Film Screening: “Hey Joe” (T18)

07:30 pm, Sat 25 Oct 2025
National Cinema Centre
87 Lang Ha, O Cho Dua, Hanoi

From The Italian Film Festival in Vietnam:

Set in the 1970s, “Hey Joe” follows Dean Barry (James Franco), an American war veteran haunted by his time in WWII, particularly during the Naples-Salerno campaign of 1943 in southern Italy. Lost in life and weighed down by his past, everything shifts when he receives a letter from Italy, revealing that he has a son in Naples.

Along the way back to Italy after 25 years, he faces not only language and cultural barriers but deep emotional ones, as father and son confront their shared wounds. Under Claudio Giovannesi’s direction, Naples’ postwar harshness is “softened” by the sounds of jazz, blues, and pop, painting a portrait of a city, or a whole generation, bruised but unbroken, where love and hope still take root.

The song “Hey Joe” appears in the film both as a melody and as a symbol. In an interview with Cinecittà News (2024), Giovannesi explained: “I chose ‘Hey Joe’ because it’s a song about escape, about freedom and about loss. Dean’s story is the same: he runs from war, from his past, from himself.”

This latest work by director Claudio Giovannesi won Best Sound at the 2025 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Awards. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2025 David di Donatello Awards, and for Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography at the 2025 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Awards.

Each screening will be followed by a Q&A with Mr Antonio Termenini, Artistic Director of the Italian Film Festival in Hanoi.

Ticket price: 30,000 VNĐ/ticket.
Tickets available from October 14th, 2025 at the National Cinema Center box office and the Cinema’s app/website.

Note:
– This film is intended for viewers aged 18 and up (T18).
– By participating in the event, attendees are deemed to have granted the Organizing Committee permission to use their images and statements for non-commercial purposes such as documentation, media coverage, and promotional materials related to the program.

About The Italian Film Festival 2025

The Italian Film Festival 2025, organized by the Embassy of Italy in Hanoi in collaboration with the Asian Film Festival in Rome, will take place at the National Cinema Center (87 Láng Hạ, Hanoi) from October 20th to 25th, 2025.
The festival presents Vietnamese audiences with six outstanding new works of contemporary Italian cinema, from celebrated directors to promising talents on the rise.

Follow updates on event’s page.