Within the framework of the 24th Vietnam Film Festival, the workshop "Developing the film industry in the new era" took place in Ho Chi Minh City.
Participating in the workshop were Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong; Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Lan - Director of the Department of Culture - Arts, Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department; Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society...
The workshop is identified as a dialogue forum between management agencies, experts and the creative community to clearly identify the potential, challenges, and development opportunities of the Vietnamese film industry in the new context.
The goal is to promote the harmonious combination of "national identity" and " applying modern technology" in film production, distribution and dissemination; at the same time, propose policy, cooperation, investment and technology solutions, contributing to the realization of the Strategy for the development of Vietnam's cultural industry to 2030, with a vision to 2045 - in which cinema is positioned as a spearhead industry.
At the beginning of the program, Ms. Dinh Thanh Huong - Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Galaxy Group emphasized that Vietnamese cinema is in an impressive growth period after the pandemic. Compared to 2019, the revenue of the Vietnamese film market increased by more than 20%, while many countries in the region have not yet fully recovered.
In 2024, domestic films accounted for 42% of the market share, and by 2025, they are estimated to have reached about 62% of the national market share. According to her, this is the result of synchronous efforts from the filmmaker, the distribution system, the cinema and the management agency.
Session 1 with the theme "Developing the ethnic film industry in the new era" focuses on policy pillars and identity. Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Lan said that the "new era" that the 14th National Party Congress is aiming for is associated with two important milestones: Vietnam will become a developed country with developed industry, high average income by 2030 and a developed country, high income by 2045. All cultural policies, including cinema, adhere to this vision.
She emphasized that the draft document of the 14th National Party Congress continues to place culture on par with economics, politics and society; consider culture as "internal strength, development resource" and adds the role of "social regulation system".
Director Victor Vu brings a perspective from practical production. He believes that in the context of increasingly demanding audiences, filmmakers are forced to constantly learn, update technology, and invest heavily in scripts, images, and sound.
However, the decisive factor for Vietnamese films to conquer the domestic market and have the opportunity to reach out to the world is still the "Vietnamese quality" in the story. Familiar topics, if told in modern cinematic language but set against the backdrop of Vietnamese culture, can completely create widespread sympathy.
Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son believes that the revised Cinema Law must escape the "dingding" situation if the industry is to develop sustainably. Cinema is a long-term investment field with many risks, and cannot apply the same efficiency measurement method as infrastructure projects.
He pointed out that the implementation of film projects is currently often entangled in related laws such as land, public-private partnership investment, taxes, public assets, etc., so it needs to be resolved if it is to form a true "cinematic industry".
Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son also especially emphasized the role of brands in the cultural industry. A filmmaker, a film or an international film festival can all become a "highlight" to bring the national image to the world.
He expressed his belief that Ho Chi Minh City is completely capable of building an international film festival with its own identity, not overlapping with other domestic film events.
In parallel with the pillar of identity and policy, the workshop also devoted the 2nd Session to discussing the " application of technology in the film industry", with content such as the application of artificial intelligence in screenwriting, storyboard, post-production, marketing...
The workshop "Developing the film industry in the new era" is expected to be an important preparation step, contributing to shaping the development path of Vietnamese cinema.
