'Boost' for the film industry

UNESCO has just recognized Ho Chi Minh City as a global creative city in the field of cinema. This recognition is expected to be a launching pad for the city's film industry to develop more strongly in the future.

Benefits from the film city

Ho Chi Minh City is on the list of 58 cities that are new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), officially the first cinema city in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Ms. Duong Cam Thuy, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Cinema Association, expressed: "This recognition gives us a great advantage in promoting the city's cinema industry to develop further, worthy of being the cinema center of the country, a cinema city. Ho Chi Minh City is still considered a creative and dynamic city in many aspects. We already have a foundation for creativity in the field of cinema, we just need to outline strategies, plans and implement them."

Outdoor film screenings at Saigon Riverside Park within the framework of the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival attracted a large crowd.

PHOTO: VNA

Meanwhile, actress and producer Hong Anh believes that this will be an opportunity for Ho Chi Minh City to have a clearer development strategy in terms of strong investment in infrastructure, human resource training, encouraging creative projects and expanding international cooperation. "When there is a favorable environment, Vietnamese films will have more conditions to develop more professionally, and audiences will enjoy many quality works that are close to life," the actress expressed.

Before being recognized as a cinema city, Ho Chi Minh City was already the leading center of film production and consumption in the country. Data from the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City shows that the film industry is home to 935 businesses with 9,294 employees, generating revenue of 500 million USD/year, contributing 0.43% of GRDP. The city has the largest audience in the country with 10 cinema systems, 52 cinema complexes, 295 screening rooms and 184 creative spaces for professional art practice. Ho Chi Minh City is also the meeting place of many international film events, notably the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF).

Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy, member of the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Cinema Association, said that when Ho Chi Minh City becomes a creative city of cinema, we can expect many positive changes in many aspects from culture, economy to tourism and international image. The actress - director shared: "Maybe this is a truly effective and impressive promotion of the film industry, because currently Ho Chi Minh City is the largest film production center in the country and is where most of the best services in film production are concentrated."

Audiences watch outdoor movies at the Cinema Park right on the banks of the Thu Thiem River, at the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF 2024)

PHOTO: HIFF

Artist Hanh Thuy also analyzed that Ho Chi Minh City being recognized as a creative cinema city brings many benefits to workers in the industry, because the higher the demand for filmmaking, the higher the recruitment demand, the greater the job opportunities for personnel, and the more abundant access to creative support sources. Calling for investment and international cooperation with the guarantee of "Creative Cinema City" will have higher value and opportunities. "This opens up many cross-border work opportunities, cinema personnel can learn technology and modern production processes from international partners to both increase income and improve professional capacity and creativity from these cooperations," the artist shared.

A place connecting Vietnamese cinema with international cinema

In addition to the opportunities and positive signals from this recognition, the development and consolidation of the position of a "Cinema City" also makes Ho Chi Minh City face many challenges when this field still has many limitations and difficulties. According to artist Hanh Thuy, those difficulties include the lack of modern infrastructure and technology, because the number of studios, post-production centers, and film data warehouses that meet international standards is limited, Vietnamese film production technology still has a large gap with the world , financial resources are still thin, limited high-quality human resources, competition in the region...

The American movie A Tourist's Guide to Love (2023) has many scenes filmed in Ho Chi Minh City.

PHOTO: NETFLIX

Ms. Duong Cam Thuy commented that the recognition that Ho Chi Minh City has just achieved comes with responsibilities and commitments, and the city's cinema needs to have a plan and develop comprehensively.

In fact, developing the film industry has been and is one of the important tasks that Ho Chi Minh City focuses on implementing. In order to continue the goal of developing the film industry set by the Government , the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has issued a Project on the strategy for developing the cultural industry of Ho Chi Minh City until 2030, and the film industry is identified as one of the 8 key industries.

Tom Cross (center) , the first Vietnamese-American film editor to win an Oscar, attends the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF 2024)

PHOTO: HIFF

According to the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, the city puts culture at the heart of its development, in which the film industry will realize its vision, helping to enhance its central role in leading the connection between Vietnam and the world's innovation waves; establish cooperative relationships, promote cultural exchanges, and exchange creative capacity for intercultural cooperation with UCCN members. In addition, the city strives to develop professional filmmaking infrastructure, providing space for cinematic creation; build specialized film human resources; develop an annual film festival brand of international stature; create social equality in accessing, enjoying and creating art...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, met with domestic and international artists and filmmakers at the event within the framework of the first Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival.

PHOTO: HIFF

The Department of Culture and Sports assessed that when becoming a cinema city, Ho Chi Minh City will become a place connecting Vietnamese cinema with international cinema, contributing effectively and responsibly to the common development of regional cinema. This is the driving force for the city to effectively implement professional and modern cinema development projects; enhance training and exchange of experts, add high-quality human resources; continue cinema events, make HIFF an annual cinema event, and strive to affirm the position and prestige of domestic and international cinema.

Ho Chi Minh City is the meeting place of many international film events, attracting the participation of many talented filmmakers from around the world.

PHOTO: HIFF

Becoming a cinema city opens up many opportunities to connect Vietnamese cinema with international cinema, thereby realizing the goal of promoting the country's image through the seventh art. However, to realize that is not simple but requires connection and synchronous development, in which attention must be paid to human resources. Therefore, promoting training, creating conditions for students of theater schools to have the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities or nurturing young talents are things that need to be kept in mind in the development journey. "I am also very fond of the orientation of bringing cinema into schools. When children are familiar with cinema as a form of art and education, they will know how to feel, love and appreciate the value of creativity. I think that is the most sustainable foundation for the future of cinema in Ho Chi Minh City", actress Hong Anh expressed.

Actor Hua Quang Han (second from right) at the press conference to launch a new film in Ho Chi Minh City in September 2025

Not to mention, the current film market is not only a fierce competition between domestic projects but also with foreign works, while filmmaking is a high-risk industry. To encourage filmmakers to boldly try and be creative, filmmakers and producers hope that the management agency also needs to have support policies, such as tax reduction, creating conditions for loans... At the same time, people working in the film industry also need to be responsible for cultivating, perfecting themselves, contributing with good works to create a city worthy of the title just achieved.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cu-hich-cho-nganh-cong-nghiep-dien-anh-185251108232401844.htm