Scriptwriter Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat

Scriptwriter Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat, director of Hodafilm, one of the few private film companies in Ha Noi, and former director of the Viet Nam Cinematography Department, said: “State-owned film companies will find it difficult to produce quality movies without more funds from investors.

“Facing a shortage of finance, many filmmakers are unable to complete their projects.

“Meanwhile, cinemas and audiences complain they’d like to see more Vietnamese films.”

In this information era, she added, film companies are only regarded as successful, if they can attract sponsors.

One of the country’s biggest film companies, Viet Nam Film Studio (VFS), began working on three new projects early last year but “they’re still on paper because we do not have enough money,” Vu Xuan Hung, VFS director, said.

As a rule, VFS receives from the Government only 70 per cent of the total cost of making a film. “We have to raise the rest from sponsors,” he said.

VFS’ Mui Co Chay (The Smell of Burned Grass), a tribute to Viet Nam’s heroic youth, who devoted their lives for the country’s independence during the American War, is a good example.

It cost VND6 billion (US$337,000) to make, but got only VND4.2 billion ($230,000) from the Government.

“We have difficulty attracting financiers for our serious films, because they prefer entertaining movies made by private filmmakers,” Luu Trong Ninh, the film’s director, said.

Ninh’s colleague and director, Le Ngoc Linh, got only VND3.8 billion while his film needs at least VND10 billion.

Linh’s Neu Anh Con Song (If You’re Alive), about young soldiers in the war, includes many visual and sound effects.

“Without money, no director, including Oliver Stone, can make a film like Neu Anh Con Song,” he said.

He wants his films recorded in foreign countries like South Korea and Thailand, and is willing to pay a commission to agents who can put in touch with financiers.

No marketing

According to private producer Dinh Thi Thanh Huong of Thien Ngan Studio, State-owned companies do not pay much attention to marketing their films, instead depending mostly on reporters to write about them and acquaint readers.

It is a major reason why investors ignore them, she explained.

“To attract financiers, you should market yourself,” Huong, who spent more than 10 years in film production, said.

Ngat also believes that filmmakers can get financiers interested, if they spend more on advertising.

Ha Noi’s VFS and HCM City’s Giai Phong Studio are planning to set up marketing departments or use independent professional companies to promote their productions.

They will also make documents on their latest projects, the featured artists, and the prices of their films.

Linh said: “We hope we can market our project to investors.”

VietNamNet/VNS