The company representative said that storing films that are no longer of any use is wasteful and useless.
Responding to the information about 300 films stored in the warehouse of Vietnam Feature Film Studio being damaged and unusable, 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 - affirmed that all damaged films were copies (positive copies). The company representative said that storing films that are no longer of any use is a wasteful and useless act.
"Storing film that has no use value is a waste"
Responding to information about 300 films stored in the warehouse of Vietnam Feature Film Studio being damaged and no longer usable, 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 - affirmed that all damaged films are copies (positive copies).
"This information was answered by the Director of the Department of Cinema Vi Kien Thanh to the press. Accordingly, the Vietnam Film Institute stores all originals (negative copies) and one copy (positive copy). Thus, the Vietnam Film Institute has stored two copies," Mr. Thang shared with Tien Phong.
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 - confirmed that all damaged films are copies.
Vivaso leaders said that in the past, the film studio stored copies for the purpose of distributing films. Later, distributing films was no longer suitable, so the company decided to switch to storing files on hard drives to serve the dissemination of films in the digital age. Films have been used many times, so they cannot maintain their quality for screening.
Hundreds of films in the Vietnam Film Studio's warehouse are moldy and damaged due to poor storage conditions.
"Currently, there are no theaters or movie theaters that still use film projectors, so these films are no longer of any use.
Spending a lot of money on cold storage systems, humidity control, and maintenance workers to store assets that are no longer of use is a waste and useless. On the other hand, the film studio does not have enough facilities to store films for a long time," said Mr. Nguyen Danh Thang.
He said that there is no regulation or document from the state assigning the company the responsibility of storing these films. The task of storing is currently assigned to the Vietnam Film Institute - a unit that has the conditions to preserve films according to international standards.
"On April 6, 2023, a working group from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) together with professional agencies and artist representatives came to conduct a field survey and assess the current status of film storage and preservation at the Vietnam Film Institute. The working group affirmed that the film institute is scientifically preserving all originals and related records of films according to international standards, always ready to screen when requested," said Mr. Nguyen Danh Thang.
Hope to continue investing in the film studio
While waiting for the divestment of capital from Vietnam Feature Film Studio to be resolved, the company has actively completed the production of two TV series, including Ve Nha La Tet, Long Phung Sum Vay and a documentary - Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory. Of these, the two TV series have been purchased by many TV stations and are scheduled to be broadcast in 2024.
Documentary film archive at Vietnam Film Institute. Photo: Vietnam Film Institute.
Due to difficulties in legal regulations for the state to buy back Vivaso's shares, Mr. Nguyen Danh Thang hopes that the state will allow Vivaso to continue investing in Vietnam Feature Film Studio.
This investment aims to rebuild the dilapidated infrastructure, invest in production equipment, and truly revive the film studio according to its equitization goals.
"The Prime Minister said that we should look straight at the truth to solve the problem. The truth is that the film studio operates under the state-owned enterprise model with a cumbersome apparatus, a subsidized mindset, and continuous business losses. Recently, many films have been put in storage after production," said Mr. Thang.
The Deputy General Director of Vivaso suggested that if the state needs to produce propaganda films or films for political purposes, it can bid to select a producer. He emphasized that film production is also a form of commodity production, and commodity production needs to operate according to market mechanisms to achieve quality.
However, the facilities here are now increasingly degraded, most of the stored films are damaged, becoming sticky piles of plastic, unusable. Medals and awards in the traditional room are also covered in dust and discolored due to lack of proper preservation and cleaning. Artists have repeatedly expressed their frustration and voiced their opinions about the conflicts and deterioration at the film studio.
“The 300 damaged copies of the film are the original, complete films, bearing the original creative imprint of the filmmakers, and are one of the only two remaining celluloid copies. The 300 damaged copies alone have caused huge economic losses, not to mention expensive equipment such as mixing consoles, mixing rooms, film cameras... which are highly likely to be damaged in the current humid conditions,” said director and Meritorious Artist Bui Trung Hai.
The equitization has disrupted the spiritual and material lives of officials and employees. According to employees at the film studio, the Water Transport Corporation (Vivaso) - the unit that acquired VFS in 2017 - once issued unreasonable and frustrating regulations. Vivaso required all employees to be present at the film studio and fingerprinted for 8 hours a day to receive their salary. Due to the nature of filmmaking, many people think this requirement is unreasonable.
Not only that, the artists and workers of the film studio no longer have any rights. They have no salary, no health insurance, no social insurance. Many are forced to make a living by doing other jobs such as motorbike taxi, opening beer bars, selling online...
Regarding the Prime Minister's direction, Vivaso representative said that they have sent a document proposing a solution to the competent authority but have not received a response yet.
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