As
usual, a slew of films are ready for release during the Tet (Lunar New Year)
holidays, including Viet Nam’s first 3-D flick, and studios are hoping to part
young moviegoers and their money.

Jumping off: The poster of Bong Ma Hoc Duong, the country’s first 3D-film, produced by Thien Ngan Studios. — VNS Photo

Thien Ngan (Galaxy)
Studios, one of the country’s biggest, believes its 3-D movie Bong Ma Hoc Duong
(Ghost at School) will be a hit and a step forward for the entire industry.

To make sure nothing
goes wrong, it spent a packet on hiring Hollywood cinematographer Joel Spezeski.

“Our film’s
post-production was done in Hong Kong,” its director Le Bao Trung, who learnt
3-D film-making in Hong Kong before beginning the project, said.

Promising lively sound
and light effects throughout, he hoped the film will encourage more Vietnamese
filmmakers to make 3-D films.

Ghost at School is a
comic horror film about an online thriller writer who is haunted by a bunch of
young people’s ghosts.

The US$1 million
production stars dozens of young pop stars and fashion models like Wanbi Tuan
Anh, Truong Quynh Anh, and Dinh Ngoc Diep.

But its explicit
scenes have already become a lightning rod for criticism by critics and
educators who are anxious about the effects on young audiences after viewing its
trailer online.

“I don’t think Bong Ma
Hoc Duong with its sexy scenes is suitable for teenaged audiences who will go to
the cinema without their parents during Tet,” Nguyen Minh Nga, a teacher and
psychologist in HCM City, said.

Film-makers should
take more responsibility for their works because “movies offer not only
entertainment but also education.”

But the producers
dismiss the fears, insisting their film is safe for young viewers.

“Through our film, we
hope young audiences, particularly teenagers, learn about bravery, honour, and
responsibility,” Dinh Thi Thanh Huong, a member of Thien Ngan’s managing board,
said.

She also believed
critics will change their views after seeing the film.

Ghost at School
releases in cinemas a week before Tet which falls on February 3 this year.

BHD Company and its
partner, Saiga Films, commissioned Vietnamese-American Victor Vu to direct the
comedy Co Dau Dai Chien (War of the Brides).

Vu, who studied
film-making at Loyola Marymount University in the US, has made a kungfu comedy a
la Jackie Chan.

Phuoc Sang Films’
Thien Su… 99 (The Cherub… 99) is a romantic film that also has comedy and
action.

The film features
several famous artists, including upcoming singers Khong Tu Quynh and Ngo Kien
Huy.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News