Equal cooperation in Vietnamese film production: Strong integration with world cinema

Sharing at the premiere of the movie "Mang me di bo", producer Phan Gia Nhat Linh always emphasized one thing: This is the first time we have equal cooperation with Korea. Not only in terms of capital contribution, but also in the working process, when both sides create, listen and share responsibilities.

Peer-to-peer is necessary

At the press conference to announce the Mang me di bo project, producer Phan Gia Nhat Linh frankly pointed out that in the past, most of the collaborative films only stopped at inviting Vietnamese actors to act or had filming locations in Vietnam. "The Vietnamese side has never had the right to decide on the creation or give feedback on the script," Phan Gia Nhat Linh shared.

But with Mang Me Di Bo , the cooperation has changed in a positive direction, in the spirit of sharing the roles of investment budget, creativity and production process. Although the film's script was written by Mo Hong-jin, a big name in Korean cinema, and he also acted as director, he still wanted the film to have strong Vietnamese cultural elements. Therefore, Phan Gia Nhat Linh and the director discussed many times to adjust every small detail, ensuring it was suitable for Vietnamese habits and life.

Ghost Bride , is a Vietnam - Thailand cooperation film.

Sharing about the content orientation, director Mo Hong-jin said that the film focuses on portraying maternal love, family affection and humanistic depth - universal values but very unique when placed in the context of Vietnam. With this project, Mo Hong-jin puts filial piety and family affection - prominent values in Vietnamese culture - first.

“Vietnam is a place with deep family affection, I really wanted to bring a familiar theme to the audience through new emotions, so that the audience can see the value of family in the hearts of Vietnamese people,” director Mo Hong-jin emphasized.

Cooperation in the spirit of respect and shared responsibility is also emphasized by screenwriter Tran Khanh Hoang in the project The Last Wish (released on July 4). He said that although it is a remake, this time the Korean partner is very open to letting the Vietnamese crew freely create and localize it to best suit the Vietnamese audience. Screenwriter Tran Khanh Hoang said that this project changed about 60%-70% compared to the original script.

“We only kept the original idea, but the character system and plot were changed quite a lot. The Korean side was very supportive of this. They were open and believed that they understood the Vietnamese audience best and would do what the Vietnamese audience wanted to see,” screenwriter Tran Khanh Hoang informed. During the working process, he noticed the openness, sharing of responsibilities and benefits between the two sides. The Korean production partner also said that the director and screenwriter of the original film were happy to accept that the Vietnamese side had full authority to edit and create new things based on the original script and committed not to interfere with the Vietnamese side's directing work.

Open up new cooperation opportunities

In addition to the above two projects, Vietnamese cinema is showing a tendency to flourish again with co-production projects. Within the framework of the recent Da Nang Asian Film Festival 2025, Love in Vietnam , a Vietnam-India co-production film, had its first global premiere. Actors from the two countries including Kha Ngan, Shantanu Maheshwari, Avneet Kaur, director Rahat Shah Kazmi and producer Captain Rahul Bali interacted with the audience.

On August 15, The Ghost Bride - a co-production between Vietnam and Thailand - will be released in theaters. According to the representative of the production unit, the combination of the interesting features of the two cultures of Vietnam and Thailand is one of the special highlights of the project. Chiang Mai (Thailand) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) were chosen as the main settings of the film. Regarding the actors, in addition to the main couple played by Rima Thanh Vy and JJ Krissanapoom Pibulsonggram, the film also has the participation of actors from the two countries: Jun Vu, Cong Duong, Karnpicha Pongpanit, Narupornkamol Chaisang, Duangjai Hiransri, Surasak Chaiyaat....

In October, producer Kim Young Min (Korea) and ERS Factory Vietnam also plan to launch the project Cai Ma - a spiritual film based on the reburial ritual in Vietnamese culture. Producer Kim Young Min said that this collaboration opens up a great opportunity for Vietnamese films and Vietnamese culture to be widely released in all cinemas in Korea.

Everyone understands that co-production with foreign partners brings many positive benefits to Vietnamese cinema. Screenwriter Tran Khanh Hoang emphasized that the immediate advantage of co-production is the opportunity to work with people who are better than him in filmmaking skills, helping to improve professional experience. Next, the cooperation also brings the opportunity for the film to be released more widely.

According to the production units, in addition to the markets of the two cooperating countries, the co-production films are planned to be released in many different markets, from North America, Europe, Asia and even Latin America, as in the case of The Ghost Bride. The first issue is that the co-production films must be of sufficient quality, meeting the tastes of audiences not only domestically.

This will avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, when projects were announced with fanfare but the quality was disappointing. If done well, co-productions will not only have good box office revenue in Vietnam, but also generate additional revenue from other markets. In the immediate future, with the quality of the films after The Last Wish was shown, audiences will have more faith in the rise of co-productions.

“Our partners are often experienced producers in selling films to large markets. Therefore, right from the project development stage, foreign partners can orient the genre and content so that it is not only good for the Vietnamese market but can also reach markets in other countries. They also have a methodical distribution plan that we can learn from, helping the domestic film industry develop faster,” screenwriter Tran Khanh Hoang shared.

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/hop-tac-binh-dang-trong-san-xuat-phim-viet-hoa-nhap-manh-voi-dien-anh-the-gioi-post804542.html