Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF)

Overview

The Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF) is Vietnam's newest international film festival. The inaugural edition ran April 6 to 13, 2024, organized by the Ho Chi Minh City government and private events company Vietfest. HIFF was made possible by a recent change to Vietnam's Cinema Law that allows local city governments to host film festivals for the first time. The festival attracted over 300 works and projects in all genres from 29 countries and territories, with over 200 international and Vietnamese guests participating.

The 2025 edition was postponed. The HIFF Organizing Committee announced that Ho Chi Minh City needed to focus resources on multiple national anniversary events in 2025, including the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of Southern Vietnam and National Reunification (April 30, 2025), the 135th Birthday of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 2025), and the 80th National Day (September 2, 2025). The city also co-hosted the 24th Vietnam Film Festival in November 2025 in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. HIFF will return in 2026, with specific dates and details to be announced through official channels.

HIFF is distinct from the Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF), which was founded in 2010 as the first international film festival in Vietnam and is organized by the national Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. HIFF is organized at the municipal level by Ho Chi Minh City, which was recognized by UNESCO as a global creative city for cinema.

Submission Details

HIFF's submission process for the 2026 edition had not been publicly detailed as of early 2026. Based on the 2024 inaugural edition:

Competition Categories

The 2024 inaugural edition featured three competition categories:

1. Southeast Asian Feature Film Competition - the festival's top competitive section, open to feature films from Southeast Asian countries. The highest prize is the Golden Star Award for Best Southeast Asian Film.
2. Best First or Second Film Competition - open to filmmakers' first or second feature films from outside Southeast Asia. In 2024, this category was won by two films: City of Wind (Mongolia, directed by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir) and Night Courier (Saudi Arabia, directed by Ali Kalthami).
3. Short Film Competition - international short films. In 2024, Leila (Sweden, directed by Fariba Haidari) won Best Short Film, with Alien 0089 (Chile/Argentina, directed by Valeria Hofmann) receiving the Jury Prize.

Non-Competition Categories

• Vietnam Panorama Selection - curated selection of Vietnamese cinema
• HCMC on Screen Selection - films tied to Ho Chi Minh City, its culture, and its people
• Cinematic Crossroads: Spotlight on a City/Country - films from cities or countries with significant connections to Ho Chi Minh City

Awards and Prizes

HIFF 2024 presented awards across the following categories:

Competition Awards:

• Golden Star Award (Best Southeast Asian Film) - the festival's top prize. 2024 winner: The Gospel of the Beast (Philippines, directed by Sheron Dayoc)
• Best First or Second Film - 2024 winners: City of Wind (Mongolia) and Night Courier (Saudi Arabia)
• Best Short Film - 2024 winner: Leila (Sweden)
• Best Short Film Jury Prize - 2024 winner: Alien 0089 (Chile/Argentina)

Individual Awards (within Southeast Asian competition):

• Best Director - 2024 winner: Chee Sum Chia, Oasis of Now (Malaysia)
• Best Screenplay - 2024 winner: Nicole Midori Woodford, Last Shadow at First Light (Singapore/Japan/Slovenia)
• Best Cinematography - 2024 winner: Hideho Urata, Last Shadow at First Light
• Best Editing - 2024 winner: Hendra Adhi Sussanto, 13 Bombs (Indonesia)
• Best Sound Design - 2024 winner: Wahyu Tri Pournomo, 13 Bombs (Indonesia)
• Best Original Score - 2024 winner: Yuji Watanabe, Blue Imagine (Japan/Philippines)
• Best Production Design - 2024 winner: Jean-Sien Kin, Tenement (Cambodia)
• Best Visual Effects - 2024 winner: Laokoon VFX, Last Shadow at First Light
• Best Actress - 2024 winner: Ta Thi Diu, Oasis of Now (Vietnam)
• Best Actor - 2024 winner: Mark Lee, Wonderland (Singapore)
• Best Supporting Actress - 2024 winner: Rawipa Srisanguan, Solids By The Seashore (Thailand)
• Best Supporting Actor - 2024 winner: Peter Yu, Wonderland (Singapore)

Non-Competition Award:

• Best Ho Chi Minh City Film - 2024 winner: Song Lang

Cash prize amounts for the 2024 edition were not publicly listed. The festival's industry value for Southeast Asian filmmakers is the Golden Star Award recognition and the platform it provides for regional visibility.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Southeast Asian Filmmakers

HIFF's top competition category is reserved for Southeast Asian feature films. The Golden Star Award is the festival's highest honor and provides regional visibility within ASEAN cinema. If your film is from a Southeast Asian country (Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei), this is the primary competitive category to target.

The 2024 Golden Star winner The Gospel of the Beast (Philippines) and the multiple individual awards won by Last Shadow at First Light (Singapore/Japan/Slovenia) demonstrate that HIFF recognizes work from across the ASEAN region, not only Vietnamese productions.

For International Filmmakers

International filmmakers (non-Southeast Asian) can compete in the Best First or Second Film category, which is open to first and second features from outside the region. In 2024, this category was won by films from Mongolia and Saudi Arabia, indicating broad international scope. The Short Film competition is also open internationally.

For established international filmmakers with third or subsequent features, HIFF's competitive options are limited. The non-competition categories (Vietnam Panorama, HCMC on Screen, Cinematic Crossroads) may be accessible for films with Vietnamese or Southeast Asian themes.

2026 Return and Verification

HIFF was postponed in 2025 and will return in 2026. As of early 2026, specific dates, submission deadlines, and category details for HIFF 2026 had not been announced. Filmmakers should monitor hiff.vn for the official announcement. The Organizing Committee has stated that HIFF 2026 will include "enhanced programs and activities."

The 2025 postponement was caused by the concentration of national anniversary events in Ho Chi Minh City, not by any reduction in the festival's commitment. The city's co-hosting of the 24th Vietnam Film Festival in November 2025 demonstrates continued government investment in cinema events.

Industry and Conference Programming

The inaugural HIFF included a conference on film investment, with registration available for industry professionals. The festival organized seminars, exhibitions, and exchanges between artists, film crews, and audiences. The industry programming is designed to position Ho Chi Minh City as a regional creative hub, leveraging its UNESCO Creative City designation.

The festival's organizational team includes executive director Pham Minh Toan, deputy executive director Do Hoa, artistic director Nguyen Vinh Son, deputy artistic director Aaron Toronto, with Anderson Le as head of programming. This team structure indicates both Vietnamese and international programming perspectives.

Practical Considerations

Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam's largest city and economic center, accessible via Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN). The city has extensive accommodation options across price ranges. Vietnam requires visas for most international visitors, though the e-visa system has streamlined the process for many nationalities.

The festival's 2024 edition ran 8 days (April 6 to 13), suggesting a similar duration for 2026. The 2024 edition used multiple venues across the city, though specific venue details were not prominently published.

Festival History

HIFF was founded in 2024 as the first international film festival in Ho Chi Minh City, enabled by a change to Vietnam's Cinema Law that allowed local city governments to host film festivals. Previously, only the national Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism organized international film festivals in Vietnam, primarily through the Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF, founded 2010).

The inaugural edition was organized by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and Vietfest, a private events company that also organizes music, design, and manga festivals in Vietnam. The festival attracted 300+ submissions from 29 countries and territories, with 200+ international and Vietnamese guests attending.

The 2025 postponement was announced by the HIFF Organizing Committee, citing the need to concentrate city resources on multiple national anniversary events. The committee emphasized that HIFF would return in 2026 with enhanced programming and reaffirmed its commitment to building HIFF as a recognized brand connecting Vietnamese cinema to the global film industry.

Ho Chi Minh City's UNESCO Creative City designation for cinema, received in 2024, provides institutional support for HIFF's long-term development. The festival aims to establish Ho Chi Minh City as one of the region's leading creative hubs and to promote Vietnamese culture and art internationally.

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 Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF), Vietnam's biennial international festival, see HANIFF. For the Vietnam Film Festival, the national cinema festival, see Vietnam Film Festival. Visit the official website.