Da Nang Film Festival Awards Ceremony - an international film festival is held for the first time

Film festivals are an artistic playground to promote new talent and emerging actors, actresses, filmmakers, directors. Through such festivals, filmmakers and producers have a chance to grasp market trends, realize projects, and promote the development of the modern film industry. For instance, the Busan Film Festival in Korea not only helps Busan become a big movie studio but also becomes one of the favorite destinations for tourists, bringing huge revenue to Korea.

In Vietnam, film festivals not only create opportunities for filmmakers to promote and bring their works to the audience, but are also expected to be effective levers of the film industry and supporting services worth millions of dollars. Therefore, in recent years, along with efforts to make a mark on Vietnamese cinema at international film festivals, professional associations and many provinces and cities have embarked on organizing international film festivals associated with famous destinations in the country.

Following the Hanoi International Film Festival, the Central City of Da Nang also cooperated with the Vietnam Association for the Promotion and Development of Cinema to organize the first Asian Film Festival while the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival is also scheduled to take place in 2024.

Next September, the annual award of the Vietnam Film Association ‘Golden Kite 2023’ will be held in Khanh Hoa Province’s Nha Trang City, which is expected to mark a new milestone to improve its position to become a national tourism - film festival, towards the international level.

Chairman of the Vietnam Cinema Association Do Lenh Hung Tu said that many activities linking cinema, tourism and culture to promote the strength of industry linkages are set to take place. The award - one of Khanh Hoa's much-awaited art events - is not only to be a festival of artists, filmmakers and the nation's cinema-loving public, but also actively contribute to promotion of the image, local tourism potential and brands of the participating units and businesses accompanying the event. This event is part of a series of cooperation activities to form a model of a ‘cinema city’ in Khanh Hoa.

International artists at the 6th Hanoi International Film Festival in 2022

Mr. Justin Kim, CEO of CJ ENM Vietnam, said that a location with beautiful and majestic natural landscapes - one of the criteria in finding opportunities for local film production cooperation -can earn a promising revenue stream up to millions of US dollars from being selected to become the studio of many world filmmakers who also consider the available facilities, personnel and the support of the local government.

Regarding the attraction of investment for cinema, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Association for the Promotion of Cinematography Ngo Phuong Lan, said that the revised Law on Cinema, effective from the beginning of 2023, has created a favorable legal corridor for the development of the film industry. The law has determined that cinema is also an industry, an economic sector.

Though the legal framework is available, specific and appropriate mechanisms and policies are needed to realize it in life and develop filmmakers’ creative capacity as well as attract domestic and foreign investment sources for cinema, encourage public-private partnership in film production and distribution to develop a gradually growing film market, said Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan.

The representative of the Vietnam Cinema Association said that currently, most developed countries have preferential policies to attract individuals and international film crews such as personal income tax exemption, cost discount which has increased competitiveness and created attractiveness for the destination where a film is set. Policies for film crews need to be clear and transparent. Each locality should have a mechanism to encourage film crews.

Source: SGGP