MUMBAI: The organisers of the Vietnam International Film Festival (VNIFF) have announced that the first edition of the festival will be held in Hanoi from 17 to 21 October this year.

At a news conference in Cannes, the organisers asked the press to help them zero in on five to seven French films for a special section in the 60-film programme in which films from Vietnamese filmmakers will also be screened.

The festival that will showcase the old spirit of Vietnam and the development of the country will include short films, documentaries and narrative features along with Vietnamese features with English subtitles and some of the most important local films. 

The VNIFF will have Technicolor sponsoring a $25,000 Asia Award for post-production on the best Vietnamese film. A $10,000 UniFrance & K+ award will also be presented to the best French film selected by the Vietnamese spectators.

Hanoi‘s Opera House will host the festival screenings and its National Convention Center will be used for the opening and closing ceremonies.

While the deadline for the submissions of the festival has been fixed for 8 August, the lineup of films to be screened at the festival would be revealed in early September.