creativity and imagination as materials for development. However, to turn creative ideas into works requires the combination of many fields,” director Trinh Lam Tung expressed.

Mr. Ta Manh Hoang, founder and General Director of Sconnect Vietnam - a unit with many works that have left their mark in the animation field recently, affirmed that Vietnamese animation has a lot of potential and talent, and needs to join hands to connect and invest so that this genre can transform, reach new heights, and successfully step out into the world. The organization of the Aspiration Stream Animation Festival aims at that goal.