A free pass into this year's European cinema conversation lands in Việt Nam this November, when the Goethe-Institut's German film festival KinoFest 2026 opens in Hà Nội before rolling on to HCM City and Đà Nẵng, running from November 5 through December 31.
The festival opens with Oh, This Unspeakable Void at Hà Nội's National Film Centre — Simon Verhoeven's adaptation of Joachim Meyerhoff's autobiographical novel, a coming-of-age story blending humour with grief and family ties. It picked up several prizes at the German Film Awards 2026, including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and the Bronze Prize for Best Feature Film, and lead actor Bruno Alexander will travel to Hà Nội and HCM City for post-screening discussions.
The big draws, though, are two Berlinale 2026 winners. İlker Çatak's Yellow Letters, which took the Golden Bear for Best Film, follows an artist couple whose livelihoods and relationships come under pressure during political upheaval — a drama about whether artistic freedom can survive. Markus Schleinzer's Rose, which earned Sandra Hüller the Silver Bear for best leading performance, tells the story of a woman living under a male identity in the seventeenth century, asking what self-determination costs when society sets the rules.
The remaining six titles spread the net wider. Kilian Armando Friedrich's I Understand Your Displeasure, a Panorama selection at the 2026 Berlinale, looks at care and education workers whose labour keeps society running largely unseen. Ildikó Enyedi's Silent Friend — featuring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Léa Seydoux — is a slower, more contemplative watch that asks viewers to step outside a human-centred view of the world. Rounding out the programme are Luisa, In Good Faith and the animated adventure The Last Whale Singer.
All eight films screen in the original German with both English and Vietnamese subtitles, so travellers passing through any of the three host cities can drop in without needing the local language. Screenings span nearly two months, which makes it easy to fit a session around a trip whether you're in the north, the centre or the south of the country.
For visitors, KinoFest doubles as a cheap, weather-proof evening activity during Việt Nam's cooler months, and a way to see award-winning films that rarely get wide releases in Southeast Asia. Check the Goethe-Institut Việt Nam's listings for dates and venues in each city.
Via Vietnam News Life
