Overview
The Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF) is Vietnam's first and longest-running international film festival. Founded in 2010 as the Vietnam International Film Festival (VNIFF), the festival was renamed Hanoi International Film Festival starting with the 2nd edition in 2012. HANIFF is organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism through the Vietnam Cinema Department, and is held biennially in Hanoi, typically in October or November.
The 8th edition (HANIFF VIII) is scheduled for November 24 to 28, 2026. This edition will debut a film market, creating an annual film trading platform and supporting the professional development of Vietnam's film industry ecosystem. The 5-day festival will feature opening and closing ceremonies, competition and non-competition screenings, seminars, a gala dinner, and side events including the HANIFF Campus for young creators, a film project market, press screenings, mobile film screenings, and exhibitions. As of early 2026, HANIFF VIII had received approximately 300 submissions, with the number expected to reach around 500 by the submission deadline.
HANIFF is distinct from the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF), which was founded in 2024 and is organized at the municipal level by Ho Chi Minh City. HANIFF is the national-level international festival, organized by the central government's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. The two festivals are not in direct competition; HANIFF focuses on Hanoi as a creative capital, while HIFF positions Ho Chi Minh City as a regional creative hub.
Submission Details
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Submission Platform | Official website (haniff.vn) |
| Submission Period | April to mid-August 2026 |
| Eligibility | Feature films over 70 minutes; short films under 60 minutes |
| Completion Window | Films completed between July 30, 2024 and July 30, 2026 (estimated based on HANIFF VII pattern) |
| Previous Submission | Films must not have been submitted to previous HANIFF editions |
| Geographic Scope | Open to all countries (since 2016; previously Asia-Pacific only) |
| Organizers | Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; Vietnam Cinema Department |
| Website | haniff.vn |
Non-Competition Programs
- Panorama - feature-length and short film selections outside competition
- Selection of Vietnamese Contemporary Films - curated Vietnamese cinema showcase
- Country/Cinema Focus - spotlight on a specific country or region's cinema
- HANIFF Campus - program for young creators
- Film Project Market - project development and pitching forum (expanded for 2026)
Awards and Prizes
HANIFF presents official awards with cash prizes. Based on HANIFF VII (2024) regulations:
| Award | Cash Prize |
|---|---|
| Best Feature-length Film | 125,000,000 VND (approximately $5,000) |
| Best Short Film | 75,000,000 VND (approximately $3,000) |
| Best Director of Feature-length Film | 75,000,000 VND (approximately $3,000) |
| Best Feature-length Film Leading Actor | 75,000,000 VND (approximately $3,000) |
| Best Feature-length Film Leading Actress | 75,000,000 VND (approximately $3,000) |
| Jury Prize for Feature-length Film | 50,000,000 VND (approximately $2,000) |
| Best Director of Short Film | 50,000,000 VND (approximately $2,000) |
| Young Talent Award (ages 18-35) | 50,000,000 VND (approximately $2,000) |
| Jury Prize for Short Film | 25,000,000 VND (approximately $1,000) |
Additional awards include the AFCNet Award, the Hanoi People's Committee Award, the Audience's Choice Award for Best Film in the Contemporary Vietnamese Films Collection, and the NETPAC Award, judged by a separate NETPAC jury.
Past Winners
HANIFF presents jury awards across feature-length and short film categories. Recent winners include:
HANIFF VII (2024) Award Winners:
- Best Feature Film: Hard Shell (Iran), directed by Majid-Reza Mostafavi. The film also won Best Director and Best Actor (Payman Maadi). It tells the story of a teenager who falls in love with a former tightrope walker, while his father uncovers corruption at a donkey farm.
- Best Short Film: A Bird Flew (Colombia)
- Best Actress, Feature Film: Tiina Tauraite for 8 Views of Lake Biwa (Estonia)
- Jury Prize, Feature Film: 8 Views of Lake Biwa (Estonia), directed by Marko Raat. The film was Estonia's submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar and won seven awards at the Estonian Film and Television Awards.
- Best Director, Short Film: Nasim Forough for Typesetter (Iran)
- Young Talent Award: Ngoc Xuan for Once Upon a Love Story (Vietnam)
- Jury Prize, Short Film: The Rubber Tappers (Cambodia)
- AFCNet Award: Liar (Russia)
HANIFF I (2010) Award Winners:
- Best Feature Film: Sandcastle (Singapore), directed by Boo Junfeng. The coming-of-age drama was the first Singaporean film selected for Critics' Week at Cannes. It also won Best Director at HANIFF I.
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
HANIFF has showcased films that went on to broader international recognition:
- Sandcastle (2010, Singapore) - won Best Feature Film and Best Director at the inaugural HANIFF. It was the first Singaporean film selected for Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
- 8 Views of Lake Biwa (2024, Estonia) - won the Jury Prize and Best Actress at HANIFF VII. It was Estonia's submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar and won seven awards at the Estonian Film and Television Awards.
- Once Upon a Love Story (2024, Vietnam) - served as the opening film for HANIFF VII. The film's Ngoc Xuan won the Young Talent Award. It is an adaptation of the best-selling novel by acclaimed Vietnamese writer Nguyen Nhat Anh.
- Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023, Vietnam) - directed by Pham Thien An, this film appeared at HANIFF and won the Camera d'Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. It also won Best Feature Film at the 21st Asian Film Festival in Rome.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
For Vietnamese filmmakers, HANIFF is the most established international platform in the country. The Contemporary Vietnamese Films Collection provides a dedicated showcase for new Vietnamese cinema, with an Audience's Choice Award voted by attendees. The HANIFF Campus and Film Project Market offer development opportunities for emerging filmmakers. The 2026 debut film market could create new distribution and co-production opportunities.
For international filmmakers, HANIFF accepts competition films from all countries since 2016. The key eligibility constraint is that competition films must not have competed at other international film festivals in Asia. If your film has screened in competition at Tokyo, Busan, or Shanghai, it may not be eligible. Verify current rules on haniff.vn before submitting.
The festival is organized under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, meaning content is subject to Vietnamese censorship regulations. Films with political content sensitive to the Vietnamese government may face programming restrictions. Vietnam's cinema law includes content review provisions that international filmmakers should be aware of.
Hanoi is accessible via Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), approximately 45 minutes from the city center. Vietnam requires visas for most international visitors, with an e-visa system available for many nationalities. Late November in Hanoi has mild temperatures (approximately 18 to 24 degrees Celsius) with low rainfall.
Industry Reputation Notes
HANIFF occupies a unique position in the Asian festival landscape. It is the only national-level international film festival in Vietnam, organized by the central government's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. This gives it institutional weight that municipal-level festivals like HIFF cannot match, but also means it operates under government content oversight.
In the Southeast Asian circuit, HANIFF is smaller than Busan (BIFF) or Tokyo (TIFF) but serves a different purpose. While Busan and Tokyo are major industry hubs with large film markets, HANIFF functions primarily as a cultural diplomacy platform and a showcase for Vietnamese cinema. The 2026 debut of a film market signals ambition to move toward a more industry-focused model, though it will take several editions to build market traction.
The festival's biennial schedule (alternating with the national Vietnam Film Festival) means it occurs less frequently than most competitive festivals, creating longer gaps between editions. However, the 2026 edition's expansion to include a film project market and HANIFF Campus indicates growth toward a more comprehensive industry event.
The competition eligibility rule excluding films that have competed at other Asian festivals ensures HANIFF programming stays fresh and offers discovery value. For filmmakers planning an Asian festival circuit strategy, this makes HANIFF a strategic early stop or alternative to the major East Asian festivals.
Vietnamese cinema's domestic strength provides important context. Vietnamese films account for nearly 70 percent of domestic cinema screenings, and Vietnam is among the few countries where both film production and box office revenue have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. HANIFF serves as the primary international window into this growing national cinema.
Festival History
HANIFF was founded in 2010 as the Vietnam International Film Festival (VNIFF), established by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on August 16, 2010. The first edition took place October 17 to 21, 2010, in Hanoi as part of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long (Hanoi). The inaugural edition received 96 films from 30 countries. The first Best Feature Film award went to Sandcastle (Singapore, directed by Boo Junfeng).
The festival was renamed Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF) starting with the 2nd edition in 2012. Until 2014, competition entries were limited to films from Asia-Pacific countries. Since 2016, the festival accepts competition films from all countries. The 7th edition (HANIFF VII) ran November 7 to 11, 2024, featuring 117 films from 51 countries and territories.
The selection criteria have become progressively stricter over editions. Initially requiring only that films had not competed in Southeast Asia, the criteria later expanded to exclude films that had competed at any international festival in Asia. The artistic director since the festival's founding is Ngo Phuong Lan. The festival alternates biennially with the Vietnam Film Festival, creating a cycle where one or the other occurs each year.
The 2026 8th edition's debut film market represents a new phase in HANIFF's development, moving from a purely festival model to incorporating a market component. This aligns with Vietnam's broader strategy of expanding its film industry's global integration.
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See Also
Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. Estimate your acceptance probability with the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For Southeast Asian festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. For the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF), Vietnam's newest international festival, see HIFF. For international film market analysis, see International Film Markets. Visit the official website.
