Will censorship be tightened when foreign movies flow into Vietnam? Is there any “special relationship” between censors and film importers? Censors work under the law, Vietnam Cinema Agency chief Lai Van Sinh affirmed to VietNamNet.

Mr. Lai Van Sinh at the Golden Kite Awards 2009 ceremony.

One of the most notable issues in the amended Cinema Law is the removal of the quota on imported films. Many people say that without quotas, the local movie industry will be crushed by foreign films sooner or later. What do you think about this?

Setting a quota on imported films (Article 30) is one of the measures to protect the local film industry. But when we joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), we had to implement international commitments.

However, the current Cinema Law also sets regulations to ensure the coverage of Vietnamese movies at box offices or on television. It is a measure to restrict foreign films.

It is said that the import tax rate of 5% on imported films, which was implemented on January 1, 2009, is too small. The government should raise the tax rate to protect the local film industry. Will this be done?

The number of locally-made films is presently low and the quality of Vietnamese films is not high. The state should invest to produce more films. Meanwhile, artists have to try to produce better and more attractive products.

We have proposed that the government reconsider the tax rate on imported films. In the past, the tax rate was zero percent and it was raised to 5 percent in January 2009. However, it is much cheaper to import a movie than produce a movie in Vietnam. This fact is a problem for local film companies when they have to compete with Hollywood blockbusters which cost hundreds of thousands or millions of US dollars.

Once we remove the quota on imported films, will censorship be tightened? It is the only barrier for imported films.

Censorship is conducted according to the Cinema Law. Censors have to work under the law, not tighten or loosen things as they want.

There is a fact that some foreign films which have failed to pass censorship one or two times still ended up being screened. Some movies have many violent scenes but they still go to box offices. Is film censorship in Vietnam too easy or do the censors “have high regard” for film importers as many uncensored films are advertised noisily?

Censors work independently and they don’t have any “regard” for or suffer any pressure from film importers.

Some movies can go to box offices after scenes unsuitable to Vietnamese culture are cut. It is normal. Other countries do it like that. There has been no case in which a prohibited film has been screened at a cinema.

We regularly remind film importers to buy films of various topics and from various countries to better serve Vietnamese audiences.

Bich Hanh