Cinema fans in Hà Nội are getting a free history lesson this week. From October 7 to 9, the Việt Nam Film Institute is running a special programme of free screenings at Ngọc Khánh Cinema (523 Kim Mã Street, Giảng Võ Ward), with all three films starting at 9am. The occasion: the capital's Liberation Day, which falls on October 10 and marks 72 years since Hà Nội was freed from French occupation in 1954.
The line-up spans five decades of Vietnamese filmmaking. The oldest and perhaps most beloved is Em Bé Hà Nội (The Little Girl from Hà Nội), a 1973 classic directed by People's Artist Hải Ninh. It follows Ngọc Hà, a 12-year-old girl separated from her family during a bombing raid in the American air war against North Việt Nam, as she searches for her soldier father. Starring Lan Hương, Thế Anh and Trà Giang, it won the Golden Lotus Award for Best Film at the 1975 Việt Nam Film Festival and the Jury's Special Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival the same year.
The middle film, Ngày Về (The Day of Return), came out in 1986 and was directed by Tự Huy. Set in the northern port city of Hải Phòng, it takes a quieter look at soldiers coming home from the battlefield and struggling to fit back into ordinary life.
Rounding out the trio is the newest name most visitors will have heard of: Đào, Phở và Piano (Peach Blossom, Phở and Piano), a 2023 film directed by Phi Tiến Sơn. It dramatises the fierce defence of Hà Nội by militia and civilians against French re-occupation in late 1946 and early 1947. Initially shown only at Hà Nội's National Cinema Centre, it became a phenomenon — sessions sold out constantly and the centre's booking website crashed under traffic that sometimes topped 30,000 visits. It picked up a Silver Lotus at the 2023 Việt Nam Film Festival in Đà Lạt, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism chose it as Việt Nam's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2025 Academy Awards.
For travellers, this is a nice window into how Hanoians commemorate their own history — through art, not just parades. If you happen to be in the capital in early October, a morning at a local cinema watching these films is a genuinely local experience, and the Ngọc Khánh Cinema location near Kim Mã puts you close to Ba Đình and the lakes district afterwards. Even outside festival dates, the National Cinema Centre regularly screens Vietnamese classics with low ticket prices, and Peach Blossom, Phở and Piano has had wider releases since its 2024 breakout. Pair a screening with a bowl of the city's famous phở and you've essentially lived the title.
Liberation Day itself, October 10, brings flags and celebrations across the capital, so early-to-mid October is a culturally rich time to visit if you don't mind the tail end of the rainy season.
