A new direction for short films after the success of "The Wooden Fish"

With a running time of 30 minutes and a ticket price of only 39,000 VND, "The Wooden Fish" surprised audiences and achieved impressive sales figures. At one point, the film even topped the daily ticket sales charts with over 50,000 tickets sold. The film was director Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat's graduation project at the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Film, and won the Golden Kite Award 2024 for "Best Short Film".

Short film "The Wooden Fish". (Image provided by the producer)

The film tells the story of Cuong, a young man from the coast who is passionate about music but is discouraged by his father. Cuong gives up his passion and takes up fishing to support his family. Gradually, the fishing industry faces difficulties due to the depletion of fish and shrimp, leaving Cuong wondering whether he should abandon everything to pursue his passion or keep his fishing boat, the livelihood of him and his friends.

The film, set in the coastal area of Quỳnh Lưu ( Nghệ An province ), features a cast including Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, Nguyễn Minh Hà, Lãnh Thanh, and others. The work has generated positive word-of-mouth on social media, with mixed reviews but more praise than criticism.

One important factor contributing to the film's attention and discussion was the prior success of its theme song, "Miracle," the debut musical product of the band MAYDAYs, composed and performed by the film's lead actor, Nguyen Quoc Hung.

The music video for "Miracle" was uploaded to YouTube in February and has since garnered over 41 million views and numerous positive comments. The initial success of the soundtrack motivated Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat to bring "Wooden Fish" to theaters. The optimistic signals from the box office revenue of this pioneering short film, which has been commercially released on the big screen, open up a new direction for Vietnamese short films.

For a long time, many Vietnamese short films have been produced, but getting them released commercially in theaters has not been easy due to many objective factors. Most films are screened for free at short film festivals, awards ceremonies, related exchange programs, or short film weeks…

"The Wooden Fish," with just one week in theaters, shows that short films can also be commercially successful and generate better revenue than those produced solely for competition at film festivals or to showcase the filmmaker's abilities.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/huong-moi-cho-phim-ngan-sau-thanh-cong-cua-dan-ca-go-3369150.html