Quan Ky Nam" fell into a paradox when the film was praised for its cinematic image and language but could not sell tickets.
The Vietnamese film market in 2025 is assessed to have major breakthroughs, with a series of high-grossing films, film quality is also increasing, no longer the disastrous films and nonsensical comedies like ten years ago. What is your perspective on the Vietnamese film market in 2025?
- From a personal perspective, I see that there are still nonsensical comedy films and "instant noodle" films. Of course, it is undeniable that the positive thing is that the Vietnamese film market is developing, with clear changes.
Professionalism in production, release, and the habits of audiences when going to theaters have increased a lot. But we cannot deny that the core of a cinema is to have many genres to be balanced.
Between the two extremes of art and commerce, there needs to be a balance. Most investors and filmmakers still maintain the old mindset of chasing trends. A winning film is a family chasing that trend, doing it very quickly to keep up with the trend.
For example, a greatly successful horror film is that every household pours into making horror films. That way of doing things drains the audience's trust and ability to enjoy art. That thinking has not changed.
It's time for stronger changes, we can hope for a sustainable development of cinema. Currently, Vietnamese cinema is still like "having good luck", some projects suddenly shine, but many other films follow suit and fall into losses.
The genre of author films and art films that you are pursuing will always be in a position of comparison in terms of revenue, being considered to have lower ticket sales than other film genres. Are you concerned about this?
- I am not afraid or afraid of anything. If I were afraid, I wouldn't have done it. I want the product to be welcomed because I want investors, those who have trusted me, to understand the project better and accept accompanying. I want their trust to be rewarded. And I will do everything in my power, so that the final result does not make me regret or resentful.
3 years of filmmaking, including 2 years of film editing, is also the way I fulfill my responsibilities to investors and audiences, bringing the most meticulous work possible. Having done a project like this, I understand that 700 billion VND is an unrealistic dream for the current film market, but everyone is afraid, everyone wants to make money, then who will be the one to do about these stories? How can Vietnamese cinema have different colors? How can there be a real cinema to be proud of with friends around the world?
Revenue for many filmmakers, they are under pressure. What about you?
- Revenue is not pressure for me. If pressure is too much, it will affect the film project. It may be necessary to consider many different ways to achieve revenue goals.
I am different. Having determined that the film must follow this direction, even though I know how to choose audiences, I will still do my best, and the film will have its own audience source. I cannot be greedy, cannot demand in the Vietnamese market a film that both breaks box office and wins awards at the International Film Festival. That will not happen.
Cinema is being built into a profitable film industry, like Korea, China, the US... have pursued. Having lived in the US, have you seen any positive signs for the film industry in Vietnam in the coming years?
- Korea has gone through a very long time, with state support, investment by businesses, sending personnel to learn around the world... so that they have huge revenue from cinema as they are now. We need support from many sides, together towards one goal, together determined to do it.
Perhaps, it will take more time for the Vietnamese film market to improve itself, for example, to be more diverse and rich in topics, genres, human resources, talents...
A true film market must train audiences with many tastes, understand many genres of films, so that they do not have prejudices like "this movie is not comedy, probably an art film, very boring, not to watch".
Art films are being prejudiced, need to break prejudices, need support to optimize all colors for cinema.
Since "Song Lang" until now, 7 years have passed, you have a new film "Quan Ky Nam". Both of your films have very unique colors, in which, there is a strong nostalgia. Are you a nostalgic person, and have a lot of nostalgia?
- I am a very, very nostalgic person and always haunted by the past time. Especially Vietnam in the 1980s, because that was my childhood, before leaving to settle abroad.
When I returned to Vietnam, I was constantly searching for the old days, especially when my childhood friends were now grown up, and my loved ones had some left and some lost. Unconsciously, I kept searching for the old days, clearly during that time, Vietnam in those years greatly influenced my storytelling and love.
I can make American, modern-style films, but I am haunted, missed, constantly attached to childhood, cai luong, music, poetry and literature... It is these memories that have motivated me to the path of filmmaking.
In your film, there is very careful polishing of images, colors, all nostalgia, nostalgia are beautiful. Your aesthetic taste is always to tell a really beautiful story? What do you think about the audience's feelings?
- A beautiful story - I think that's what you, a viewer, feel after watching my movie. Thank you.
For my part, because I don't have enough funds to stage grand scenes, a city, a street to get the feeling of that period, so I use music to remind the audience of the time I am at. Music is a very important part of how I tell stories. I use music to support things that I am not capable of doing.
But getting golden songs, old songs to put into the film is extremely hard. When editing the film, I am comfortable, I put in which song I like. If I have to cut out which song, I also feel pain.
When I went to ask for copyright, I realized it all. Most of the authors of the songs I love no longer exist. The copyrights of those songs also went through many upheavals, I don't know who they belong to. I had to "hunt", find traces, not dare to use them recklessly. Those were tense moments, going through a long time asking many people, finding the children of the author's family, having to contact, explain and ask for permission... Sometimes it seemed like a dead end. That's not to mention the cost.
In the end, luckily, I also received a lot of support, so I kept 80-90% of the music that must be in the movie.
Telling such a long story to show that I have really worked very hard for each film frame, each song in both "Song Lang" and "Quan Ky Nam". I believe that when the audience watches the film, they will feel my heart for art. We will touch each other.
Are you afraid of loneliness?
If I were afraid, I would not have taken this path. Vietnamese cinema wants to go further, more sustainably, must diversify faces, diversify genres and topics. The path I am taking may be more difficult, but there must still be people to go.
