HCM CITY The first Short Film Festival in HCM City has received 96 submissions, including 60 fiction films, 23 documentaries, and 13 animations from both professional and amateur filmmakers, showcasing a diverse range of topics.

The festival is organised by the People's Committee of HCM City, HCM City Film Association, and the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; and produced by HCM City Television.

The judging criteria for this festival prioritise creative films centered around HCM City, its historical and revolutionary traditions, and efforts in combating COVID-19.

The maximum duration is 15 minutes for documentaries, 10 minutes for animations, and 45 minutes for fiction films.

The preliminary judging panel, consisting of nine members, evaluated the films on Tuesday and Wednesday to select the deserving winners of the prestigious Golden Bee Award for the best films.

Once approved by the Evaluation and Film Classification Council, the selected films will be screened for free at Cinestar Hai Bà Trưng, Youth Cultural House, HCM City University of Theatre and Cinema, as well as on television channels in HCM City, An Giang, Vĩnh Long, Bạc Liêu, Bến Tre and Quảng Trị.

The opening ceremony of the Short Film Festival in HCM City will take place today, and the closing ceremony and award presentation will be held on Sunday evening at the HCM Opera House.

The organising committee will award one first prize; one second prize; three third prizes; and three honorable mentions for each category, namely fiction films, documentaries, and animations.

Awards will be given for directing, screenplay, design, music, and outstanding male/female lead actors.

Winners will receive support to participate in at least one international film festival in the region or worldwide.

As part of the event, a seminar on "The Power of Short Films in Driving Social Transformation and Development in HCM City" will be held on Saturday at the Union of Arts and Literature Associations of HCM City in District 3.

Additionally, there will be exchange programmes and meetings between established filmmakers and young filmmakers, as well as the release of the festival's commemorative publication during the event.

The Short Film Festival in HCM City aims to be a biennial professional cinematic event. VNS