Attending the opening ceremony of Haniff 2018 was Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam - Member of the Party Central Committee; Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Head of the Festival Steering Committe; Mr Nguyen Duc Chung - Member of the Central Party Committee, Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee; Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan - Director of Cinema Department, Head of Organization Committee, General Director of Haniff 2018 and leaders of other ministries, agencies...

The ceremony started with the red carpet program with the presence of more than 1000 national and international delegates led by MC Duong Cam Lynh and Thai Dung. This year's Haniff opening stage, directed by Hoang Nhat Nam, under the theme "Hao Khi Lac Hong", has impressed not only the audiences present at the hall but also the public  follow-up via live broadcast With the idea of the sacred symbols of Vietnamese culture: crane egrets, Bronze Drums and familiar images associated with Hanoi, the opening stage is really a special art party.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, Minister Nguyen Ngoc Thien emphasized that the 5th Hanoi International Film Festival has expanded the categories of competition films to all nations and territories, creating great opportunities for Vietnamese filmmakers and the world expand exchanges, learning experiences, contributing to the development of cinema in Vietnam, the region and the world. Honoring, introducing, promoting the image, country, people, cultural identity of Vietnam is also a purpose of the 5th Hanoi International Film Festival towards international friends. The Minister also pointed out that the Hanoi International Film Festival honors the true cinematography talents, the values of humanity and the spirit of cooperation.

These are the bright spots we need to keep and promote in the context of film commercialization increasingly overwhelm spiritual values in some countries. Shortly after, the Minister made three gongs official open the Haniff 2018 promising to have moments of sublimation with cinematography in the next few days. With the theme "Cinema - Integration and Sustainable Development", Haniff 2018 will be a forum to attract public and journalism attention to the modern cinema with works rich in humanitarian value. This is also an opportunity for Vietnamese cinema to expand the film market to the region and the world, bringing Vietnamese films into the international cinema market. That is also the highlight of the Festival's welcome speech of Mr Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee.

Under the leadership of MC Quoc Binh and Miss Diem Trang, activities around the five-day festival have been gradually introduced
in detail. Besides, the artistic performances carry Thang Long spirit but still have the contemporary breath  as the opening dance with the song Đất nước lời ru presented by Dong Hung and Thuy Dung showing the atmosphere of the ancient Vietnamese Or the last song Vietnam presented by three artists Quy Binh, Van Trang, Minh Luan also showed Vietnamese spirit and identity.
In addition, to express the spirit of integration of Vietnam with the countries participating in the festival, there were two cultural performances of Polan and Iran presented: Zyczenie song by the Polish genius composer Frédéric François Chopin, presented by Soprano artirst Hien Nguyen and the piano showcase of young music talent Luu Duc Anh and performances of  “sắc màu” Dance with the colorful dance of Iran.
Also in the opening ceremony of Haniff 2018, the members of  Jury Board in categories: feature length film, short films and NETPAC; Sponsors of the festival were also introduced to the audience, receiving fresh bouquets from Orgarnizing Committee. After the opening ceremony, Haniff 2018 will continue with a series of important events.

The closing and award ceremony of Haniff 2018 will take place in the evening of October 31st  at the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace and will be broadcasted live on VTV, Vietnam Television.

Kim Anh