~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Co-operating in making film with foreigners

To provide services for foreign firms to make films in Vietnam, domestic film firms will not only get profits but also learn a lot of experiences from them. Furthermore, by attracting foreign capital, Vietnamese film directors can improve the quality of their films and have advantages in exporting films.

The Giai Phong (Liberation) Film Firm received US $43,000 when providing services for a film named 'A Quiet American' and about US $40,000 for a documentary film 'Saigon in Spring 1968.' This firm has also provided services for films: 'Lover' (France), 'White Badge' (the Republic of Korea), 'Three Seasons' (the US) and in the near future, 'A Slow Bullet' (RoK). When the last preparations of the film 'A Slow Bullet' are implemented (the film is expected to be shot in September this year), the Liberation Film Firm received an order from the Asia-America Cinematography (the US) to jointly invest money to make a film named 'Another War' by playwright Fran Vrechek, based on the novel 'The Advisor.' Obviously, a new chance is coming to the firm when shifting from the phase of providing services for foreign firms to the phase of co-operating with them in making films.

Many cinematography officials held that providing services or co-operating with foreign firms in making films is to support domestic cinematography. The documentary film 'Two Generations - One Path' produced on the order placed by the NHK Television will surely exceed the amount of US $40,000 of the film 'Saigon in Spring 1968'. This is because the former has a larger scale and a longer amount of time. But the benefit here is not only the money. The access to the method of professionally film making is what that counts. Director Phan Loc of Vietnam Feature Film Firm said that through the his making films with foreigners, he realised that Vietnam's cinematography asks of those who are good at accounting or at persuading partners to invest money to make films. This work has been sometimes carried out by directors for a long time.

The co-operation in film making also creates chances for marketing of Vietnamese films through new markets. An example is the film 'Me Thao - A Prime of Time' of female director Viet Linh. With only VND 980 million provided by the State, she could not make the film. So, she called on a donation of VND 1 billion from ACCT, a Francophone non-governmental organisation. Moreover, France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to provide money to have good sound and images in foreign country and the film will be screened in Paris in March, 2003. It is clear that co-operation in making films with foreigners will help the 'Made in Vietnam' films go beyond the domestic market. The cases of the films 'Tenement,' 'Sawers' and, recently, 'Guava Season' partly show that Vietnamese films will be welcomed in foreign markets if there is a good co-operation with foreign partners.

By Yen Chinh - Tuoi Trê Newspaper - June 22, 2002.