Previously, according to tradition, State films were often shown for free on occasions, anniversaries or major holidays. The National Cinema Center was almost the only place in Hanoi that carried out the task of disseminating films during propaganda campaigns, anniversaries or major holidays, along with films organized by the Vietnam Film Institute that were shown at the Institute's theaters. The National Cinema Center was also a self-accounting unit, meaning that it had to ensure both propaganda and economic tasks at the same time.
With “Peach, Pho and Piano”, as the number of screenings increased, the National Cinema Center had to reduce screenings of other commercial films, and return all ticket sales revenue to the budget. Meanwhile, the Center still had to pay for electricity, water, theater operations, labor, etc., along with many other expenses.
Similarly, when Beta Cinema and Cinestar distributed the film "Dao, Pho and Piano", they announced that they would screen the film for non-profit purposes, and all ticket proceeds would be paid to the budget.
National Cinema Center, where films produced by the State are shown and promoted.
From a commercial perspective, it is clear that in order to screen films invested by the State, these cinemas must cover all related costs, not to mention the opportunity to screen other popular films. This is perhaps the biggest obstacle for other commercial cinemas, which currently have the largest and most spacious systems and screens in the country. The business problem has never been easy in the context of the entertainment industry with fierce competition like today, and cinemas have just emerged from the Covid-19 crisis and are still in the recovery phase.
In addition, each film shown in theaters usually has a certain revenue sharing ratio with the theater, usually 40-50% or more depending on the film and theater cluster, not to mention distribution costs. Meanwhile, state films have absolutely no regulations on this ratio, so when state films are released in theaters, all parties are quite confused. In addition, state films are usually only invested in production costs, with absolutely no promotion or distribution. When finished, the film is handed over to the Cinema Department for management. It can be seen that state films do not have any distribution unit, except for the National Cinema Center that accepts screenings according to its mission.
Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Hanh, General Director of BHD Company, said that recently the Government has raised the issue very clearly: developing the cultural industry instead of developing culture as before. Turning culture into a sustainable industry instead of the mechanism of asking for and giving in the cultural field as before. Therefore, for films ordered by the State, building a distribution mechanism that is appropriate to the industry is the core issue for the films to reach the audience.
This is the time that cannot be later to solve this mechanism problem. Very few theaters in Vietnam operate like the National Cinema Center, which is a state-owned enterprise when the state provides land and invests in all construction costs and purchases of machinery and equipment... Other private theaters, when showing any movie, have to pay very high rent for the current location, electricity and water bills calculated at commercial prices, depreciation of machinery and equipment, labor costs... and other marketing and promotion costs.
Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Hanh also shared that it is very rare for a state-owned film like “Dao Pho va Piano” to be able to sell tickets in theaters. Previously, there was the phenomenon of “Gai nhay” by Giai Phong Film Studio which was also released and became a hit in 2003. It takes about 20 years for a film like that to be released, so theaters have no difficulty in supporting free screenings for some shows, but they cannot keep doing so forever, because there are many other films.
Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Hanh believes that this is also a golden opportunity to develop culture and cinema: "We think that taking this opportunity, it is important to create a proper and solid mechanism to create a long-term premise for releasing films ordered or supported by the state, if any."
Another solution is to participate in the cultural market as an investor and earn profits as an investor, then all steps must follow market regulations.
The BHD General Director also shared that, in addition, some experiences from abroad can be applied in the case of commissioned films. That is, when the State commissions a film to promote a certain content or a commercial company commissions it to advertise a product, they will also pay 100% of the distribution costs or support the distribution. For example, in France, the Government will support non-refundable marketing costs and revenue compensation for theater owners when the occupancy rate is not as high as other commercial films for French films in some markets. These are levers of the market mechanism to encourage the screening of not-so-popular commercial films with topics that need to be encouraged.
Another solution is to participate in the cultural market as an investor and earn profits as an investor, then all steps must follow market regulations. Or combine non-refundable funding or investment with final return conditions for all economic sectors to make films with topics encouraged by the government, but if the topic is not supported by the government, very few people will be interested in investing (like the Singapore Government).
It is necessary to quickly build a suitable mechanism to make it easier for State films to be released in theaters, not only contributing to realizing the State's policies in developing the cultural industry, bringing films with aesthetic and humanistic values to audiences, especially young audiences, but also encouraging filmmakers to explore, create, and produce high-quality films that meet audience needs.
Immediately after the film “Dao, Pho and Piano” created a sudden fever in theaters, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued a document encouraging cinema establishments to participate in disseminating the film Dao, Pho and Piano as well as films ordered by the State and Vietnamese films in general. The document also stated that, based on current regulations and practical requirements, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is directing specialized agencies to research and advise on continuing to perfect legal regulations to encourage and create favorable conditions for cinema establishments to disseminate films ordered by the State.
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