The appearance of Lưu Thành Luân with "Quỷ cẩu" is a typical example of a surprising debut. "Quỷ cẩu" attracts attention with its concise storytelling, clear message and the use of a cast of experienced actors. Revenue of over 108 billion VND helped the film become the most popular Vietnamese horror film at the time of its release, bringing Lưu Thành Luân's name to "shine" among young directors.
In another direction, Pham Ngoc Lan made his mark through the artistic path. "Cu li khong bao gio khoc" won the Best First Long Film award at the 74th Berlin Film Festival and won the Best Asian Film award at DANAFF II. This success is not only the pride of Vietnamese cinema on the international map, but also affirms that the Golden Kite Awards are increasingly open to independent, non-commercial works.
Meanwhile, Vu Thanh Vinh entered cinema with "Hai Muoi", a project marking Quyen Linh's return after more than 20 years. The film is not noisy about special effects or sensational climaxes, but it spread thanks to positive word-of-mouth, proving that Vietnamese cinema still has a place for "life - real - close" stories.
However, the aura of the debut film also quickly became pressure. Cinema does not allow "luck" to be repeated. Reality shows that many young directors have encountered difficulties with their next works. Thu Trang succeeded with "Billion Dollar Kiss" with more than 211 billion VND thanks to comedy, modern romance, easy to watch, and meeting audience expectations, but "Who Loves Who Loves" did not achieve the expected revenue because of the dramatic color, slow tempo and the mismatch with her familiar image in the eyes of the public. The film was released in theaters during the 2026 New Year holiday but only grossed more than 28 billion VND - a modest number compared to the female director's reputation.
Similarly, Hoang Nam scored points with "The Soul Lamp" when exploiting horror - spirituality, but "The Miraculous Generation" encountered difficulties because it was heavily educational and lacked cinematic climax. The film left theaters with a loss-making revenue when it brought in less than 1 billion VND for this filmmaker.
Vu Thanh Vinh touched the public's emotions with "Hai Muoi", but "Chi nga em nâng" did not create a strong effect because the script was still weak and lacked entertainment highlights. These examples show that the boundary between "touching the crowd" films and "rich in meaning but picky about viewers" films is extremely fragile.
The common point of current new directors is that they not only make films, but also have to face an increasingly harsh market. Vietnamese cinema audiences mostly still prioritize entertainment, while experimental, political or artistic films require distribution strategies, media and other expectations. Initial success is therefore not the destination, but only the starting point for a long journey.
Vietnamese cinema with an open and innovative spirit is creating more opportunities for new faces. But making decent films is only part of the story. The biggest challenge for young Vietnamese directors today is to build a sustainable style, understand the target audience and accept that each film is a creative gamble that is not easy to win.
Vietnamese cinema is transforming and the new generation of directors is the important driving force. However, to not just "shine once and then fade", they need more luck: That is professional bravery, alertness to tastes and the ability to refresh themselves after each success.
