Foreign flavour: German film Forget Me Not will open the document film festival tonight at the Viet Nam National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio. — Photo lichtblick-media.com

HA NOI (VNS) — For the sixth time, European cultural institutes and embassies in the capital together with the Viet Nam National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio will present European and Southeast Asian documentary films tonight.

During the festival, which starts tonight, each film from Viet Nam will be followed by one from Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Britain.

Opening the festival will be Vietnamese film Khi Khong The Vuot Qua Chinh Minh (When You Cannot Overcome Yourself) and German film Forget Me Not.

Directed in 2009 by Trinh Quang Tung and Bui Thi Phuong Thao, the Vietnamese film tells the negative side of fast economic growth.

According to the film-makers, the more developed society is, the higher the number of people with mental breakdowns.

When You Cannot Overcome Yourself calls on audiences not to be indifferent to the illness because it can happen to anyone.

In the award winning German contribution, Forget Me Not, director David Sieveking tells of his mother's suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Although the story seems heavy, the director presents a family chronicle full of humour and astonishing sincerity.

The screening will be presented with film editor Catrin Vogt.

The other European films will be screened on the following days including French La Maison de la Radio, Spanish Gaelle, British Dreams of a Life, Polish Boleslaw Matuszewski – The Unknown Pioneer of Cinematography, Danish Human Scale, and Austrian Tomorrow You will Leave.

The film Tomorrow You Will Leave is the emotional journey throught the life of Quang, the filmmaker's father. A long time ago, he left Viet Nam and now lives in a small village in Austria. In the film, he goes in search for a man he could never thank for his help in those days.

Bulgaria and Sweden will present their join contribution Tzvetanka. The filmmaker's grandmother of the same name critically reviews the three political systems she has gone through: monarchy, socialism and democracy.

The films from Viet Nam consist of Nguoi Giu Lua (Fire Keeper); Dong Dat Song Than, Tham Hoa Khon Luong (Tsunami, Earthquake – Immeasurable Disasters); Dinh A Mu Sung (Mount A Mu Sung); Co Xanh Im Lang (The Silent Grass); Hai Phia Cuoc Doi (Two Sides of a Life); Triet Gia Tran Duc Thao (Philosopher Tran Duc Thao); Dau Neo Ve Con Xa (Hard Road Home); and Dao Sac Phong (Royal Recognition Decree).

Films by young filmmakers from Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam will be screened in Ha Noi and in HCM City on June 7 and 22.

In Ha Noi, the Viet Nam National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio will host the screenings at 7pm at 465 Hoang Hoa Tham Street.

In HCM City, the screenings will be held at 6.30pm at Hoa Sen University, 8 Nguyen Van Trang Street, District 1.

On the sideline activities of the festival, two workshops will be held by the Goethe Institute. From June 3 to 6, German editor Catrin Vogt will teach editing skills and give a talk on Dramaturgical Editing of Documentary Films at DocLab, a documentary film centre at 56 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street. It will be open to all interested professionals.

At the same time, another workshop will be held in co-operation with STEPS, a non-governmental organisation.

STEPS co-founder and Finnish director Iikka Vehkalahti will also discuss strategies to initiate a global documentary film project Steps to Dream.

The project intends to produce documentary films with stories from Asia. — VNS