Da Nang and the opportunity to develop the film industry

Cinema is one of five areas chosen by Da Nang to develop its cultural industry. After the merger, the city became the most populous city in the Central region with nearly 2.8 million people. This is a measure of the audience market and one of the important conditions for research and development of production, distribution and exploitation of cinema on an industrial scale.

The Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) has attracted international film producers, directors and artists. Photo: DOAN HAO LUONG

Diverse contextual ecosystem

One of the biggest advantages of Da Nang city is the diversity of contexts such as modern urban space with unique architecture; sea, islands, peninsulas, coastal ecosystems; primeval forests, mountains, plateaus bordering Laos; tangible and intangible cultural heritage; traditional craft villages, agricultural - fishery space, rivers. These factors can meet the needs of producing action, adventure, historical - costume films, art films, music and tourism films. This is also a decisive factor for foreign film crews to choose Da Nang as a destination.

Ms. Ly Phuong Dung, Vietnam Cinema Promotion and Development Association, said that the Central region in general and Da Nang in particular possess many special advantages to become an important growth destination for the Vietnamese cinema industry.

“We believe that a city that wants to develop modern industry must have a large and diverse audience market.

The merger of Quang Nam province and Da Nang city has opened up a new context, which is population growth, and the scope of natural and cultural space has been significantly expanded.

This puts Da Nang city in front of a new opportunity not only to develop cinema as an art form, but also to shape the film industry - a field that has a strong impact on the creative economy, tourism, media and brand of the city," Ms. Ly Phuong Dung emphasized.

However, compared to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the high-quality human resources and the number of artists holding film crew positions such as screenwriters, directors, cameramen, technicians, and designers in Da Nang are still limited.

In addition, the city does not have a film training school or a chain of businesses providing equipment services for pre-production, post-production, special effects, costumes, casting, and set restoration. Film crews must hire technical services from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, increasing costs and reducing competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Da Nang does not have a large-scale and high-quality studio; the cinema system is mainly distributed in the central area. These are the "bottlenecks" that the city needs to remove in the process of building the film industry.

Building a worthy film industry center

To meet the requirements of film industry development, Da Nang city has a policy to build a modern cultural - cinema center with a total investment of nearly 520 billion VND. The center has a scale of 4 floors above ground, a semi-basement, and functional arrangements including a multi-purpose hall, exhibition gallery, cinema, auxiliary works, etc.

“The construction of a modern cultural and cinema center is essential to gradually create a center for the film industry; a complex of film studios in the Central region as well as a center for post-production, VFX, and cinema sound… This institution not only serves domestic film crews but also opens the door to strongly attract foreign film crews,” said Ms. Ly Phuong Dung.

The movie project "Let's Go Home" by director Tran Dinh Hien has started filming in Da Nang this year.

Besides attracting international film crews to Vietnam to cooperate, connect, and improve the quality of film production, the city needs to prioritize investment in the production of animated films using 2D, 3D technology, and stop motion animation films, while building a Vietnamese IP animation character bank to increase the brand value of the products.

Mr. Lee Jin Sik, Permanent Vice President of the Korean Character Association KOCA, said that AI technology has been changing fundamental elements in human life.

“Vietnam has rich resources of traditional culture. I think that with the current development speed and the support of AI technology, Vietnam's use of AI technology to exploit the country's culture is quite potential,” Mr. Lee Jin Sik suggested.

A good sign for Da Nang is that at the end of October 2025, digital entertainment platform company Enterise opened an office in Da Nang.

Enterise builds a closed ecosystem including: Enterise Studio produces and invests in Vietnamese feature films, series, and art projects; Enterise Digital platform - where audiences are not just viewers, but can invest, own digital cinema products and accompany the films...

Enterise Director Phan Huu Hieu said: “Enterise will prepare for the pre-production plan of the company's first movie, scheduled to be released in 2026. Currently, Enterise has started operating the journey to build a film studio and digital entertainment platform in Vietnam.

In particular, Enterise's upcoming debut film projects such as "Just One More", "Movie 2026"... are not only artistic products, but also proof of the ability to combine technology, storytelling and Vietnamese human emotions in the new era.

Recently, the People's Committee of Da Nang city has coordinated with the Association for the Promotion of Cinema Development to organize the annual Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) and gradually affirmed its brand in the region.

DANAFF creates opportunities to form a film cooperation network between coastal cities such as Da Nang, Busan, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Cannes; at the same time attracting international film producers, directors, and artists.

With investment in building specialized film institutions and substantial incentive mechanisms, it is expected that in the period of 2025 - 2030, Da Nang city can become the cinema center of the Central region, contributing to realizing the vision of "Da Nang - Creative and Cinematic City of Asia".

Source: https://baodanang.vn/da-nang-va-co-hoi-phat-trien-cong-nghiep-dien-anh-3312379.html