Best Vietnamese documentary movies

Di is a 12-year-old girl from the mist-shrouded mountains of northern Vietnam. She belongs to the Hmong, an ethnic minority in which girls get married at a very young age. This is often preceded by a controversial “bride-napping,” where the girl is abducted by her future husband on New Year’s Eve. Negotiations between the families follow. This also happened to Di’s sister and their mother, so it doesn’t seem strange that in preparation the women and girls discuss sex and married life without embarrassment. But Di also goes to school, where she learns very different values. And in her own way, even Di’s mother tries to warn her daughter about child marriage.

Endearing Madame Phung and her transvestite singers travel around Vietnam, sparking fascination and hostility from the local people.

The first air combat of Vietnam People’s Air force on April 4, 1965 in Ham Rong.

“The Glorious Pain” is a documentary film which features the journey of a small classical Vietnamese opera (Tuồng) troup and one of the very few left, as they travel and perform through the Western Vietnam countryside. The Royal characters, behind the closed curtains are commoners and peasants who struggle to make ends meet. The troup is on the verge of disbandment because the main artists were going through a hard time. What future awaits the troup and its artists? Would it disappear in the same way as many other traditional art forms?

Three generations of Vietnamese metalheads struggle against an indifferent culture to make their passion heard.

From the preparations to the performances, this documentary showcases Vietnamese pop idol Sơn Tùng M-TP and the passion behind his Sky Tour concerts.

A Vietnamese documentary on human suffering and the meaning of kindness.

A melancholic meditation on the capital, considering official narratives of ancient elegance alongside the reality of long welfare lines and neglected monuments.

KCBT explores the shifting urban landscape and rapid economic growth of Hanoi, Vietnam through stenciled demolition ads that both visibly mark the entire city and internally mark its residents.

"No Gods, No Masters" quotes the slogan championing independent thought used by anarchists, feminists and workers in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The video juxtaposes images and sounds recorded at various locations in Vietnam and features two appeals expressed by two supposed ghosts: one is hearable via an audio production by the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion (PSYOP) of the US-Army during America's war in Vietnam, which was intended as a weapon to weaken the fighting morale of the Vietcong, distributed via loudspeakers over their supply routes. The other ghost makes herself heard using Sung Tieu's aunt as her medium.

Vietnamese pop queen Mỹ Tâm presents a behind-the-scenes look at her landmark Tri Âm concert in this emotionally charged documentary.

A short film that examines the history and legacy of the My Lai massacre, an incident of the Vietnam War in which hundreds of Vietnamese civilians were massacred by U.S. Army soldiers.

The story of the resistance of the people of the Vinh Linh area of Vietnam which was heavily bombed by the United States during the Vietnamese War. (Note: The film crew itself was bombed; three crew members passed away and chief cameraman was heavily injured. The director re-shot the destroyed film albeit in shortened form.)

A renovation of the Winx Club series that explores the deterritorialized flows of desires in a digital age of technology. Also, something about gay rights

A documentary film promoting the life and career of Ho Chi Minh on the 100th anniversary of his birth (1890-1990) through a series of interviews with his contemporaries including Phạm Văn Đồng, Võ Nguyên Giáp and Nguyễn Văn Linh. One of the highly acclaimed films about Ho Chi Minh, this is often broadcast by Vietnam Television on the occasion of his birthday (May 19) or death anniversary (September 2).

The film documents the construction process of the Bac Hung Hai irrigation system to bring Red River water to the provinces of Bac Ninh , Hung Yen and Hai Duong . This is the construction event of the first major irrigation project in Northern Vietnam after peace was restored in 1954. The film highlights human labor and the ability to improve nature.