Turning film studios into tourist attractions.

The set of the film "Red Rain" was once expected to become a tourist destination after the film's resounding success.

To recreate the fierce battle fought by our army and people to defend Quang Tri Citadel in 1972, the "Red Rain" film crew meticulously created a replica of the citadel from that era on an area of ​​over 50 hectares, complete with gates, walls, the main grounds, and trenches. However, immediately after filming wrapped, the entire film set had to be dismantled because it was located on a low-lying alluvial plain, vulnerable to natural disasters. This story leaves a great sense of regret, but also brings back the age-old problem of film sets in Vietnam, which are often considered insufficient, inadequate, and wasteful.

Not only "Red Rain," but many films that invested heavily in elaborate film sets have had to be dismantled after filming was completed. During the production of "Underground Tunnels: The Sun in the Darkness," the film crew rented 6 hectares of forest as the main setting, constructing a model of a tunnel over 250 meters long to simulate a real underground tunnel. To recreate the main setting – the dilapidated old streets of Hanoi in 1946 – in "Peach, Pho and Piano," a large film set covering 6,000 square ^meters , 120 meters long and 15 meters wide, was built near Dai Lai Lake (Vinh Phuc, now Phu Tho province). Both films were successful in terms of both revenue and reputation, and there were numerous proposals to turn the film sets into tourist attractions, but after filming ended, all that remained was memory.

The cycle of setting up - filming - dismantling occurs in most Vietnamese films, with the common denominator being that the location is rented and must be returned after filming. Only a few lucky cases are preserved, such as the white camellia garden at An Dinh Palace (Gái già lắm chiêu V), the Governor's Residence (Hạnh phúc máu), the Floating Market (Đất rừng phương Nam), or the An Dinh mat weaving village (Lật mặt 6: Tấm vé định mệnh)…

For many years, Vietnamese cinema has lacked dedicated, standard film studios. Most existing studios are small-scale, only suitable for indoor scenes or moderately sized settings. Projects requiring outdoor scenes, large-scale shots, especially historical or war films, are forced to rely on natural settings or reconstruct them from scratch. This leads to many drawbacks: repetitive settings between films, difficulty controlling sound, lighting, and personnel, and costly renovations…

A systematic and professional strategic plan for developing film studios is not unprecedented. It was even mentioned in the amended Film Law (2022), but to date, it remains on paper. The reasons are numerous: lack of large, long-term investment; absence of clear legal mechanisms and support policies; short-sighted and makeshift thinking... As a result, Vietnamese cinema struggles to produce world-class works, is limited in international cooperation, and misses opportunities to develop film tourism – a trend that has proven effective not only in many countries but also domestically. Most recently, the film "Red Rain," with its brief appearance at Luu Xa train station (Thai Nguyen), is now attracting a large number of tourists. Even though the film studio no longer exists, Quang Tri still saw a significant increase in visitors to its ancient citadel during the recent September 2nd holiday.

Around the world, China boasts the Hengdian Film Studios, dubbed the "Hollywood of the East," serving both as a filming location and a tourist attraction drawing millions of visitors annually. South Korea has a system of film studio parks such as MBC Daejanggeum Park (specializing in palace and historical scenes), Yongin Folk Village, and Hwaseong Castle. Thailand, meanwhile, has invested in large-scale film studios, not only to meet domestic film needs but also to attract foreign film crews.

Ho Chi Minh City once proposed building a film studio in the National Historical and Cultural Park (formerly Thu Duc City) with an area of ​​over 300 hectares. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also assigned the Cinema Department to develop a project to build a national-level film studio in 2025, with an expected investment of nearly 1,000 billion VND. But the important thing is not just the idea, but the implementation. The construction needs to be realized through systematic, long-term actions, viewing the film studio as a pillar of the film industry. And if done well, we can absolutely create products with unique experiences, while simultaneously developing the local economy, preserving the landscape, and promoting culture and history to the people and international friends.

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/de-phim-truong-thanh-diem-du-lich-post812916.html