On May 26, 2025, in Hanoi , Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, President of the Vietnam Cinema Promotion and Development Association, was honored to receive the Officier (Officer) Order of Literature and Arts from French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati. The event took place within the framework of the State visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, once again affirming her great contributions to the cinema industry and cultural exchange between Vietnam and France.
The one who spread the fire, connecting Vietnamese - French culture
The Order of Arts and Letters is one of the noble awards of the French Republic, honoring individuals with outstanding contributions to the fields of culture and arts. The awarding of the Order of Officer (mid-level in three ranks: Knight, Officer and Commander) to Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan is a recognition and honor for her contributions to Vietnamese cinema - from development, dissemination, to connection and dialogue between Vietnam and international friends, especially France.
Speaking at the awarding ceremony, French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati affirmed that this Medal is a recognition of an extraordinary journey, the journey of a woman with boundless dedication to cinema, with an influence far beyond the borders of Vietnam. Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan is also a living symbol of the strong bond between the two countries.
"Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan is a person who inspires. A woman of connection, culture and dialogue. She always cherishes and spreads a cinema that knows how to question, connect people and touch emotions - a cinema that increasingly affirms its position not only in terms of artistic quality but also in terms of dynamic economic development. Her contributions at film festivals, as an international jury, through research projects, teaching activities and active presence in professional organizations - all are clear evidence of a journey of persistent dedication, full of passion and deep belief in the power of the seventh art", Ms. Rachida Dati emphasized.
Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan shared that over the past two decades, Vietnamese cinema has been on the rise, especially in terms of market growth and film quality improvement. However, the key issue is to build a professional cinema industry, while discovering, training and nurturing young talent. She expressed her hope that in the near future, Vietnamese cinema will receive more regular and effective support from the Ministry of Culture, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs , and the French Institute to nurture a generation of talented, professional young filmmakers.
"The child of the family" and the journey of tireless dedication
Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan was born in 1963 in Hanoi into a family with a rich artistic tradition. Her father is People's Artist Ngo Manh Lan, who laid the foundation for Vietnamese animation, and her mother is People's Artist Pham Ngoc Lan.
Since childhood, Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan has lived in the love of her parents and was raised in the cradle of art. The family environment has had a great influence on her. “Every child has special feelings for their parents. For me, the feelings for my parents are too much to remember and share. My sisters and I were all influenced by our parents in their honest lifestyle and dedication to work,” she shared.
After studying at the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi University, in 1982, she went to the Soviet Union to study Film Theory and Criticism at the VGIK National University of Cinema (Moscow) and graduated in 1988. This period was recalled by her in a poem dedicated to her mother, showing the difficult years and the boundless love for her family of a filial daughter:
“ The years I studied in Russia
Thinking of parents, eyes blurred with longing
Parents work hard
Children are educated and go to school with passion.
Save and save every day
Save up, I will help my family.
They are at the age of eating well.
Craving every candy, grape, sugar cube
Short clothes, thinking about it makes me sad
Who cares about the distance
Snow falls, cold cuts the skin,
Send gifts all the way, as long as you are happy!
Just help me, mom.
A few days of market money, mother is low
hard
It was also during this period that she had the opportunity to deeply approach French culture and cinema. Returning to Vietnam, she worked at the Vietnam Cinema Department. In 1999, she was admitted to the Institute of Culture and Information as a PhD student with the topic "Nationality and modernity in Vietnamese cinema" and successfully defended her PhD thesis in History of Culture and Arts in 2005.
In the same year, her book "Modernity and Nationality in Vietnamese Cinema" was published and won the Golden Kite Award. In 2007, this work was selected, edited and published internationally in English by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC), becoming the first book published by NETPAC. She is also the author of "Companion to the Screen". For these two works, she was awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts in 2017.
Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan's career has been marked by many important positions. She was Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation (2010-2011), Director of the Hanoi International Film Festival (2011-2018), and especially Director of the Department of Cinema (2012-2018). In her role as Director, she actively promoted international cooperation, especially with France, through activities such as organizing French film screenings in Vietnam and signing a memorandum of understanding with the French National Cinema Center (CNC) in 2017.
In 2019, after leaving her state management position, she continued to contribute to cinema in a new role: founding and holding the position of President of the Vietnam Cinema Promotion and Development Association. The Association quickly affirmed its role, especially through organizing the Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF), an important event contributing to discovering and encouraging young film talents in the country and Asia. She also held other roles such as Vice President of the Central Council for Theory and Criticism of Literature and Arts, Term V, and Member of the Executive Committee of NETPAC.
The Officer Medal of Literature and Arts is not only a personal honor for Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan but also a testament to the increasingly important role of Vietnamese cinema in the world's cultural flow, and at the same time recognizes the efforts of dedicated individuals like her in building and promoting the image of the country and Vietnamese people through the seventh art.
Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/ts-ngo-phuong-lan-nguoi-truyen-lua-ket-noi-van-hoa-viet-phap-post1544216.html
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