Women filmmakers can broaden Vietnamese cinema

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Women filmmakers can broaden Vietnamese cinema

Vietnam’s box office success is creating more space for women-led stories, but stronger representation in directing and other key creative roles is needed to broaden the industry’s storytelling and develop the next generation of female filmmakers.

As Vietnamese cinema continues to attract audiences across genres and scales, women filmmakers are demonstrating that their creative contribution extends well beyond stories traditionally associated with women. From large-scale war epics to commercially successful comedies and internationally recognised independent films, women are taking on increasingly visible roles as directors, producers and cinematographers.

Ms Truong Phan Kieu Anh, a Multimedia teacher in the Foundation Studies program at RMIT Vietnam, challenged both the label “women's stories” and the expectation that such stories are the only ones women filmmakers are capable of telling.

“That notion unintentionally turns women’s experience into the only territory that women filmmakers are expected to occupy.

"Stories about girlhood and womanhood, romantic love, family and sacrifice are not exclusively women's stories. They are human stories," Ms Kieu Anh said.

In her view, the label does double damage. It confines women filmmakers to a narrow set of subjects, and it marks women's lives as a niche rather than as part of the shared human experience that cinema explores. Women filmmakers, she said, should be free to work across any subject or scale, with their presence bringing perspectives that enrich how human experience is imagined on screen.

Vietnam’s box office already undercuts both assumptions of women-led filmmaking. As of August 2026, Dang Thai Huyen’s Mua do (Red rain), a large-scale war epic, was the highest-grossing Vietnamese film, while Thu Trang’s directorial debut Nu hon bac ti (Money kisses) ranked among the country’s top-grossing films.

However, women remain underrepresented among directors of the country’s biggest commercial releases. Of the 20 highest-grossing Vietnamese films as of August 2026, only two were directed by women.

Women, on and off screen, bring perspectives that enrich how we understand and tell human stories. (Image: Magnific)

Several successful films have placed women and their experiences at the spotlight, demonstrating a taste for female centred narratives. Ms Kieu Anh noted that the challenge was not simply increasing the number of women appearing on screen, but expanding the range of experiences represented there.

Films such as Mai, Nha ba Nu (The house of no man), Lat mat 7 (Face off 7: One wish), Mat biec (Dreamy eyes) and Tho oi!! (Bunny!!) have put women at the centre of the story, yet their characters are often defined through a familiar set of roles: the self-sacrificing daughter or mother, the object of romantic desire, the figure of moral judgement.

“The presence of women, both on and off screen, is vital to expanding our cinematic vocabulary for understanding and communicating the vast spectrum of human experience,” she said.

“A woman appearing in a film is not the same thing as a woman making creative decisions over that film,” Ms Kieu Anh said. Those decisions are made across many positions, from writing and directing to cinematography, costume and editing, which is why greater representation behind the camera matters.

She also highlighted the importance of repeat opportunities. Success in filmmaking can lead to larger projects, bigger budgets, stronger negotiating power and greater access to distributors and audiences. Without comparable opportunities, women may have fewer chances to develop their creative careers over multiple films.

Vietnamese cinema already offers examples of women exercising leadership across different parts of the filmmaking process.

Producer Ngo Thanh Van has led commercially successful productions including Hai Phuong, while producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc of An Nam Productions has worked on internationally recognised films including Ash Mayfair’s Nguoi vo ba (The third wife) and Skin of youth. Cinematographer Nguyen Phan Linh Dan was also recognised with the Angénieux Special Encouragement at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, highlighting emerging talent behind the camera.

Nguoi vo ba provides one example of how women can contribute across multiple creative roles. The film was directed by Ash Mayfair and produced by Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, with Chananun Chotrungroj as director of photography and Julie Béziau as editor.

More opportunities and mentorship can help women build lasting careers in Vietnam’s film industry. (Image: Pexels)

For Ms Tran Phuong Thuy, Associate Lecturer in Digital Film and Video at RMIT Vietnam, however, greater visibility must be accompanied by changes in the working environment.

“Just like film industry in other countries, the industry in Vietnam has always been male leaning when it comes to key creative roles,” Ms Thuy said.

She pointed to the demanding working conditions of filmmaking, cultural perceptions about women’s ability to work in such environments, limited access to female mentors and differing expectations of women’s work as factors that can make it harder for women to progress into decision-making positions.

“There is also not enough female mentor in all the roles to support and lead the younger generation to higher position in their chosen direction,” she said.

Ms Thuy said these barriers could leave women feeling they have to prove both the quality of their work and their ability to overcome assumptions about what women can do in the industry.

Supporting women earlier in their careers could help address this gap, particularly through mentorship, visibility and targeted industry opportunities.

“Firstly, it would be a great support to have special programs or grants that focus on female filmmakers,” Ms Thuy said. “It would provide a space where female filmmakers can empower each other and find suitable resources for their development.”

She also suggested greater incentives for female-led or all-female projects, allowing emerging filmmakers to gain experience, build networks and develop their careers in supportive environments.

For film education, the goal is not to create a separate pathway for women, but to ensure that talented filmmakers have the opportunities, networks and confidence to progress into the roles where creative decisions are made.

“The most important thing is it sends out the message that it’s possible for a female filmmaker to develop and flourish in the industry,” Ms Thuy said.

As Vietnam’s film industry continues to grow, the educators said a broader range of voices behind the camera could help the sector tell more complex and varied stories while giving emerging filmmakers more opportunities to build sustainable careers.

Story: June Pham

Communication and design

Media Release

16 October 2026

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