Speaking with a reporter from the People's Army Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Cinema Association, emphasized that this is a "golden" time to promote film creation on the theme of revolutionary war.

"Earthquake" of Vietnamese cinema

Reporter (PV):

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan: "Red Rain" is truly a surprise beyond expectations. That success is not only the joy of the film crew but also spread to the film industry and the public. This is even more meaningful because for a long time, revolutionary war films have often been shown non-commercially, with a "service" nature, so they have formed a prejudice that they are difficult to generate revenue. "Red Rain", as well as "Peach, Pho and Piano", have proven the opposite: Films using the State budget (often quite limited), exploiting topics that were once considered dry, can still create a "box office earthquake", attracting a large number of young audiences, who account for 80-90% of current ticket buyers.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Permanent Vice President of Vietnam Cinema Association.

PV:

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan: The success of "Peach, Pho and Piano", "Tunnel" and recently "Red Rain" has proven that audiences are ready to accept this genre of film. Previously, many directors were worried that war films would have difficulty attracting viewers, but reality has proven otherwise. This is a "golden" time to unleash the creativity of films about revolutionary war themes.

War, with its fierceness and tragedy, is always a mirror reflecting the bravery and spirit of the nation, revealing personal qualities, and is always a rich source of material for cinema. The consecutive success of the three films above shows that the attraction of this topic has never diminished. The difference is that the approach is more novel, reflecting war from today's perspective, paying attention to the audience and commercial factors.

A scene from the revolutionary war film "Red Rain" by the People's Army Cinema. Photo: Provided by the film crew

Previously, revolutionary war films were mainly ordered by the State and shown on anniversaries, so filmmakers paid little attention to public reaction. Now the situation has changed. "Peach, Pho and Piano" caused a fever with more than 20 billion VND, "Tunnel" reached 172 billion VND, and "Red Rain" became the highest-grossing Vietnamese film. Recent successes have opened the door for revolutionary war films, affirming that this genre still has strong appeal. The effect from the audience not only helps filmmakers feel more confident in renewing their creativity, but also encourages private producers to boldly invest in this film genre and other genres such as historical films, national cultural films, author films, and independent films.

Another important factor is the marketing and promotion strategy. If "Peach, Pho and Piano" spread thanks to the audience effect, "Tunnel: Sun in the Dark" and "Red Rain" both have a methodical communication plan, from the start of filming to the premiere. Behind-the-scenes stories and information about the artists are constantly updated, making the audience follow. When the film becomes a topic of discussion in coffee shops, over dinner or during breaks from work, the crowd effect will attract the audience to the theater.

In addition, the release timing is also favorable. "Tunnel" premiered on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, while "Red Rain" premiered on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2. In the atmosphere of the great festival, the national spirit is high, and such cinematic works containing both artistic and entertaining values ​​are more likely to create a strong effect.

Need to converge the combined strength between the State and the private sector

PV: Vi

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan: The reality shows a very clear difference. "Peach, Pho and Piano" is a film that uses 100% of the State budget, so it faces many difficulties when it comes to commercial distribution. Meanwhile, "Tunnel: Sun in the Dark" is completely funded by socialized sources and "Red Rain" is produced by the People's Army Cinema, in coordination with Galaxy Studio, and is much more favorable.

That shows that the biggest limitation at present is the mechanism for distributing State films. There are currently no clear regulations allowing production units to proactively distribute as well as cooperation mechanisms and revenue sharing ratios with partners. Therefore, it is difficult for State films to coordinate in the form of public-private partnership to be released in theaters. Meanwhile, the participation of the private sector is promoting the strong development of cinema, from production to dissemination, creating a quite vibrant market.

From the experience of the last three films, it can be seen that it is necessary to quickly remove legal bottlenecks so that the State and the private sector can cooperate more effectively in production and distribution. When there is a reasonable mechanism, Vietnamese cinema will develop more strongly, especially with revolutionary war films.

Image from the movie "Tunnel: Sun in the Dark". Photo: Provided by the film crew

PV:

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan: The important thing is that this film genre must be maintained regularly, not allowing the recent successes to stop at a temporary phenomenon. To do so, the State needs to have more appropriate investment, in accordance with current production requirements, and at the same time, private units should also boldly accompany to expand the scale.

In addition, promotion work must be focused on. No matter how good a film is, if it lacks communication, it will easily fall into the situation of "silk clothes going out at night". A communication plan should be built early, closely linked to the production process, and at the same time, expand more distribution channels to reach a wide audience.

Equally important is that the film crew must always seek innovation, from the script to the way of expression, focusing on exploiting the "gold mine" of literature on revolutionary and resistance themes with many works that have left a deep impression on the minds of many generations of readers, knowing how to take advantage of modern technology and listen to the tastes of the audience... Only then can revolutionary war films both retain historical value and be attractive to today's viewers.

As a professional organization, the Vietnam Cinema Association highly appreciates the support of the press and media. These channels have contributed to bringing the works closer to the public. When the audience is truly interested, producers will have more confidence and motivation to continue investing in this film genre.

PV:

PHAM THU (implementation)

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/thoi-diem-vang-khoi-thong-dong-chay-lam-phim-chien-tranh-cach-mang-846650