Photographer Tran Tuan Viet: Journey to bring Vietnamese beauty to Hollywood

In September 2024, photographer Tran Tuan Viet's solo exhibition "Destination Vietnam" took place in Los Angeles (USA), introducing 93 works reflecting the beauty of culture, tourism and the potential of Vietnam's cinema scene.

The event is part of the Vietnam Tourism - Cinema Promotion Program in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, USA with the theme "Vietnam - New Destination of World Cinema" hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Journey to Hollywood Hello photographer Tran Tuan Viet.

How did the journey to bring your photographic works to Hollywood begin?

- Around February 2024, I received an invitation to participate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at a tourism promotion event in the US.The photo exhibition is an activity in a series of events to introduce and promote the image of the country, people and outstanding destinations of Vietnam to international friends in Hollywood.

The plan was hatched in March, through many meetings, discussions on policies and ideas, and was not officially implemented until July.I had about 2 months to prepare everything, from selecting images, printing, arranging display locations...

Because this is a national-level exhibition, everything must be carefully reviewed and as neat as possible.Finally, from 150 photos of culture, landscapes, famous places, UNESCO heritages, human portraits...of Vietnam, 93 most suitable works were selected.The selection process went through many rounds, from partners in Hollywood combined with professional assessment from the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibitions and the National Tourism Administration.

What is the content of the exhibition and the idea of ​​displaying it in this event, sir?

- Previously, the exhibitions that we brought abroad were all subjective, that is, we showed them what we liked.With this photo collection, I want to present what foreign audiences want to see and explore most in Vietnam.This idea of ​​mine was approved and enthusiastically supported by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung.

The 93 photos were selected from my collection of images of Vietnam that I took over the past 18 years, mainly including photos of the country's landscape, people, and culture.Among them, there are many famous landscapes and tourist destinations from Tam Coc - Bich Dong, Trang An, Bai Dinh in Ninh Binh, Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh, Son Doong Cave in Quang Binh...

to Hue, Hoi An...In addition, I also introduce new places that Western visitors do not know much about such as Da Lat, Tay Ninh, especially Ha Giang or the Northwest region.The landscapes here are not only beautiful for tourism but also have great potential to become film sets for Hollywood blockbusters.

To take some photos of places I have never been to before, such as Ly Son Island (Quang Ngai), I had to arrange to go there.Each photo tells a separate story, it is my brainchild that I am passionate about and have devoted a lot of effort to.

Regarding the display plan, I proposed two solutions: hanging the photo series by region or by theme.Finally, I chose to arrange the photos by region from North to South so that visitors can visualize where the photo was taken and what area the setting is.

How did international visitors react when they viewed the works you brought to the exhibition?

- They were very surprised and excited, some of them stayed for a long time. At the event, besides the introduction of the photo collection and the author, we noted that all the works would be given away for free to everyone after the exhibition, anyone who wanted to receive the photos just needed to register again with the organizers.

By the end of the exhibition, the scene became chaotic as many people wanted to own the photos, even requesting more than one. All 93 photos were given away in a short time, some people even regretted not being able to own the photo they loved the most. On the positive side, I felt happy and proud that my works were enthusiastically received by readers.

Photographer Tran Tuan Viet’s works have been very famous, sold at high prices, appeared in prestigious magazines and won international awards. So, how does this exhibition make a difference to your career?

- Previously, I had a solo exhibition organized by the Government of the Emirate of Sharjah in the UAE. But at that time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I could not attend in person.

I have also participated in Google Art & Culture's online exhibition, but this is my first in-person solo exhibition.

I think any photographer would want their work to be printed and hung somewhere for everyone to see. Me too. In particular, this exhibition represents the country and is in line with my original ideal when I came to photography. I take photos not for fame or to make money, but just want to contribute a small part to promoting the beauty of my homeland and country.

I think this is a big milestone in my photography career. This exhibition is very different, I get to come to a powerful country like America, to the world's film capital Hollywood to introduce the beauty of my country. It is a great honor in my life.

With the works brought to the exhibition "Destination Vietnam", what view of Vietnam's image do you want to bring to international tourists?

- In the past, many people only had an impression of Vietnam with the two resistance wars against France and the US. I want to let the world know that Vietnam is now very peaceful, beautiful, with a wonderful cultural identity, with UNESCO-recognized landmarks, and even places that are not known to many people.

Not only at the exhibition but throughout my photography career, I always want the audience and international friends to understand more about my homeland Vietnam, the cultural traditions and people of this beautiful S-shaped strip of land.

Vietnam – a new destination for world cinema

Through the audience's views and reactions to the works capturing the landscapes and landscapes of Vietnam and its people, what do you think about the potential for tourism development in general and film tourism in our country in particular with international visitors, especially in Hollywood?

- Hollywood movies have helped many places around the world gain attention, bringing huge profits to the tourism industry. I think Vietnam has full potential and advantages to do that.

After the recent Vietnam Tourism - Cinema Promotion Program chaired by Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong and accompanying businesses such as Oxalis Adventure, Vietnam Airlines, VinFast..., it was noted that many famtrip groups, researchers of locations and film studios will come to Vietnam for surveys. There are many partners in Hollywood who want to come to Vietnam to find locations for their movies.

Hopefully in the future, Vietnam will appear on Hollywood screens more and more. I think with just a few Hollywood blockbusters, Vietnam's landmarks and landscapes will become very famous, welcoming more visitors and tourists from home and abroad.

Previously, some destinations in Vietnam have appeared in foreign movies and music videos such as the indigenous village (Ninh Binh) in “Kong: Skull Island” or Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), Hang En (Quang Binh) in “Pan and the Neverland” ... but they have not been able to promote and attract visitors as expected. What do you think is the reason?

- Previously, Vietnam had not worked much with Hollywood partners in the film industry, so it was quite inexperienced. For example, the “Kong” film crew filmed scenes in Ninh Binh in the past, but there was no agreement on cooperation in supporting the promotion and development of tourism destinations in Ninh Binh. Even after finishing, they brought all the props and sets back to the country due to copyright issues. Therefore, it is difficult for us to continue to exploit tourism from this aspect.

On the other hand, in some core heritage areas such as Phong Nha - Ke Bang, film crews are required to return everything to its original state before leaving. We also cannot take advantage of the settings and film sets they create for exploitation.

However, previous films, music videos, and documentaries have also contributed to making Vietnam more known to international audiences. For example, after Son Doong Cave appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” program (USA), the number of tours sold to tourists increased significantly, with reservations having to be made more than a year in advance. These are the most visible results we can see.

Currently, I believe that the agencies and functional units in Vietnam have enough experience and are ready to welcome foreign film crews to film, and at the same time sign cooperation agreements, bringing benefits to promoting domestic film tourism in the future.

With the scenes and film studios being exploited, there needs to be guidance and research to combine harmoniously, not impacting nature, while preserving the film studios in their original state for tourists to visit. In addition, there must be terms and commitments with foreign film crews so that they can support us in promoting tourism and destinations.

While Vietnam is trying to attract foreign film crews, where are domestic filmmakers and photographers, sir?

- I think Vietnamese cinema has developed quite well in the past year. There are locations that appeared in movies in 2024 that were well exploited, typically the Western landscape in "Lat mat" by director Ly Hai, or "Hai Muoi" by director Vu Thanh Vinh... Or previously, the movie "I see yellow flowers on green grass" contributed to promoting the development of Phu Yen tourism.

However, we still need foreign blockbusters to attract international audiences, most notably Hollywood cinema.

In your opinion, what difficulties does Vietnam need to overcome to promote and develop film tourism?

- The biggest problem lies in the procedures and paperwork required for a film crew to be able to come to Vietnam to film. Previously, film crews had to spend months and go through many steps to complete these procedures.

In recent years, the policy mechanism has been increasingly innovated. In the recent Tourism - Cinema Promotion Program, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also committed to streamlining licensing procedures for foreign partners to come to Vietnam, especially Hollywood.

The Vietnamese government also has many more support policies such as tax reduction, increased incentives for filmmakers, promoting digital transformation in administrative work; Vietnamese enterprises have committed to cooperate, support flights, accommodation; localities such as Ha Long, Ninh Binh, Quang Binh also committed to support if film crews come to them...

Gradually, these will be very open doors to welcome film crews from around the world to Vietnam, contributing to the further development of Vietnamese film tourism.