Vietnam wins first prize at the 2025 International Student Film Festival

The work "Used To Be Green" by a group of students from Van Lang University (Vietnam) was honored with the highest award in 1 of 4 categories at the 2025 International Student Film Festival.

The organizing committee presented thank you letters to the jury members.

On the evening of July 29, the closing ceremony and award ceremony of the International Student Film Festival (ISMA 2025) took place at Van Lang University, concluding a series of 5-day academic and artistic activities, with the participation of nearly 100 lecturers, students, artists and experts from 8 countries.

At the award ceremony, the organizing committee announced the 36 best works, with the following structure: 4 first prizes, 9 second prizes, 15 third prizes and 8 awards.

The work Used to Be Green (Van Lang University) was honored with the highest award in the AI Narration category. The work by student group Ngo Quoc Khang uses environmental data and artificial intelligence to tell the story of urban transformation.

4 works won the highest prize at the 2025 Student Film Festival

At the awards night, the organizers also awarded 3 first prizes in the remaining 3 categories.

Syn-Flow (Wuhan University of Technology, China) won first prize in the New Media Art category. The work exploits interactive language to express emotional movement in digital space.

The work A Conversation with a Chair (Peking University, China) won first prize in the Short Film category thanks to conquering the jury with a minimalist yet philosophical storytelling style.

Meanwhile, the work When the River Calls (Cleveland State University, USA) was named the highest prize in the Animation Art category , bringing poetry to every frame, recounting memories of the hometown river with subtle emotions and skillful animation techniques.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi My Dieu, Principal of Van Lang University, spoke at the award ceremony.

At this year’s festival, Vietnam had 10 award-winning works from Van Lang University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Cinema. In addition to the first prize, Vietnamese representatives also won 4 second prizes.

The judges highly appreciated the way the Vietnamese authors approached the urban context and local cultural materials, along with the reasonable and emotional application of technology.

In addition to the main competition, ISMA 2025 saw the participation of 8 international student groups in the 72-Hour Workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City. The teams produced short films in 72 hours at typical locations such as wharves, traditional markets, riverside residential areas, etc. under the direct guidance of international lecturers. The workshop applied the Design Thinking method to encourage problem-solving and field creativity.

Authors won second prize at this year's Film Festival

At the end of the program, the organizers presented 8 awards to recognize the efforts and outstanding marks of the groups, including: Best Core Concept Award, Best Narrative Expression Award, Excellence in Visual Design Award, Outstanding Research & Insight Award, Innovation in Process Award, Excellence in Technical Skill Award, Real World Impact Award and Most Impressive Award.

The awards not only reflect the quality of the products after 72 hours of intense work, but also honor the learning spirit, connectivity and adaptability of students from many different cultures.

ISMA 2025 brings together 121 works from 37 universities from 8 countries: Korea, Japan, the United States, France, Thailand, China, Iran and Vietnam. The works compete in four categories: Short Film, Animation, Interactive Art and Narrative with Artificial Intelligence.

The jury, consisting of 13 international experts, scored according to 6 criteria: script content, art direction, visual techniques, art design, sound and music processing, and innovation in presentation.

Choosing the theme “Environment, Rivers and People”, ISMA 2025 focuses on urgent issues of our time: in the context of AI reshaping the boundaries of communication, cities facing the challenge of sustainable development, and rivers at risk of drying up.

Through media arts, ISMA 2025 awakens the creative and responsible voices of young people around the world for the future of the planet.

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/viet-nam-gianh-giai-nhat-tai-lhp-sinh-vien-quoc-te-2025-post806016.html