VietNamNet Bridge – Black Forest, the only movie participating in the national selection of Vietnamese movies for the 2009 Oscars, may lose its chance to go to the US.

A scene from Black Forest

VietNamNet Bridge – Black Forest, the only movie participating in the national selection of Vietnamese movies for the 2009 Oscars, may lose its chance to go to the US.

One of the pre-requisites for a movie to represent a country at the Oscars is that it must be screened for at least seven consecutive days between October 1 of the previous year and September 30 of the present year.

Black Forest of the Vietnam Feature Film Studio doesn’t meet this requirement because it has only been screened several times free of charge.

To determine whether Black Forest met requirements or not, the Vietnam Cinema Agency asked the Vietnam Feature Film Studio to report about the distribution of this movie. Phan Dinh Thanh, the firm’s deputy director, wasn’t sure if the movie would be screened commercially or not before September 30, the deadline.

The Vietnam Feature Film Studio contacted the HCM City Movie and Video Company to negotiate commercial screening of this film but it has been confirmed that at least from September 24 to 30, Black Forest will not be screened at the HCM City Movie and Video Company’s two theatres, Thang Long and Dong Da.

If Black Forest fails to meet the conditions, this “is a loss for Vietnam”, Le Ngoc Minh, Vice Head of the Vietnam Cinema Agency, said.

“If only one ticket had been sold in seven consecutive days of screening, Black Forest would have met conditions to go to the Oscars, but as it was not screened commercially, it can’t go,” Minh said.

What about commercial screening?

Meanwhile, while speaking to some newspapers, Director Vuong Duc of Black Forest, affirmed that his movie meets conditions to go to the Oscars. Duc said his movie was sold to the Military Cinema at a high price for distribution and that was screened commercially.

Duc also affirmed that Black Forest was screened by Military Cinema in June 2008. However, Kim Anh, Director of the Military Cinema at 17 Ly Nam De, Hanoi, said her cinema didn’t screen Black Forest.

According to the Film and Video Distribution Department under the General Department of Politics, Ministry of Defence, in June 2008, Black Forest was screened for soldiers in remote and mountainous regions (free of charge). This agency bought 10 copies of Black Forest at VND50 million ($3,500)/copy.

Deputy Minister Le Tien Tho said the concept “commercial screening” in the film selection regulations should be understood as screening at cinemas with tickets sold.

Films that are sold to distributors but haven’t been screened yet are not considered to have been screened commercially.

(Source: TN)