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Costume drama: A scene from Tay Son Hao Kiet (Tay Son Heroes) filmed at Quang Trung Museum in the central province of Binh Dinh. The film features historic military hero Nguyen Hue (1752-92) and was made by the private Ly Huynh film studio. — VNA/VNS Photo Viet Y |
HA NOI — Films on Vietnamese history deserve proper attention from film makers and relevant State agencies. This conclusion was propagated by film makers who participated in a conference on Vietnamese films and history that was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Toursim's Cinematography Department on Friday in the capital city.
Playwright Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat said that the State must play an instrumental role in helping shape historical films.
"The State has subsidised most of the budget for these films, which have been fairly small for historical movies," Ngat said. "If the State does not pay proper attention to these films, then the opinions and solutions that are discussed at this conference every year are just useless!"
Many of the participants agreed that the State should create more suitable policies for the film industry including building a studio where historical films could be made or establishing production companies that would specialise in the genre.
"Right now we lack human resources," said director Tran Duy Hinh, "There is no special course available that can teach writers how to write historical screenplays, and most young writers aren't that interested in the genre."
Director Ha Son claimed that the era of State-subsidised films was over.
"It's high time for the film-makers to ask themselves whether audiences will like their films and whether the tickets for the films can be sold," he said.
Poet and Hoang Nhuan Cam noted that the screenwriter for historic films should have an advanced understanding of the country's history and culture, while also being creative and unique at the same time.
"Even historians have a hard time imagining how to translate events into historical fiction, while also trying to be as accurate as possible," Ngat added.
Many screenwriters said that film makers and screenwriters should be as accurate as possible while also being creative.
"There should be a modern film studio for these films along with an ample amount of props and tools that would be needed for these type of films," said Le Ngoc Minh, deputy head of the cinema department.
With respect to screenplays, Ngat said that there have been many interesting screenplays that have been written throughout the country.
About 600 screenplays where submitted to a competition for the film that was being made to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi. Unfortunately, the budget that had been allotted for the film was unable to cover the screenplays that were under consideration.
"The recently completed film on the imperial mandarin Tran Thu Do was produced by private investors," she said, "If the State does not have a big enough budget for a film, then we should try to lure investors to help fund the production of the films."
Writer Dinh Kinh said that the State should be interested in this genre because many young people in Viet Nam know very little about Vietnamese history. Kinh claimed that some Vietnamese adolescents know more about Korean and Chinese history because interesting and available films have been produced by film makers in these countries.
Playwright Luu Nghiep Quynh attempted to encourage the participants at the conference and claimed that the public was still interested in historical films. — VNS