Organized by the ASEAN London Committee (ALC), the festival is running until Saturday at the School of Oriental and American Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. It was first held in 2019.

The festival will show films from 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

It aims to bolster ASEAN’s profile in the UK, promote ASEAN’s creative industry, further raise awareness about the ASEAN community in the UK, and foster people-to-people exchanges.
Vietnam’s entry this year, “Story of Pao”, vividly portrays the life of people in the Northwest region, their aspiration for beauty, freedom and happiness, through which the beauty of the country, people and culture of Vietnam is revealed.

The film is a part of a project to promote Vietnamese cinema by the Embassy of Vietnam in the UK and the Vietnam Film Institute under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.