Screening “Best of Kids Annecy 2024”

   Watching award-selected animated shorts on a proper cinema screen on a Sunday afternoon is a different thing altogether from scrolling through them at home. This is a one-off special screening outside the programme's usual weekly slot, which makes it the only chance to catch this selection in Hanoi this month.

   The programme is “Best of Kids Annecy 2024” — short animated films picked for young audiences at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the annual gathering in France that draws more than 12,000 industry professionals. It is organised by Institut français du Vietnam – Hanoi as part of its French Cinema Rendez-vous series and hosted by White Light Cinéhub, a cinephile screening room on the third floor of the Complex 01 creative compound in Đống Đa district, southwest of the Old Quarter.

   The entry coupon includes one drink, so it is worth arriving a little early to pick it up and settle into a seat. Registration is taken at the check-in desk or through the White Light Cinehub page.

   Films are shown with Vietnamese and English subtitles, and short animation carries much of its story visually, so younger children who cannot keep pace with subtitles still follow what is happening.

   It suits families with children, design and animation students who want to see an international selection, and adults who enjoy short form but rarely get to see it projected. If you are after one calm, well-chosen cultural outing before August runs out, you have found it.