"Hot" story about copyright and exploitation of Vietnamese film "heritage"

On the morning of November 25, the Vietnam Film Institute organized a workshop on "Promoting the value of archival moving image documents in the current situation", an activity within the framework of the 24th Vietnam Film Festival in 2025.

Ms. Le Thi Ha - Director of Vietnam Film Institute raised the issue of copyright at the workshop.

The event was attended by representatives of management agencies, experts, researchers, filmmakers with many presentations, exchanges and lively discussions.

Complete clear legal framework

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Ms. Le Thi Ha - Director of the Vietnam Film Institute, shared that according to the Cinema Law, all Vietnamese films after being licensed for classification must be submitted for deposit.

Overview of the workshop "Promoting the value of archival moving image documents in the current situation"

Currently, there are two main groups, including state-ordered films that, when submitted for deposit, will be in an unlocked state, convenient for quality control, searching, and research.

However, film groups produced by private units are still accepted for storage but in encrypted form, so the Institute cannot open them for appraisal, research or academic exploitation without permission from the copyright owner.

According to Ms. Ha, the copyright issue has become a key point in the work of archiving and promoting the value of film archives. To exploit and disseminate these films effectively, a clear legal framework is needed regarding the right to use, collection and payment of copyright fees and revenue management mechanisms (if any).

Ms. Le Thi Ha - Director of Vietnam Film Institute raised the issue of copyright at the workshop.

Regarding the copyright story, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha - Deputy Head of the Department of International Cooperation on Copyright and Related Rights (Copyright Department, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) said that for cinematographic works, the division of rights for which groups of subjects, the level of rights, or how the "determination" of this collective work is carried out are the contents that national law must address when detailing copyright protection for cinematographic works.

The exploitation of state-owned cinematographic works in recent times has also given rise to legal opinions on the authority to allow the exploitation of these types of works, especially the commercial exploitation in the digital environment.

According to Lawyer Le Quang Vinh, Bross & Partner company, when Vietnamese films, especially classic films, are popular in the US, exploitation activities such as translation, adaptation, remake or redistribution all have potential complex legal issues regarding copyright, requiring clarity in contracts with partners.

To realize the potential of this massive film heritage, lawyer Le Quang Vinh proposed to perfect the legal framework on intellectual property, especially the identification and management of intellectual property rights for state-owned works in a transparent manner, in accordance with international standards. There should be a clear authorization mechanism for the Film Institute to proactively negotiate and grant licenses.

"Rebirth" for the massive film heritage

Giving an overview of the current work of exploiting and promoting the value of archived moving image documents, Dr. Ngo Dang Tra My shared that the Vietnam Film Institute is currently preserving and conserving tens of thousands of meters of documentary films and rare documents of Vietnamese cinema; a collection of nearly 20,000 film titles, with more than 80,000 35mm and 16mm films, and tens of thousands of video tapes of all kinds.

In particular, the most prominent among them are a large number of classic Vietnamese revolutionary cinematographic works such as: Chung mot dong song, Con chim vong (The yellow-necked bird), Vo chong A Phu (A Phu's wife), Chi Tu Hau (Sister Tu Hau), Duong ve que me (Mother's road), 17th parallel days and nights, Canh dong hoang (Wild field), Me va nha (Mother away from home), Bao gio cho den thang 10 (When will October come).

In addition, the archive of documents accompanying films of the Vietnam Film Institute is also preserving 1,500 Vietnamese feature film files, 2,030 documentary film files, 615 animated film files, hundreds of files on cinema activists, general issues of cinema...

Regarding the popular exploitation of this valuable source of materials, the Vietnam Film Institute has made efforts to exploit it with high frequency and diversity, serving a large audience across the country through many rich forms of organization: screening films, implementing film weeks, thematic Vietnamese film campaigns, organizing specialized programs, meeting and interacting with audiences, introducing authors and classic Vietnamese revolutionary cinema works...

In addition, activities to introduce to foreign audiences archived Vietnamese cinematographic works, especially films on historical and revolutionary war themes, are also regularly organized.

Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan - President of the Vietnam Association for the Promotion of Cinema Development considers cinema heritages as "golden land", "diamond land". The question is how to promote those values, can they be revived?

Ms. Lan also pointed out the reality that a long period of financial scarcity has caused Vietnamese cinema to miss many opportunities, preventing its cinematic heritage from reaching its end.

Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan raised many practical issues at the conference.

According to Ms. Lan, the current work of archiving and popularizing films needs to have an orientation of preservation and digitization; invest in restoring classic films using 4K and AI technology; revive heritage using modern cinematic language; develop business models based on heritage; train human resources associated with heritage...

Dr. Nguyen The Hung - Former Director of the Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) raised the issue that whether exploited or not, we should still put effort into preserving and maintaining so that no image or film is destroyed or lost.

Dr. Ha Thanh Van also proposed four key groups of solutions: perfecting the management mechanism and legal corridor for "moving image heritage"; promoting digital transformation and applying new technologies (AI, VR/AR, blockchain) in restoration, storage and dissemination; building a communication - education - creativity strategy, bringing cinema heritage into contemporary life; developing a public-private partnership model, linking heritage conservation with cultural industry and creative economy .

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nong-chuyen-ban-quyen-va-khai-thac-di-san-phim-viet-post825318.html