On November 22, the workshop "Developing the film industry in the new era" within the framework of the Vietnam Film Festival took place in Saigon ward, Ho Chi Minh City.
Removing bottlenecks, creating a suitable cinema ecosystem
In the first discussion session with the theme "Developing the national cinema industry in the new era", three guests including Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Lan (Director of the Department of Culture - Arts, Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission), Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son (full-time member of the National Assembly 's Committee for Culture and Social Affairs) and director Victor Vu shared directly many issues related to the story of Vietnamese identity in cinema, opportunities and challenges in the current context of international integration.
In response to the main issue raised at the workshop: “How should cultural policy be shaped to both ensure ideology and encourage creative freedom?”, Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Lan said that the Party’s viewpoint on cultural development is very consistent. In the draft documents of the 14th Congress this time, culture is placed very high, on par with economics, politics , society, as an endogenous strength, a development resource of the country and has an additional phrase “social regulatory system”.
Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son also stated that culture has great significance, helping to shine the values of Vietnamese culture to the world, historical values, national values and also economic values. When amending the Cinema Law, it is necessary to determine how cinema can have a more positive meaning in the country's economic development, the general spirit of the new Cinema Law is to develop the cinema industry...
According to Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son, the bottlenecks to the development of Vietnamese cinema are taxes, land laws, public-private partnerships, and management of public assets. Currently, taxes are not preferential while investing in cinema in particular and in culture and arts in general is a risky, long-term industry. “We need to remove bottlenecks, create a suitable cinema ecosystem, and manage public-private partnerships so that the state and private sectors can cooperate with each other. I believe that with our vision, our joint efforts, and everyone's opinions, the bottlenecks will soon be resolved,” Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son said.
Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son added that a Vietnamese story, rich in culture but told in the language of international cinema, will help the work attract both domestic and international audiences... In order for Vietnamese cinema to integrate internationally, it is necessary to organize international events in Vietnam and actively participate in international film festivals, build and promote film brands.
Director Victor Vu believes that, to maintain their position and style, filmmakers must continuously learn, innovate and invest seriously and thoroughly (in terms of budget, time, effort for script, content, images, sound) to bring quality products, preserving Vietnamese identity in the story.
According to Director Victor Vu, not every film can conquer the domestic market and international audiences, but the further you want to go, the more you have to stick to your roots, for example, his film “Detective Kien” is set in the Nguyen Dynasty, with a Vietnamese story. Vietnamese films need global themes such as motherhood, love, tragedy... When these themes are told in the language of international cinema, the film can go far.
Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Lan believes that recently, many Vietnamese films have been well received by audiences, not only in the entertainment genre, but also in the historical war revolutionary film genre, which is a positive and encouraging sign. However, Ms. Lan believes that such phenomena also need to be deciphered in order to continue to develop.
Notably, Ms. Dinh Thi Thanh Huong, Vice Chairwoman of Galaxy Group, President of Galaxy Studio, said: provisional figures up to now show that in 2025, the market share of Vietnamese films has reached 62% (provisional), a leap compared to the rate of 42% in 2024. This is a brilliant success coming from the efforts of all those involved in Vietnamese cinema as well as the supporting agencies.
Using technology in cinema correctly, accurately and without abuse
In the second discussion session with the topic "Application of technology in the film industry", Lieutenant Colonel, Meritorious Artist - Director Dang Thai Huyen - Deputy Director of the People's Army Cinema, Mr. Hang Minh Loi (founder of Lumination) and Mr. Ta Manh Hoang (General Director of Sconnect) shared many stories related to the application of technology in film production and post-production today.
Lieutenant Colonel - Director Dang Thai Huyen revealed for the first time many interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the production process of the film "Red Rain" (the film selected to represent Vietnam at the Oscars - PV). Accordingly, the female director affirmed that technology plays a supporting role to help complete the film. However, the director of Red Rain also emphasized that the use of technology must be harmonious, so as not to lose the emotional depth and cultural identity of the work.
Using technology in cinema correctly, accurately and without abuse will be very effective and expand the creative range for filmmakers...
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the workshop, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong, Head of the Steering Committee of the 24th Vietnam Film Festival, said that the workshop listened to many opinions and exchanges, focusing on clarifying core issues of the film industry: from Vietnamese cultural identity, the role of media and criticism, to changes in audiences, technology application, and development orientation in the next 3 to 5 years.
These are important contents, in line with the Strategy for the development of Vietnam's cultural industries to 2030, with a vision to 2045, approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 2486/QD-TTg dated November 14, 2025, in which the Strategy also states the target of the film industry by 2030 as an industry striving to have an average growth rate of 10.13%/year, with an expected revenue of about 12.5 trillion VND (equivalent to 500 million USD).
The specific goals outlined in the strategy are also very clear, helping Vietnamese filmmakers to plan specific directions. Some directions can be implemented immediately at the present time and towards the next 3 to 5 years, the Vietnamese film industry needs to continue to focus on three major directions: Preserving and promoting Vietnamese cultural identity in each film work; Promoting the application of technology to improve creative quality, production capacity and competitiveness in the international market; Perfecting the film ecosystem, ensuring the connection between filmmakers, investors, media, audiences and management agencies, towards sustainable development and deep integration.
From there, create premises and directions for developing the film industry in the new era.
Source: https://cand.com.vn/van-hoa/de-cong-nghiep-dien-anh-viet-nam-phat-trien-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-i788910/
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