Berlin Silver Bear winner ‘Roter Himmel’ opens German film festival in Vietnam

The festival runs in Vietnam from Thursday through Sunday, expanding screenings from Hanoi, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, and Da Lat to new locations including Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, and Da Nang.

The drama, set on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, follows Leon (Thomas Schubert), a writer struggling with his novel, as he spends the summer at a friend’s family home.

Interactions with other characters—Nadja (Paula Beer) and Devid (Enno Trebs)—create tensions and complex relationships framed against the backdrop of spreading wildfires and a red-hued sky.

Festival organizers described the film as exploring creativity, loss, and human responses to both personal and collective crises.

The work has earned numerous nominations and awards in Germany and internationally, including the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.

Alongside ‘Roter Himmel,’ KinoFest 2025 features nine films ranging from drama and comedy to documentaries, exploring themes of family, care, labor, history, and personal choice.

The lineup includes ‘Alles gehört zu dir,’ ‘Zuhause ist dort, wo die Sternfrüchte sauer sind,’ ‘Vena,’ ‘The Flight Before Christmas,’ ‘Erst nachts konnten wir traurig sein,’ ‘Heldin’, ‘Cologne 75,’ ‘Grüsse vom Mars,’ and ‘Das letzte Tabu.’

“Between laughter and conflict, comfort and resistance, these films are designed to inspire, challenge, and change the way audiences see the world,” the festival said in a statement.

At the opening ceremony in Hanoi on Thursday evening, German Ambassador to Vietnam Helga Margarete Barth highlighted KinoFest 2025 as a key event marking 50 years of diplomatic ties between Germany and Vietnam.

Barth said cinema is never just entertainment; it is a bridge connecting people, cultures, and generations; and through film, audiences share laughter and tears, and sometimes discover how much they have in common.

She also noted the festival includes works by German-Vietnamese directors, such as Mani Pham Bui and Hien Nguyen.