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| PERIOD PIECE: A scene from ‘Địa Đạo: Mặt Trời Trong Bóng Tối’ (Guerrilla Warfare Tunnel: Sun in the Dark), a historical film of HCM City-based Galaxy Studio and its partner, HK Film. Many scenes from the film were shot at State-owned Hoà Phú Studio in Củ Chi District of HCM City Television Station. — Photo courtesy of Galaxy Studio. |
HCM CITY — HCM City is working to build new film filming locations as part of its efforts to promote the local film industry, according to the city’s Department of Culture and Information deputy director Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thúy.
Thúy suggested new studios should be built in rural districts. They should be provided modern equipment and technologies for filming, and also become new tourism destinations in the city.
The city is considered to build a studio on 300 hectares of land located in the Ethnic Culture and History Park in Thủ Đức City, she said.
The city’s cinemas account for about 40 per cent of the national cinema market, with 52 cinema complexes.
Its film industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of about 12 per cent from 2025, reaching over VNĐ11 trillion (US$500 million).
Many major films and TV shows have been shot in HCM City in recent years. However, the lack of suitable studios has meant the city is losing out in the target of become a “film city” by local authorities.
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| MODERN STUDIO: Private studio Green Media is located in HCM City’s Bình Chánh District. The 6,000 sq.m filming location opened in 2019, and includes everything from houses, ships, and fields to small-town and modern-day house settings in HCM City and southern provinces. — Photo courtesy of Green Media. |
The city now has only a few studios but most of them are small and used for making TV series, music videos, commercial videos and game shows.
There is only Hoà Phú Studio in Củ Chi District of HCM City Television Station (HTV), with an area of 49.5 hectares, which can be used for both indoor and outdoor filming, and for all kinds of movie themes.
It is the region’s largest cinema centre where cultural activities, including music, film screenings, fashion shows, sports competitions, art performances, and contests, take place.
Another is Green Media, a private studio located in Bình Chánh District. The studio’s investor, Media Green Entertainment Agency, spent VNĐ15 billion (US$640,000) in construction.
The 6,000sq.m location opened in 2019, and including sound stages, production areas and a backlot for outdoor scenes for filmmaking and television productions.
“Our studio also includes everything from houses, ships, and fields to small-town and modern-day house settings in HCM City and southern provinces,” said the studio’s executive director Lady Phương Thúy.
According to deputy director Thanh Thúy, building new film studios is part of a project of HCM City’s cultural industry between 2020 and 2025 approved by the municipal authorities.
Under the project, a film production centre offering services in filming, pre-production and post-production will be built.
Building a cinema museum will be one of the city’s targets to promote Vietnamese history, culture and people to the world. It will display artefacts and equipment about the history and development of the film industry in Việt Nam in general and HCM City in particular.
“New favourable policies will develop the city’s film industry,” said Thanh Thúy. “We have worked to support and encourage local entertainment agencies, film studios, producers, directors and actors to develop their business. — VNS
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