White Light Cinéhub: New space for art films and independent films

Signing ceremony of cooperation agreement between French Institute and White Light Cinéhub space. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

In the world , independent cinema has been considered an indispensable film genre, helping to reflect society from non-traditional perspectives, challenging the norms of the film industry.

However, this genre of film often faces difficulties due to low budget, difficulty accessing services and platforms to support production and distribution compared to commercial films.

In order to support independent filmmakers in Vietnam, the White Light Cinéhub cinema space was born. This is an international initiative initiated and supported by the French Institute and the French Embassy in Vietnam, jointly operated by the White Light Post Company of Thailand and the Complex 01 Creative Group (Dong Da, Hanoi ) of Vietnam, promising to help independent filmmakers overcome difficulties and easily reach the world audience.

Screening room prioritizes art films and independent films

Located on the 3rd floor of Complex 01, White Light Cinéhub is expected to be completed and put into operation in September this year. The space has two adjacent rooms, including a DCP screening room according to international standards and a lab (research and practice room), specializing in film post-production.

This is expected to be an independent film screening space, solving the problem of limited screening times, which often happens to independent films when released in commercial theaters.

A corner of White Light Cinéhub during the space launch event on May 26. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

For a long time, many independent Vietnamese films such as "Bi, don't be afraid!" (2010), "Flapping in the middle of nowhere" (2014), "Rom" (2020), "The children in the mist" (2023) or "Inside the golden cocoon" (2024) after being guaranteed by international awards, has reached a wide domestic audience through commercial theaters.

Although the film's revenue is not much, it shows that more and more audiences are interested in art films and academic cinema.

However, to be released in theaters, it usually requires a huge budget. Not to mention that due to the goal of making a profit, theaters only prioritize 1-2 most popular films at a time (accounting for about 50-60% of the total number of shows nationwide, mostly in prime time), so independent films often have little chance to reach the audience.

With a small budget, Ha Le Diem's film "The Children in the Mist" was initially scheduled to be shown for only 3 days. Before that, the film returned to Vietnam with the achievement of being in the top 15 best documentaries of the 2023 Oscar (shortlist) and hundreds of other large and small international awards. Along with many positive responses, the film was extended for 9 more days of showing before leaving theaters.

However, this period is only about 1/4 to 1/6 of the normal "lifespan" of a commercial film (about 2-3 months or more). The number of screenings per day nationwide can be counted on the fingers of one hand, the film crew has to post a list of screening dates and times on Facebook for the audience to easily follow.

“The distribution costs are very expensive, just printing DCP [high-quality theatrical release - PV] costs a lot of money, not to mention the media costs. Without good screening times, without audiences, the film will fall out of theaters very quickly. If there is an independent screening room with a number of good and fixed screening times, it will be very good,” Ha Le Diem shared.

This is not just a story of “The Children in the Mist.” In 2024, when “Inside the Golden Cocoon” won an award at the Cannes Film Festival and was brought back to be shown in Vietnamese theaters, the film crew also had to update the number of screenings every day on the fanpage.

Some viewers reported that they could not arrange to watch the film in theaters due to the “awkward timing.” As for the budget, director Pham Thien An once shared with a reporter from VietnamPlus that he owed billions to release it.

To overcome this difficulty, the representative of White Light Cinéhub said that when completed, it will be a place to screen independent works and notable art films for free. This screening point can also support filmmakers in adjusting the image (color, sharpness, etc.) and sound, to bring the most suitable experience, similar to the way independent cinemas around the world operate.

Accordingly, the films will be approved by the management agency to submit for approval and screening in accordance with Vietnamese law as well as ensure copyright issues.

International standard post-production service

Post-production is an important stage that helps the work take shape, through editing, sound design, music , effects, color correction... creating the final look of the film.

Through funding packages from film funds, independent films are often provided with post-production services at a regional studio, both to support the financial burden of the project and to stimulate the use of film services in a country. Thanks to this, for many years now, independent films from Vietnam have become regular customers of regional studios such as those in Thailand, Singapore, etc.

From left to right: Mr. Jeremy Segay - Southeast Asia Audiovisual Attaché; Mr. Chartchai Ketnust - CEO of White Light Post; Ms. Eva Nguyen Binh, President of the Global French Institute; Mr. Tran Dac Phuc - Co-founder/Director of Complex 01. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Mr. Chartchai Ketnust - CEO of White Light Post (Thailand) shared that when his company did post-production for films from Vietnam, he noticed that most of them came from Hanoi, because Ho Chi Minh City has developed more strongly in the film industry, with many studios and post-production services available.

White Light Post is a post-production lab for digital products such as movies, music videos, and commercials based in Thailand. This unit has done color grading for a number of famous films such as “Call Me By Your Name” (2017), “Memoria” (2021), “The Legacy of Foreigners” (2023)... all of which are independent films that have been nominated for Oscars, won awards at Cannes, Sundance Film Festivals, or produced by major studios such as Netflix.

If successful, White Light Post’s Hanoi facility will reduce travel time and costs for film projects. “Hopefully, the Hanoi facility can develop sustainably in the future to provide more support to the independent film community here and in Vietnam in general,” Mr. Chartchai shared.

Sharing more about technical solutions, White Light Cinéhub representative, Mr. Thanh Nguyen shared that in the future, White Light Post will organize training processes to bring international post-production experience to Vietnam.

Through this, independent film human resources in Hanoi and Vietnam (who mainly support each other based on passion) will be improved in qualifications, trained systematically and introduced to international standards, as well as exchanged successful experiences from this Thai lab.

Representative of the Global French Institute - Director Eva Nguyen Binh committed that the institute will accompany the development of White Light Cinéhub. The screening room here will also bring many selected French films to enhance the exchange of cinema between the two countries, continuing the previous activities of screening films and exchanging about films.

Mr. Tran Dac Phuc - Director of Complex 01 space and co-founder of Cinéhub shared that he will aim to promote professional exchange and support young film projects. Not only stopping in Vietnam, he hopes to expand community connections in Southeast Asia and Europe./.

The White Light Cinéhub initiative is part of the series "French-Vietnamese cultural cooperation activities: Special events" during the recent official visit of President Emmanuel Macron and leaders of the French Ministry of Culture to Vietnam.

These activities not only promote the image of Vietnam to the world but also bring creativity and cultural exchange, deepening the traditional friendship between the two nations.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/white-light-cinehub-khong-gian-moi-cho-phim-nghe-thuat-phim-doc-lap-post1041222.vnp