The film Don't Burn (Dung Dot) has been selected to be screened at the opening of Viet Nam Film Week in Havana, Cuba, from June 1-5. The week is part of this year's cultural activities to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Viet Nam-Cuba diplomatic ties on December 2.

Bringing together Qatar’s myriad film initiatives under one banner, H E Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani officially launched the Doha Film Institute (DFI) yesterday. The institute, launched at the Cannes International Film Festival, expands the scope of Qatar’s international film ambitions and ventures.

Vladimir Putin is obsessed with cinema’s potential to sway hearts and minds. Over the past several years, Russia’s paramount leader has been tightening the screws on his country’s film industry. What is most remarkable about Putin’s move is not his power grab per se, Radio Free Europe’s anxiety-laden reportage in late December notwithstanding.

When it comes to entertainment, leisure and play, people generally exercise more freedom of choice than in any other realm of modern life. They choose to watch a movie, play chess, go to a concert, or go shopping because they find it amusing. In short, look at the way people entertain themselves and you’ll discover what people wish to do for one's own sake. If you’re looking for a window into the global village, to assess its condition and its attitudes toward every imaginable aspect of contemporary life, there can be no better portal than global entertainment.

In the aftermath of the Beijing Olympics, there's been much discussion about an increase in China's soft power, not least by Joseph Nye, the originator of the concept. [Link] Nye and others (this writer included) have evaluated China's film industry and U.S.-Chinese co-productions as a strategic asset for the Middle Kingdom. I was discussing the subject recently with a U.S.