BANKING ACADEMY

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

-----------------o0o-------------------
VIETNAMESE FILMS – A WAY TO
BOOST VIETNAM’S CINEMA DEVELOPMENT

Teacher: Nguyen Thuy Anh

Student: Vo Linh Thu – CA6-101
Class: CityU-6D
Date: 18/06/2018

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 ABSTRACT

Running successfully for over the last decades, a “new wave” of Vietnamese cinema has
created a home for filmmakers and film lovers to connect, dialogue, tell stories, and share
their love of film. The mainstream film industry has grown in popularity and with an
unexpected, it helped launch the careers of several emerging filmmakers and opened the
doors for future. But studies on Vietnamese film industry has just been carried out by a few.
Through the country, many cinemas only shows a small number of Vietnamese films to
customers. Though, the underlying explanations for the reduction of investing and showing
Vietnamese films are not well-understood. The aim of this paper is to acknowledge an
undeveloped Vietnamese movies at cinemas. To be more clearly, my study investigates the
reasons why Vietnamese films are not warmly welcomed at the cinemas among freshmen of
International School of Business - Banking Academy studying in English. Furthermore,
vision-related imformation of how people evaluate and expect toward Vietnam’s films are
mentioned.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….ii

List of figures…………………………………………………………………………iv

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………..1

2. Method……………………………………………………………………………..2

3. Results……………………………………………………………………...………2

4. Discussion of findings…………………………………………………………..….5

4.1. Students’s opinions about Vietnamese movies………………………..….5

4.2. Aspects that they do not like………………………………………...........6

4.3. Their expectations toward Vietnam’s films in future………………….….6

5. Recommendations…………………………………………………………………6

6. Conclusion................................................................................................................7

References…………………………………………………………………………….8

Appendices……………………………………………………………………………9

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Current status of students at CityU who went to the cinemas……………………2

Figure 2: How students like Vietnamese films……………………………………………..3

Figure 3: How students think about Vietnamese movies…………………………….……..4

Figure 4: Students’s expectations of Vietnamese movies in the future………………….....5

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1. Introduction

In recent years, as Vietnam's film industry has modernized and moved beyond government-
backed propaganda films, contemporary Vietnamese filmmakers have gained a wider
audience with many blockbusters. Cinema in general and cinema in particular is a potential
market in Vietnam, especially in big cities. Currently, there are over 220 cinemas in the
country, including 120 regular and full-time theaters 100 full-quality theaters (Bay, 2012).
Specifically, theaters in two major cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City which occupies over
80% of the total number of cinemas in the country. Meanwhile, some local theaters sold or
changed to another form of business due to insufficient viewership to cover costs.

The Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF), which is a “cinematic tradition” for
Vietnamese filmmakers, put Vietnamese cinema on the map with remarkable feature films
such as Journey from the Fall (Vượt Sóng), Living in Fear (Sống Trong Sợ Hãi), The Rebel
(Dòng Máu Anh Hùng),etc ( VIFF,2010). The box office revenues in Vietnam increased
from $7 million in 2008 to $43 million in 2012, with the increase of 514 percent in four
years, from 2008 to 2012, the Hollywood Reporter ranked Vietnam as one of the 13 “hottest”
growing cinema markets in the world (Minh Chanh,2013). However, most of Vietnamese
films are art films and the number of viewers interested in the film is not high, the studio also
has no budget to be released widely, even when minimizing the risk of loss when releasing
these movie pickers.

Moreover, for the last few years, Vietnamese movies have more and more attractive films,
carefully invested in contexts, impressive scripts and talented young casts, attracting crowds
to theaters. This is considered as a good sign for Vietnamese cinema.

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2. Method

The data used in this report is acquired from a survey carried out within Banking Academy. The
crucial method utilized in this research was questionnaire because not only was it quick and
easy to collect results at the same time with a large audience, but responds also achieved a fairly
high level of genuineness due to anonymity than interview. At the beginning, a questionaire
consisting 10 multiple-choice questions was designed with respect to our three research
questions. In the next step, 72 freshmen of City University – Banking Academy were randomly
selected to fill in the questionaire in about ten minutes by an online form in person.

3. Results

This section outlines the results of the survey conducted to discover CityU students’s opinions
of Vietnamese films. A total of 72 of International School of Business at Banking Academy
were involved in this analysis. With a view to determining how students think about
Vietnamese films at cinemas and some aspects show what they do not like regarding to it.
1.1: Times to go to cinemas 1.2: Times that students chose to watch a
in 1 month Vietnamese movie for the last 6 months

0,5%
10%
5% just once
just once
35%
2-3 times 2 times
more than 4
times 3 times
55%
94,5%

1.3: Money spent when going to cinemas

20%

0-100.000VND

100.000-200.000VND
17%
63%
> 200.000VND

Figure 1: Current status of students at CityU going to the cinemas

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As can be seen from Figure 1, the percentage of students who went to cinemas 2-3 times per
month comprised 55%.

30

25
25

20
16
15
15

10 9

5 4
2
1
0 0 0
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Responders voted

Figure 2: How students like Vietnamese films

With regard to “on scale” question,

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 17 Acting has not met requirements

27 Films don't suitable

27 Lack of artistic value

27 The plot is not interesting
34
Effects are not good
14
Content has not been featured
18
Boring

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Figure 3: How students think about Vietnamese movies

It is immediately apparent from the chart that CityU students do not like the quality of
Vietnamese films, with 34 votes. "Films do not suitable with Vietnam’s background", "Lack of
artistic value" and "The plot is not interesting" are also considered by the audience that it must
be improved and all have 27 votes. "Acting has not met requirements" and "Boring" also
generated opinions from responders with 17 votes and 18 votes respectively. It looks like
"Content has not been featured" is the audience hit and interested at least with only 14 votes.

28
Casting beautiful/famous actors and ac-
30 tresses
Great stories that could make movies
29 rememberable
Good music
50 Set up a series of circumstances that
more fantastical
30 Wonderful messages could impact
everyone
Have good visiual effects and action-
33 fiction scenes
More entertaining elements or hu-
16 morous performances

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Figure 4: Students’s expectations of Vietnamese movies in the future

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4. Discussion of findings

Vietnamese film industry has experienced a rise in the size of students who go to the cinema for
the past years. Watching at the cinema has been a significant public leisure activity at Banking
Academy in general and in freshmen studying at International School of Business in particular.
When quizzing students, we can observe an overall data which are appropriate to answer our
questions mentioned at first.

4.1. Students’s opinions about Vietnamese movies

Based on the data as shown in Figure 1 and 2, it can naturally be said that watching movies is
very popular among students. This result is not beyond expectation for students in Hanoi, even
with the money they paid for each movie. But sadly, most people choose foreign films instead
of Vietnamese films in theaters.

Data shows that for the last 6 months, the proportion of students who went to Vietnam for a
one-time movie was the majority, while the rest of the students went to the cinema from 2 to 3
times a month occupy very little proportion. It is understandable that most of them spend money
on foreign films, instead of watching Vietnamese movies that are not well-known all over the
country. Responder also strictly rated for this kind of films. Half of Vietnamese students rated
Vietnamese films only at a normal level from a 6-7 point scale. There are even some ideas for a
2-to-5 scale. Conversely, none of the Vietnamese films rated 9-10, and only a very small
number on the 8th.

Most people have a "negative" thinking about Vietnamese movies. They argue that the film has
a lack of creativity, sometimes borrowing too many elements of foreign films have been
released before. Although Vietnamese films have recently made a lot of improvements in
scripts and techniques, but as a part of the psychology of Vietnamese viewers (most of them are
young people) prefer movies of big foreign companies. These films are considered to be not
good, do not cause much emotions to the viewers in Vietnam, however, because the studios
advertise and most of the foreign action movies have a huge number of fans so it still attract
more viewers to watch than films produced in the country.

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4.2. Aspects that they do not like

It can not be denied that Vietnamese films are more than one step slower than other countries in
the region. We have had to go through a period in which Vietnamese filmmaking seemed to
have only been known by its predecessors. As mentioned before, although Vietnamese films are
on the rise, only a few are known and only those films that have the potential to be profitable
are also being screened at the big theaters. As the film "I’m not 18"(Em chưa 18) has become
the highest grossing Vietnamese film ever to be at every box office. The rest of the films has
been screened, but very little attention has been paid because of not being advertised, investing
heavily, content not yet well-known, not outstanding and not attractive to students at school
age.

Moreover, according to the data show that the film rated by the audience is that it is not enough
humor, the film is not tight enough with the film content which is not good and attract viewers
as the other foreign film. L.T,a first year student from Banking Academy explained, "I would
rather spent money on watching a foreign movie with good cinematography than watching an
ordinary Vietnamese movie."

In addition, M.L,a first year student from National University of Economics also said that many
Vietnamese actors/actresses are not acting natural and have some scenes in many films as
"drawn out" only in the film by the director and that scene is not true in real life in Vietnam, this
makes the audience is not satisfied.

4.3. Their expectations toward Vietnam’s films in future

The results of the survey also show that students, there are positive trends about Vietnamese
films. Especially in recent years, there are many Vietnamese films left in the audience as
impressive as “I see yellow flowers on the green grass”(Tôi thấy hoa vàng trên cỏ xanh),
“Idol”(Thần tượng), “Touch”(Chạm),etc (M.Quan – P.Du,2017). Even brought huge revenue
such as film “I’m not 18”(Em chưa 18) revenued 171 bilion VND, “Super star, super fool”(Siêu
sao, siêu ngố) revenued 109 bilion VND, “You are my grandmother”(Em là bà nội của anh)
with 102 bilion VND,etc (Bich Phuong, 2018). Although not as developed as foreign studios,
Vietnamese filmmakers have also tried to put Vietnamese films to another countries, like the
ASEAN Film Award will be launched featuring 3 Vietnamese movies in the region with the
best film being awarded up to US$ 3,000 (Nhandan,2017).

 Looking at Figure 4, we also see audiences looking forward to a Vietnamese movie that can
develop more compelling transition scenarios and make it even better. They also hope to see the
film with meaningful messages that leave a deep impression on them, as well as memorable
stories.

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It is difficult to develop in Vietnam because it requires a large investment from domestic
studios, so Vietnamese audiences can only look forward to the future filmmakers who can show
their screenplays. "beautiful" skills and relaxation elements than the current filmmakers have
done.

5. Recommendations

Based on the information CityU students provided through the survey about Vietnamese
Cinemas-Going, we can see both positive and negative comments from the respondents.
According to the above discussion of the findings, most students do not like Vietnamese films
in terms of content as well as quality, whereas some say that in recent years, Vietnamese films
have grown better than before.

Vietnamese movies, can honestly say is “a lost” in the country. More clearly, Vietnamese
cinemas has just entered a new era since 2000, ending the monopoly of the state with the
propaganda series and historical factors. However, after 18 years of development, Vietnamese
cinemas still exist up to date due to a great effort of filmmakers in Vietnam. In the future, if we
wanted to develop Vietnamese cinemas more and more, to make it have a place in the regional
and world cinema, we need to pay more attention and support for it.Therefore, we should
actively promote Vietnamese cinematography by asking not to film Vietnamese films from
antique thoughts. You can also watch a Vietnamese movie trying to catch up with the trends
and might be, meet your favorite one. It is no coincidence that we have a "success" called “year
2017” with many blockbusters, such as "You are my grandmother"(Em là bà nội của anh), "I'm
not 18"(Em chưa 18), “I see yellow flowers on the green grass”(Tôi thấy hoa vàng trên cỏ
xanh),etc received by audiences. As a result, wishing everyone would open your arms to greet
Vietnamese movies at cinemas.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion, hopefully that the result of our study is able to promote similar interest
concerning the trend of going to the cinemas among students, particularly students at Banking
Academy. These subjects, as we have found out from the limitations of our own research, are
extremely worthy of further and deeper investigations. Furthermore, while exploring the
reasons why students decided to watch a movie at the cinema, we realize that there would be

variations depending on advertisements, cinema’s qualities, ticket prices, service included,etc.

Also, Vietnamese films are increasingly showing its place in the hearts of audiences and
proving that this is a potential industry which needs to be developed.

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Owing to the breadth of this issue as opposed to the limited scale of this paper, we can not cover
all details. Broadening the scope of the survey would most likely bring up new results awaiting
reasoning and explanation. Hence, we hope that future researchers could investigate further into
this topic in terms of thoroughly examining all the possible regulations of this issue.

REFERENCES
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Phuong H. 2012, “So phan bi tham cua nhung bo phim tu te”. Retrieved from
http://vietnamnet.vn/vn/giai-tri/so-phan-bi-tham-cua-nhung-bo-phim-tu-te-71704.html

Van Bay. 2012. “Phim tet 2012: Chen chan ra rap”. Retrieved from
https://thethaovanhoa.vn/bong-da/phim-tet-2012-chen-chan-ra-rap-
n20120114061736653.htm

Minh Chanh. 2013 “Vietnamese cinemas earn $43 million in 2012”. Retrieved from
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/art-entertainment/74222/vietnamese-cinemas-earn--43-
million-in-2012.html

Bich Phuong. 2018 “Top 5 bo phim Viet co doanh thu cao nhat moi thoi dai”. Retrieved from
https://baomoi.com/top-5-bo-phim-viet-co-doanh-thu-cao-nhat-moi-thoi-dai/c/
25606086.epi

Minh Quan; Phuc Du (2017). “9 bo phim dien anh Viet dang xem nhat trong 5 nam tro lai day”.
Retrieved from https://baomoi.com/top-5-bo-phim-viet-co-doanh-thu-cao-nhat-moi-thoi-
dai/c/25606086.epi

Nhan Dan (2017). “Vietnam Film Festival to honor best cinematic works of the year”.
Retrieved from http://ven.vn/vietnam-film-festival-to-honor-best-cinematic-works-of-the-
year-29744.html

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 APPENDICES
Dear respondents, we are students from International School of Business, Banking Academy.
This questionnaire is supposed to assist us in collecting the data for our research project about
the Cinema Industry in Vietnam. Please take a few minutes to answer these questions. We
highly appreciate your opinions. All the answers will be anonymous and used for research
purpose only. Thank you for your cooperation.

( Please tick ( √ ) the options that suit you best)

1. How old are you?

º 16-18

º 19-21

º > 22

2. How often do you go to the cinema per month?

º Just once

º 2-3 times

º more than 4 times

3. How much money do you usually spend when going to the cinema?

º 0 - 100.000 VND

º 100.000 VND - 200.000 VND

º > 200.000 VND

4. What types of films that you prefer to watch when you go to the cinema?

º Action º Comedy

º Adventure º Drama - Romance

º Horror º Science Fiction

º Music - Dancing º Others (Please specify):………

5. Have you ever gone to the cinema to watch a Vietnam’s movie?

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º Yes

º No

6. For the last 6 months, how many times have you gone to cinemas to watch a
Vietnamese movies?

º Just once

º 2 times

º 3 times

7. On a scale from 1-10, how do you like Vietnam’s films?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Not at all likely Exremely likely

8. You go to see that Vietnamese movie because(of):

º Saw the trailer on social media

º Friends recommended

º Chose it randomly

º It was on top rank

º Favourite actors/actresses

º Friends bought the ticket for me

º Others(Please specify): ………………………

9. There is something you have not liked in vietnamese movies:

º Boring

º Content has not been featured

º Effects are not good

º The plot is not interesting

º Lack of artistic value

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º Films do not suitable with the background of Vietnam

º Acting has not met requirements

º Others(Please specify) :………………..

10. What is your expectation in Vietnam’s films in the future?

º More entertaining elements or humorous performances

º Have good visiual effects and action-fiction scenes

º Wonderful messages could impact everyone

º Set up a series of circumstances that more fantastical

º Good music

º Great stories that could make movies rememberable

º Casting beautiful/famous actors and actresses

º Others(Please specify):…………………

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