Ho Chi Minh City is the first creative cinema city in Southeast Asia.

In the list of 58 cities that are new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam is officially a city of cinema.

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay has just recognized Ho Chi Minh City as one of the film cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).

PHOTO: AFP

On the occasion of World Cities Day 2025, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay recognized 58 cities as new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Among them, Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam was honored as a city of cinema. Thus, after nearly 8 months since submitting the application, the city named after Uncle Ho was officially announced by UNESCO as the first city of cinema in Southeast Asia.

"UNESCO Creative Cities demonstrate that culture and creative industries can be real drivers of development. By welcoming 58 new cities, we are strengthening a network where creativity supports local initiatives, attracts investment and promotes social cohesion," said Audrey Azoulay.

The cities on the list are recognised for their commitment to promoting creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development. They also bring to the UNESCO network proven experience in building vibrant and sustainable communities.

Tom Cross (left cover) - the first Vietnamese-American film editor to win an Oscar, returns to Vietnam to attend the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF 2024)

PHOTO: HIFF

By becoming the first UCCN cinema city of Vietnam and Southeast Asia, Ho Chi Minh City will become a place to connect Vietnamese cinema with international cinema, contributing effectively and responsibly to the common development of regional cinema. This is the driving force for the city to effectively implement professional and modern cinema development projects; enhance training and exchange of experts, add high-quality human resources; continue cinema events, make Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF) an annual cinema event, and strive to affirm the position and prestige of domestic and international cinema.

Besides Ho Chi Minh City, some other cities such as Quezon City (Philippines), São Paulo (Brazil), Giza (Egypt) were also announced as cinema cities. In Southeast Asia, there is also Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) as a design city, Malang (Indonesia) as a multimedia art city. Some other notable names on the list include: Aberystwyth (Wales), Abuja (Nigeria) - city of literature; Bistrita (Romania) - city of architecture; Cheongju (South Korea) - city of crafts and folk arts; Cuenca (Ecuador) - city of cuisine ...

With the newly announced members, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network now includes 408 cities in more than 100 countries and territories. For the first time, the UCCN welcomes creative cities of architecture – a new creative sector alongside the seven existing sectors: crafts and folk arts, design, cinema, gastronomy, literature, media arts and music .

Since its launch in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network has actively promoted people-centered urban models and governance, offering citizens a wide range of cultural and creative activities.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tphcm-la-thanh-pho-sang-tao-dien-anh-dau-tien-cua-dong-nam-a-185251031211405335.htm