Watching movies outdoors by the Saigon River

Saigon Riverside Park, where the outdoor film screening within the framework of HIFF 2024 takes place - Photo: TO CUONG

On the evening of April 7, a large number of people in Ho Chi Minh City flocked to the Saigon River park (Thu Thiem direction) to attend the opening ceremony of the Cine Park - an event within the framework of the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival - HIFF 2024, with a giant outdoor cinema.

In addition to screening films for the audience, the program also has cultural performances and exchange activities between fans and generations of Vietnamese cinema actors.

People sit on plastic chairs and beanbags waiting to watch the opening ceremony of the outdoor movie screening at Saigon River Park - Photo: TDD

Diverse activities within the framework of HIFF 2024

Attending the opening ceremony, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City - reminisced about the old days of watching movies outdoors.

Outdoor cinemas can be considered a form of "cultural relic" in Vietnam.

About 20 years ago, people still had memories of gathering on the lawn, looking up at the outdoor screen to watch classic Vietnamese films such as Floating Season, When Will October Come?...

Audiences watch cartoons on a giant screen at Saigon riverside park - Photo: TDD

However, this form of culture has never gone out of fashion in the world . In America, people still have giant outdoor movie theaters, people just park their cars neatly and enjoy the movie from their cars.

Or in Korea, outdoor movie theaters have become a familiar entertainment activity for people in large urban areas such as Icheon, Gwangju, Busan,...

Notably, these are movie theaters established by the "big guys" of the Korean film industry such as Lotte, CGV or Cine Q.

Audiences enjoy movies in the cool night sky - Photo: HIFF

After the opening ceremony, there was a performance of songs from the movie Song Lang by two singers Tu Quynh and Ly Trung Tin. At the same time, the film crew including director Leon Le, two male leads Isaac, Lien Binh Phat,... also appeared to interact with a large audience in Ho Chi Minh City.

Audiences will then enjoy movies until 11pm.

The outdoor film screenings are scheduled to take place from now until April 12. Each night, audiences will be able to watch a different series of films and meet filmmakers who contributed to creating classic Vietnamese films.

Specific movie screening schedules: from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. from April 7 to 12 at Nguyen Hue walking street (Ben Nghe ward, District 1) and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Saigon riverside park (Thu Thiem ward, Thu Duc city).

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/coi-chieu-bong-ngoai-troi-ben-song-sai-gon-20240407214145142.htm