Why are localities still missing film crews?
Participating in the workshop were: Mr. Ta Quang Dong - Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Head of the Film Festival Steering Committee; Mr. Dang Tran Cuong - Director of the Cinema Department, Head of the Film Festival Organizing Committee; Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City... and experts from France, Australia, Singapore, India, along with many domestic filmmakers.
On this occasion, the Handbook "Ho Chi Minh City - Film Production Destination" was officially launched after nearly two years of coordination between the French Embassy, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the Department of Culture and Sports.
Mr. Paul Abela - Subject of Looking at the region, French Embassy commented that Ho Chi Minh City has "all factors to become a creative destination", from diverse backgrounds to modern life and young human resources. However, he emphasized that potential only truly becomes an advantage when Vietnam has a competitive policy in the region.
This is clearly demonstrated through the sharing of many directors and producers at the workshop. Director Mai Thu Huyen frankly said that Vietnam's film promotion policy is "not catching up with reality", citing that Malaysia is applying a 30% refund for international film crews. When negotiating a new project, that incentive alone caused Vietnam to los the number of filming locations.
Director Vo Thanh Hoa, with the experience of filming "super fraud against super mud" (Phu Quoc), Quy Cau (Vung Tau), Linh Mieu (Hue), said that each locality has its own way of management, sometimes causing delays in the permission process or limited settings at the last minute. He suggested that each province and city should arrange a specialized focal point to accompany the film crew to remove obstacles on the spot.
From an international perspective, Mr. Lee Jin Sung (RUNUP Vietnam) shared his experience from the Korean model. According to him, the support process in Korea is standardized, transparent, has clear incentive mechanisms and is operated by specialized agencies, helping the film crew feel secure about progress and costs.
Meanwhile, domestic producers such as director Do Thanh An emphasized the role of technology - especially historical films - and recommended that localities should proactively invest in infrastructure, instead of just relying on nature and landscape.
Vietnam needs a specialized agency - the key to competing in the region
At the workshop, People's Artist Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City emphasized that building a strong film ecosystem is not only in modern film studios or skilled human resources, but more importantly, the ability to create favorable conditions, procedures and transparent incentive mechanisms. These are factors that Vietnam still lacks unity among localities.
From Oxalis' story in Quang Binh with Kong: Skull Island, it can be seen that although Vietnam has a special natural setting, the effectiveness of attracting the film crew is only maximized when there is a synchronous management structure. Ms. Huynh Dinh Thai Linh (WTC - Becamex) also emphasized the potential of Binh Duong (now Ho Chi Minh City) in developing a modern film set if well planned.
The common point in all opinions from French and Korean representatives to Vietnamese directors is the urgent need for a specialized agency for film development. A unit with the function of: Being the focal point for receiving, handling, and supporting all requests of the film crew; Connecting departments, branches and localities to shorten procedures; Proposing competitive incentive policies in the region; Standardizing licensing processes, using settings and supporting services; Building a national film database and a strategic film studio system.
The workshop opened the expectation that Vietnam will soon form a strong enough institution to lead the film industry, creating a foundation for localities to accompany film crews in a professional, effective and sustainable way.
