Achievements

The short film competition LENSCAPE 2026 recognized the talent of students from DTU, who took the overall LENSCAPE 2026 first prize besides awards for best director, best actor, and the Choice Award (audience favorite).

These achievements not only affirm the professional capabilities of DTU students but also highlight the university’s dynamic learning environment that fosters creativity and the development of filmmaking and artistic skills.

DTU students won LENSCAPE 2026

LENSCAPE 2026 was organized by the BUV Photography Club, under the patronage of the British University Vietnam (BUV). In its second edition, the competition attracted a large number of young people with a passion for filmmaking aged 16 to 23. The LENSCAPE 2026 final round took place in Hanoi on May 8, 2026, and featured the most outstanding films.

The jury consisted of experienced artists and filmmakers who not only elevated the competition’s professional standards but also provided participants with valuable feedback, recognition, and inspiration. The jury included:

-    Distinguished Artist Dang Tat Binh, director and actor with more than forty years of experience in Vietnamese theater, television, and cinema,
-    Mr Dinh Tuan Vu, director and recipient of the award for best director at the 2015 Golden Kite Awards for the film Yen’s Life,
-    Ms Dinh Thi Thuy Ha, actress and a familiar face on the Vietnamese screen with many impressive roles on stage and television, recently gaining attention for her role in the film Red Rain.

The short film “Color #05”

Drawing upon DTU coursework in Digital Content Production, Communication Design, Script Development, and Visual Storytelling, the film team Feliciné, consisting of

    - Nguyen Nu Phuc Hau,
    - Ngo Tri Quang,
    - Ton Long Hieu,
    - Le Trung Kien,

all Graphic Design students at DTU, effectively applied their academic knowledge to create the short film “Color #05” (Unfading Color), a work rich in creativity and artistic value.

“People think graphic design is limited to creating static visuals,” Phuc Hau explains. “At DTU, though, we’re also exposed to plenty of knowledge and skills related to idea development, visual storytelling, video shooting, post-production, and multimedia production. When making the film, from set design, production management, and filming to design of the promotional poster, we all directly applied what we had learned in class. This foundation gave us the confidence to participate in LENSCAPE 2026 despite our limited experience with film.”

The LENSCAPE 2026 theme “What color is love?” sparked many emotions and became a major source of inspiration for DTU’s Feliciné team. The students developed a story centered on the life of a ceramic artisan in Thanh Ha pottery village, skillfully weaving traditional cultural values and the simple beauty of local life into their film.

Poster for the short film “Color #05”

“We created Color #05 in a slice-of-life style, using a gentle and realistic pace to portray relatable everyday emotions,” says Long Hieu. “We used the bright golden summer sunlight characteristic of Central Vietnam with metaphor-rich camera angles to add depth to the story and establish a distinct cinematic identity. This way we aimed to convey the message that love may come in many different colors, but its essence remains beautiful, enduring, and unchanged over time.”

For the Feliciné team, the most exciting experience was witnessing an initial idea gradually transform into a completed work. What began as a story on paper took shape through filming, visual design, sound production, and the collaborative efforts of the crew, creating special and memorable experiences for everyone involved.

“Every role in the team taught us valuable lessons,” Trung Kien explains. “As a director, I had to balance creative ideas with the practical realities of production, while coordinating tasks and connecting team members toward a common goal. Throughout the project, unexpected situations such as location changes, the weather, scheduling, and technical issues required quick and appropriate decision-making from me.”

Tri Quang says that, “During post-production, our greatest challenge was turning hours of raw footage into a coherent and emotionally rich story. Film editing requires patience, attention to detail, and a mind for storytelling. Because even small changes in pacing, sound, or scene order can affect the emotions of the audience. However, the dedicated guidance and support with professional aspects of our lecturers at DTU gave us the confidence to realize the completed final product.”

The dedication of the DTU student crew to capture the best shots

For Color #05, the Feliciné team invited student Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang to act. She performed her role very well and impressed at the contest, which earned her an award for best actor at LENSCAPE 2026.

“To fully embody the character, I spent considerable time to study her, understand her psychology, and find the most authentic way to express her emotions,” Thuy Hang says frankly. “The crying scene was the most challenging part for me, but it also became the emotionally most genuine moment because I had to become her, live in the character’s circumstances, to get the most natural emotions. The award for best actor is a nice mark in my journey as a DTU student.”

According to the jury, the DTU students’ film stood out for:

    - its creative concept,
    - its tight script, and
    - emotionally rich storytelling.

The film conveyed a clear message aligned with the competition’s theme. It was also highly praised for its cinematography, with appropriate composition, color and lighting, and artistic camera movement. This all contributed to a distinctive style of expression and a highly polished final production.
 

(Media Center)