From the filming context to the urban story
In recent years, Da Nang has appeared more and more on screen, from domestic films to projects with international elements. It is noteworthy that in addition to the frequency of appearances, films about Da Nang recently are told in a very close, everyday and emotional cinematic language.
The movie "Let's Go Home" released during the recent Tet holiday is an example. With very familiar everyday slices, from family meals, coastal roads, that simplicity creates a true Da Nang, easily touching the emotions of viewers.
Director Tran Dinh Hien shared that when making "Let's Go Home", he wanted to spread the most beautiful frames of Da Nang so that viewers want to come here to experience.
Director Chung Chi Cong - who once chose Da Nang as the setting for the movie "Thank you for staying awake with me" - said that Da Nang's appeal lies in the interesting contrast between modern urbanism and the depth of cultural memories. This parallel process creates a "storytelling material" that not every locality has.
It can be said that from a filming setting, Da Nang is gradually becoming a "character" in film stories. And when it becomes a character, the city is not only seen, but also felt.
Not just image promotion
However, if we only stop at seeing cinema as a tool to promote tourism, then that is just the beginning.
Reality shows that cinema can completely become an independent economic sector. In many countries, each film project not only brings media value, but also creates jobs, stimulates services, develops technology and attracts investment.
Da Nang is having favorable conditions to follow this direction. The city owns a developed tourism infrastructure system, convenient international routes, a safe environment and reasonable production costs. These are factors that are highly appreciated by international production units when choosing filming locations.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Tham - Director of Da Nang Tourism Promotion Center - also said that cinema can become a "tourist story" with its own imprint of the city. Through cinema, street corners, rhythm of life and people are naturally recreated, creating emotions for audiences and tourists.
But for cinema to truly become an "industry", Da Nang needs to go further. Not only attracting film crews to film, but also building a production ecosystem: From film studios, post-production, special effects to training creative human resources.
The Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) is a noteworthy step in building a film brand for the city. However, such events are only a starting point. More importantly, after each festival, how many projects are connected, how much cooperation is formed. Without specific "outputs", cinema will still only stop at the potential level.
Da Nang has also set a rather ambitious goal to bring the cultural industry to contribute more than 13% of GRDP by 2030, of which cinema grows nearly 20% per year. This is the right direction, but to achieve it, stronger policies are needed from incentives for film studios, production support mechanisms, a flexible legal environment and especially a long-term strategy for human resources. A city can become a beautiful setting in movies, but to become a film center, a real creative ecosystem is needed.
