Vietnamese Cinema 2015: A Vibrant Year

A truly impressive year for Vietnamese cinema.

Indeed, the past year, 2015, has been a year of many impressive events for Vietnamese cinema. First of all, just before the New Year, after nearly a century of formation and development (Vietnamese cinema was born around 1923 with the film...).Kim Van Kieu(A joint effort by the French and Vietnamese), for the first time, a comprehensive and systematic "Strategy for the Development of Vietnamese Cinema to 2020, with a Vision to 2030" was officially approved by the state (January 26, 2014). From this point on, the country's cinema will have a clearer and more decisive direction, with the expectation that the seventh art will truly become the "most important art form among all arts." Not only impressive, with this development strategy, Vietnamese cinema, with many events and activities over the past year, has, to some extent, given both professionals and the general public some confidence. However, after nearly a century of development, looking at the picture of the country's cinema as "stunted," the number of films produced annually is surprisingly low (feature films alone are only around a dozen or so); When films are made but nobody watches them, they often lose money, are criticized for being poor in content and artistry, and no one with a sincere heart wouldn't feel impatient.

For a long time, we often used the excuse that due to limited funds and poor technical conditions, Vietnamese filmmakers couldn't produce good films that met audience tastes. However, since witnessing some neighboring film industries, such as Iran, which have similar conditions to Vietnam and often have very low budgets, yet still win major awards domestically and internationally, even prestigious ones like Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and the Oscars, we've come to a different story. Looking closer to home, South Korea, in the 1980s, with a population of less than 50 million (half that of Vietnam), struggled even with domestic audiences. Now, in just over 20 years, Korean cinema has taken the continent by storm, reaching the US, Japan, and India – countries with some of the most powerful film industries. What factors have contributed to the immense success of a film industry in a country with a population only half that of Vietnam? Many factors are involved: people, policies, funding, and the level of audience appreciation. But the most important factor is a sound government policy. Therefore, when the national film industry first adopted a long-term development strategy, the joy felt by filmmakers and their adoring audience was, of course, genuine.

A quick glance at the approved content in the Vietnamese film development strategy gives us every reason to be happy: From now until 2020 (with a vision to 2030), hundreds of new cinemas will be built; Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will have more modern film centers; each year, 25 to 40 feature films will be produced (by 2030, this number will reach 60 films, not including documentaries, animation, and science films, which will also reach the same number); the state will also invest in Vietnamese films to participate in international competitions; large film studios in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will also be built to meet domestic film production needs and move towards cooperation with foreign countries; and training of human resources for film industries such as directors, producers, distributors, actors, etc., will also receive focused investment. Cinema is not just an art form, but also an industry in a modern society; without investment in funding and technology, it will be difficult to develop. Let me share a "bittersweet" example, recounted by the Director of Cinema, Ngo Phuong Lan, to illustrate this point. In 2013, the Vietnam Film Department organized the Vietnam Film Week in South Korea. After much preparation, we brought over a dozen of our most representative films in 35mm format to South Korea. However, after the films were selected, shipped, and screened in South Korea, everyone was shocked to find they couldn't be shown. The reason was simple: they had long since stopped using projectors for 35mm film. Almost all cinemas in South Korea had switched to showing films in digital format. This "laughable yet awkward" situation partly reflects the "imbalance" of Vietnamese cinema in the era of integration and modernization, and the reason is simply not because of a "lack of money," but simply because it lacks two words: "integration."

The second impressive aspect was the film activities throughout 2015, especially the 19th Vietnam Film Festival held in Ho Chi Minh City from December 1st to 5th. First and foremost, we must mention the feature film...Flapping wings in mid-airby young female director Nguyen Hoang Diep (produced in 2014, but officially released in theaters only in early 2015) with many international awards and generating positive public opinion among Vietnamese audiences, especially young people (but almost left little impression on the audience at the film festival?); a short documentary filmPhung's last tripThe film by Nguyen Thi Tham, also a very young director, produced before 2013 but officially released in 2015, reveals another surprise: a film produced solely through the efforts of one individual, stored away for a long time, suddenly captivated audiences upon its release. Then there's the case of the film...Father and son and…by director Phan Đăng Di, who was already famous forBi, don't be afraid.Now, this young director is causing a sensation again as his film has been selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. However, like the fate of his previous hit film, it has yet to be officially screened domestically (while in France, the screening schedule is clearly defined). Then there are the films...Yen's lifeby director Dinh Tien Vu,14 days of leaveby director Nguyen Viet Khoa, especiallyI am your grandmother.The film by director Phan Gia Nhật Linh has, to date, achieved record box office revenue of approximately 90 billion VND (Phan Gia Nhật Linh previously collaborated on a film project funded by the Ford Foundation at the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, from which he received a scholarship to study directing at the University of Southern California). It can be affirmed that 2015 was truly a year for young Vietnamese cinema. If we consider all aspects...I see yellow flowers on green grassVictor Vũ (who previously taught at the Film Project of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities), also a young director, played a significant role in creating a "stunning" year for cinema, while many other artistic fields in the country were somewhat "stagnant".

On another note, cinema has truly capitalized on the significant advantage of television, a fact already mentioned in the development strategy of the Vietnam Film Department. In the era of media explosion, particularly television, the "big screen" has thrived compared to many other art forms thanks to its advantage of broadcasting on the "small screen." Today, cinema and television have become so closely intertwined and interwoven that it is no longer possible to clearly distinguish between television and film. The "interdisciplinary" nature of cinema in the digital age is also increasingly allowing it to establish a better position. While once considered merely a form of "pure entertainment," cinema now receives attention from researchers due to its "interdisciplinary" nature, especially with literature.

A quick summary of film activities in 2015: the awards ceremony started the year.Golden Kite, in the middle of the year there are a series ofFilm festivals, film weeks, and networking events with filmmakers.Europe, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India…; and then film festivals.Golden BeeFor young people, organized by the University of Theatre and Film, the Award CeremonyGolden Lotuswith activities such as "We Make Films" and "Film Space" by TPD (Center for Film Talent Development, Vietnam Film Association); ProgramAutumn EncounterA film training program for young filmmakers, which has emerged in Da Nang in recent years, involves Vietnamese-American director Tran Anh Hung, several renowned directors from abroad, and young Vietnamese filmmakers. This program has also found a new direction in filmmaking domestically. Several young filmmakers, who were members of the film project at the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities (funded by the Fofd Foundation) from 2005-2011, such as Phan Dang Di and Nguyen My Dung (as co-organizers and lecturers), and Trinh Dan Phuong (as a screenwriter), have initially achieved very encouraging results (Trinh Dan Phuong's script, from her time as a graduate student in film at the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, received a $3,000 prize to further fund its production). Another participant in the Film Project, Pham Thanh Ha, also received an award in the 2015 animation scriptwriting competition (Pham Thanh Ha also received an animation script award at the 19th Film Festival). Ultimately, the most impressive achievement of Vietnamese cinema in 2015 was the unexpected success of the collaboration between the private film company Thien Ngan and the state-funded production of the film.I see yellow flowers on green grass.The film won the Golden Lotus Award at the 11th Vietnam Film Festival in Ho Chi Minh City at the end of the year. It's even said that Phu Yen's tourism industry benefited from the "picture-perfect" scenery in Victor Vũ's film. Clearly, Vietnamese cinema in 2015 was very impressive…

But did Vietnamese cinema in 2015 truly achieve "quality"?

If we only look at cinema from the perspective of "fun and youthfulness," an art form of beauty (especially with the overwhelming number of beautiful actors from the showbiz world), high-grossing films, regular international exchanges, a few beautiful shots, 5-way surround sound, sensational storylines, fight scenes, and especially the trend of gay films and 16+ films..., Vietnamese cinema in recent times, especially in 2015, has been "impressive," but has it truly "valued"? We cannot yet definitively say so.

Why is that? It's simple: besides some of the very diligent and dedicated activities over the past year by many units, organizations, and individuals—such as the management and direction of the Film Department; the training activities of the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Film and Television Schools, some non-specialized schools; the Vietnam Television and Film Studio, the TPD Center, private film studios, and Vietnamese-American filmmakers—there are still many other film activities heavily influenced by "following trends." Vietnamese cinema in 2015 still exhibits many instances of "hybridization," "imitation," "borrowing," using "gimmicks," confusing "cinematic acting" with "showbiz performances," etc., partly to mask shortcomings in artistic thinking. Just look at the...Festivals, award ceremonies, networking events, film promotions.In 2015, it was immediately apparent that Vietnamese cinema, despite its outward "vibrancy," lacked consistency in "quality." Vietnamese cinema in the era of integration still has many "shortcomings": it hasn't yet moved beyond the stage of making art films before "imitating" making "commercial" films; some films achieve high box office revenue and attract many viewers, for example, even with...I am your grandmother., and still not entirely a purely Vietnamese film (the script was purchased from South Korea); some other films have artistic quality (according to experts), but have not necessarily found "empathy" with the majority of Vietnamese audiences.Flapping wings in mid-air, Father and son and...), or films that are heavily invested in but fail at the box office (Living with history); or another example is nonsensical films, labeled 16+ with the clear purpose of attracting viewers while the content of most films remains poor; just look at the list of 20 feature films competing for awards at the 19th Film Festival: more than half of them are marked 16+ (films prohibited for children under 16, nothing more than a gimmick to attract viewers!).

Another crucial aspect of a national film industry is human resource training, yet even the recently published "Film Development Strategy to 2020, Vision 2030" by the Vietnam Film Department still seems rather superficial. Human resources are the key factor contributing to a truly high-quality film industry. I believe that human resource training here is not just about training filmmakers, but also about training film viewers. And while the sheer number of young people, the "stars and beauties," flocking to cinemas is encouraging, there are underlying concerns. Many of them go to the cinema simply to follow a trend, while we desperately need viewers equipped with genuine film knowledge. To achieve that goal, one thing cannot be delayed: we urgently need more than the current two specialized film training institutions (Saigon and Hanoi Universities of Theatre and Film); we need to professionalize (including socialize) the models for training film professionals. A country with over 90 million people like Vietnam cannot have only two film training institutions. In South Korea, a country with less than 50 million people, there are more than 40 film training institutions. In the US, almost every university has a film department, and some even have two or three. In fact, for about a decade now, some Vietnamese universities, especially the larger ones such as the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the University of Culture, the Military Academy of Arts, Hoa Sen University, and various Colleges of Culture and Arts, have already been involved in professionally training film professionals. However, the "Strategy for the Development of Vietnamese Cinema" until 2030 hardly mentions them. A film industry workforce that is not diversified in training will find it very difficult to achieve the vision of global integration. Diversification means not only training in filmmaking, but also in film criticism and writing about films; not only training in directors and actors, but also in producers (while, in reality, even the two most professional training institutions in the country still lack film production departments), and many other issues…

Teacher Tran Hinh

Director Dang Nhat Minh, one of the most serious and influential figures in Vietnamese cinema, has often confided that his generation, despite making films during the subsidy era with limited budgets, still produced films that captured the "essence" of the Vietnamese people and received numerous international awards. He argues that while Vietnamese cinema today may be closer to international standards and more "modern," it still lacks films that truly embody the "Vietnamese spirit."

Of course, it's not just cinema; every field, as I understand it, has its good and bad points, its successes and shortcomings. The important thing is that those in positions of responsibility, the film industry managers, must "think about" and "speak out" about these issues; the "help" and "contribution" of many people are needed. And another crucial point is the need for truly talented individuals with a "Vietnamese soul," not a forced, artificial combination. Only then will our national cinema have a chance to "take off."