Thien A. Pham wondered: "How can Vietnamese people watch Vietnamese movies?". And Thien A. Pham followed the path of "migration" across Europe and Australia in that way to bring Vietnamese movies to be shown in foreign countries, as he had done in the North American market before.
Thien A. Pham, founder of 3388 Films Company, distributing Vietnamese films abroad
"T HIEN DI"… PAVES THE WAY FOR VIETNAMESE MOVIES
Thien A. Pham told me a lot about his journey to find theaters to release Vietnamese films in North America, Europe, and Australia. The story is funny because it is both true and like a dream. Because in that journey, Thien A. Pham said he was like someone who opened railroad tracks in the desert. Initially, his film distribution company called 3388 Films was only established to serve legal entities to make short commercials.
Despite being a well-educated director in the US, Thien A. Pham still had difficulty in the beginning in shaping his career path in the world's film capital. "In 10th grade, I followed my parents to the US. At that time, I was worried that I was not old enough to remember everything about Vietnam but not too young to easily integrate into the new environment," Thien A. Pham confided. Perhaps everyone is like that, a different skin color in a foreign country is enough to make them ask many questions about their lives in a multicultural, multi-identity world like the US.
Release of the movie Lat mat 7 - Mot giau uoc (director Ly Hai) in June 2024 at some theaters in the US, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
"Showing Vietnamese-language films in the US states? And further, Europe, Australia? That is probably the dream of any film producer. It is as difficult as pushing a train across a desert without tracks. Even though the train is modern and sophisticated, how can it run across a desert without tracks like that? No matter how successful a film is in its home country, when it enters the international market, it still faces many obstacles," the Nha Trang native shared. In the North American market, 6 years ago, it took 1-2 years for a Vietnamese film to be officially released. And when it was released, being shown in 8-10 theaters in 1-2 states was already a great success.
Few people expected that after being established in 2006, by 2021, 3388 Films would be the first company to release Vietnamese films to nearly 50 theaters in about 30 US states. And in the history of more than half of the theaters mentioned above, this is the first time they have shown Vietnamese films. "While many Hollywood films are not often released on the same day in so many countries, 3388 Films, as a pioneer, is challenging but full of appeal," Thien A. Pham confided.
INFUSE THE THIRST FOR WATCHING MOVIES OF VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
Will the "rain" of screenings at international theaters satisfy the Vietnamese people's thirst for watching Vietnamese films? That is the question that always worries Thien A. Pham.
"To achieve successful milestones in bringing films to the international market, we need to carefully study each film, different markets, and then build relationships with theater partners in each city or country. Once we have a clear strategy and the trust of the theater chains, we will choose the right films to prove and maintain the trust of the theater chains and audiences in each market.
The movie Mai (directed by Tran Thanh) exploded with screenings at many prime time slots in nearly 200 theaters in 9 countries in North America and Europe.
This is the reason why 3388 Films released the film The Last Wife by director Victor Vu in Europe, marking the milestone of being the first Vietnamese film to be officially released in multiplexes in the Czech Republic and at the same time laying the foundation for later films such as Mai, Lat mat 7 to enter many European countries. To do this, I realized that I had to be truly confident and fill my knowledge with my feet. Only by going to the film screening locations and understanding the audience there can I be sure of the film's success. Typically, the film The Last Wife received a lot of attention in Europe because of the unique cultural colors of the North, and even Vietnamese people in Europe were curious about that, making them excited to go to the theater," said Thien A. Pham.
In addition, 3388 Films has a strategy of participating in festivals and building a name for the film and director before releasing many other Vietnamese films. Films such as LIVE - Livestream (directed by Khuong Ngoc) successfully debuted to North American audiences as part of the Vietnam Film Spotlight, and was an official selection of the 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival. In addition to impressing with its bold content and unique storytelling, the film was selected as one of the top 5 films in the list of 30 best Southeast Asian films of 2023 by Asian Movie Pulse, the leading English-language online platform for Asian cinema.
Another step forward for 3388 Films is the self-production of the film Actress Wanted - A Life-Changing Role (directed by Nguyen Duc Minh), which was included in IMDb's list of "Amazon Prime Video 's Top 10 Horror Movies", won two awards for Best Actor and Best Actress at Viet Film Fest - the world's largest international film festival for Vietnamese people, and was selected to screen at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2019.
Thien A. Pham's pioneering journey is equipped with a love for Vietnamese films and the motivation to bring many Vietnamese-language films to his compatriots around the world. "Vietnamese people are now present everywhere in the world. When I travel to even the "frozen cities" in Alaska (USA), I can still hear Vietnamese. So why can't our compatriots satisfy their thirst for homeland with Vietnamese films while the domestic film market is in dire need of "export" to have more motivation to create more films, contributing to bringing Vietnamese cinema to new heights?", Thien A. Pham shared.
The "best" that 3388 Films has achieved after many desert-opening journeys: The film with the largest theatrical coverage in North America is Bo Gia (director Tran Thanh) showing in 48 theaters, Bay Ngot Ngot (Dinh Ha Uyen Thu) showing in 51 theaters, Mai (Tran Thanh) exploded with screenings in many prime time slots in nearly 200 theaters in 9 North American and European countries, and Lat Mat 7 (Ly Hai) continued to break through with nearly 275 theaters in 12 countries on all 3 continents (America, Europe, Australia) on the same day.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mang-phim-di-chieu-xu-nguoi-185240830211015637.htm
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