Artists still upset about 300 damaged films at Vietnam Feature Film Studio

Director and Meritorious Artist Bui Trung Hai emphasized that the storage of films at the Vietnam Film Institute is completely unrelated to the damaged films at the Vietnam Feature Film Studio.

Director, Meritorious Artist Bui Trung Hai believes that the film should have two original copies, because if there is only one original copy, that original copy will never be shown and will forever remain in storage for fear of damage.

Conflicts are difficult to resolve.

The conflict between the Water Transport Corporation (Vivaso) and artists of Vietnam Feature Film Studio began after 2 months of equitization. Artists were disappointed because Vivaso broke its initial commitment on salary and job creation for artists.

At that time, Vivaso representative said that the way artists work at the film studio is very different from businesses and businesses only pay salaries to those who work.

"There are artists at the film studio who are not seen all year round, do nothing, and still demand to receive their salary. There are even people who receive their salary from the film studio, but go to work outside, doing extra work for film crews at other agencies," said a representative of Vivaso.

Artists from Vietnam Feature Film Studio gathered to celebrate the studio's 60th anniversary.

The head of Vivaso said that restructuring and converting the way of working from a state agency to a business will have many changes, but during that process, they did not receive cooperation or listening from the artists.

Not only stopping at the story of unpaid wages, artists believe that Vivaso is destroying the studio's cinematic heritage by failing to preserve hundreds of cinematic works produced by generations of the studio's artists.

300 damaged film rolls in the warehouse of Vietnam Feature Film Studio were like the "last straw" that made the relationship between the water transport corporation (Vivaso) and the studio's artists become increasingly tense.

The conflict over the years shows that the two sides always have opposing views on issues. The two sides are completely unable to find common ground, especially regarding the 300 damaged film reels in the warehouse of the Vietnam Feature Film Studio.

300 damaged rolls of film are the heart and soul of generations of studio artists.

For the artist, those 300 rolls of film are considered the blood, sweat, tears, and efforts of many generations of filmmakers. In the eyes of Vivaso representatives, these rolls of film are already stored at the Vietnam Film Institute in 2 copies (negative, positive), so storing these films at the film studio is wasteful and unnecessary.

"Currently, there is no place that still uses film projectors, so these films are no longer used. Why do we have to spend a lot of money, facilities and people to store these films, while the originals are already at the Film Institute? This is really a waste because it is just a normal asset to exploit, not a heritage or valuable document of the State that needs to be preserved", Mr. Nguyen Danh Thang - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Feature Film Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, Deputy General Director of Vivaso once said.

Many artists have voiced their objections because the Film Institute’s archives are limited. Director and Meritorious Artist Bui Trung Hai emphasized that in the current situation, when the original film is damaged, it is very difficult for artists to borrow films to screen at film festivals.

"I think there should be two originals. If there is only one original, it will never be shown and will forever remain in storage for fear of damage," Meritorious Artist Bui Trung Hai said.

The world still prefers celluloid

In response to information from the Director of the Department of Cinema (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) Vi Kien Thanh that the Vietnam Film Institute fully stores two film copies (both negative and positive) for each work, Meritorious Artist Bui Trung Hai affirmed that the storage of films at the Vietnam Film Institute is completely unrelated to the damage of films at the Vietnam Feature Film Studio.

"Even if the Film Institute has an original copy, the 300 copies of the film studio still retain their value. They can replace and supplement the remaining copies at the Film Institute in case of damage such as lack of sound, lack of image... Those are the only remaining guarantees to avoid the case of films and cinematic heritage being lost forever," Meritorious Artist Bui Trung Hai explained.

Of the films nominated for the 2020 Oscars, 52% were shot on film and 48% were digital.

In fact, in the US, celluloid films are still favored by directors and producers. The proof is that in the films nominated for the 2020 Oscars, 52% were shot on celluloid while 48% were digital.

Recently, in the list of nominations for the 2024 Golden Globe Awards, there are many films shot on film such as Oppenheimer, Killers of the flower moon, Maestro, Poor things, Past lives... Not only was the film Oppenheimer nominated, it also won many major awards.

Many international films are still shot on film.

Cinematographer, photographer, Meritorious Artist Pham Thanh Ha affirms that the image quality of film is still the goal that digital images strive for. Film material allows to reproduce up to 800 million colors compared to 17 million of standard cinema video frames.

"Images shot with Sony's 24P cinema-standard digital camera have a maximum contrast ratio of 150:1, much lower than the 1000:1 ratio of film. Thus, film images convert more faithfully from one color to another, from one luminance to another," said Meritorious Artist Pham Thanh Ha.

To preserve and store moving images, film is still the top choice. "The method of recording with film and post-production using digital technology is the most optimal solution for the current film production industry," Meritorious Artist Pham Thanh Ha affirmed.

After a direct survey, the working group of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) found that the film archive had seriously degraded, did not meet storage standards, and the film copies could not be used because they had not been inspected or maintained for a long time.
"The damaged films in the film warehouse are the responsibility of the company. The company must propose a solution to report to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and respond to the artists, staff and workers of the company," the representative of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated.

(Source: tienphong.vn)

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