Tokyo International Film Festival 2023 Filmmaking experience, watch - listen - think!

The 36th Tokyo Film Festival chose a Vietnamese producer as a judge (Tran Thi Bich Ngoc), and a Vietnamese director (Tran Anh Hung) to accompany big names like Zhang Yimou (China), which is certainly a great honor for a leading film festival in Asia. During the 10 days of the 36th Tokyo Film Festival, in addition to the dense screenings of 219 selected films from around the world , this event also opened many exchange sessions, specialized classes... for people in the profession to have the opportunity to exchange and share valuable experiences on filmmaking.

Tran Anh Hung discusses with Japanese colleagues before interacting with Tokyo audience

Tran Anh Hung opens a cinema masterclass event at TIFF Lounge, Tokyo

Tran Nu Yen Khe signs autographs for fans at the 36th Tokyo Film Festival

The exchanges with director Tran Anh Hung and his wife - actress, costume designer, production designer Tran Nu Yen Khe helped listeners understand more about the story of exploiting emotional elements, "correct" elements and "authenticity" in the work The Pot-au-Feu . The film is set in France in 1885, which is certainly a challenge, but if you know how to do it "right", all barriers of history, setting, and costumes are no longer obstacles. Emotions can be felt in every culture, the correct elements keep viewers from getting lost, and authenticity creates beauty in the art of cinema. Therefore, on the premiere day of The Pot-au-Feu , as soon as the film ended, Vu Khanh, an audience member from Vietnam, told Thanh Nien reporter: "The film is in French, with Japanese subtitles, I don't understand, but I can feel it." That "feeling" factor is seen more clearly when the simple, intimate, and emotional exchanges of Tran Anh Hung - Tran Nu Yen Khe always attract a large audience of Tokyo fans.

Talking to Thanh Nien reporter at the 36th Tokyo Film Festival about issues surrounding the current film environment and filmmaking, especially with what is happening in Vietnamese cinema, director Tran Anh Hung frankly expressed: "Filmmakers need to have a healthy foundation in production, this is difficult, especially in the Vietnamese environment. Because in Europe, specifically in France, the concept of health in general is ethics built over several centuries, people always respect artists, respect ideas, that is the foundation, the culture, understanding specifically is difficult, because it requires a long process of construction. It is not easy for Vietnamese cinema to do that right away. In the immediate future, there needs to be producers who truly understand artists, understand their own work, and accept making films (in a healthy, ethical direction - PV ). Of course, making films requires funding, films released in theaters need profit, but not all films are solely focused on making money, but need to invest more in films with high artistic quality. This requires understanding, and the consistent, appropriate behavior of artists, directors, producers...".

A packed auditorium at the Tokyo premiere of Tran Anh Hung's The Pot-au-Feu

Commercial films are easier to raise capital than independent art films. With the average cost for an art film project, even the most modest estimate would be a couple of dozen billion VND. So producers have to rush to find funding from film funds. One fund is often not enough, producers have to bring the project to market, ask for help from many sources at the same time, and make do with their own means. While for a film to be released in theaters, earning around 5 billion VND like Ashes of Glory , has been considered… rare and hard to find.

Producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, an "expert" and "midwife" for many art film projects, although busy as a judge at the 36th Tokyo Film Festival, took the time to talk to Thanh Nien about raising capital for the film project: "In Vietnam, to complete an art film project takes a very long time, normally 10 years, while colleagues in Europe and America come out regularly, because they are supported by the government and have many funds to create conditions; having to raise capital and ask for sponsorship is only a very small part. Vietnamese films have to ask for everything, funds from Europe used to support a lot, but after the pandemic they cut it to the maximum, even no more, so each project has to be divided into small parts and asked everywhere, making it even more difficult. There were individual domestic investors before, but after the pandemic most of them no longer have the ability to support art."

Vietnamese cinema does not lack talented people, the film environment is also opening up, the market of more than 100 million people is also an ideal number to contribute to increasing sales for films released in theaters. At international film festivals every year, Vietnamese elements are always seen, with famous names that have prestige in the international film community. Vietnamese cinema seems to have reached the time of "heavenly time, favorable location", waiting for the "human harmony" factor to be able to solve the "adversities" of cinema. And to have "human harmony", director Tran Anh Hung concluded briefly: "We must do it right first".

Tran Anh Hung and Tran Nu Yen Khe on the red carpet at the 36th Tokyo Film Festival

Thanhnien.vn