Reeling them in: Movie buffs queue up for tickets at the August Cinema, 45 Hang Bai Street, Ha Noi. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI (VNS) — The newly established Viet Nam Film Distribution Association (VFDA) promises to protect domestic film distributors from the competition they face from foreign groups.

The association also aims to bring together and unite Vietnamese film distributors and filmmakers to produce and make art films popular.

It will represent Vietnamese filmmakers and distributors in the fight against exclusive activities and market conflicts created by foreign groups in Viet Nam.

"The establishment of the VFDA is very necessary," Nguyen Van Nhiem, general director of Viet Nam Studio A and VFDA president, said at a ceremony held recently to launch the association.

"Vietnamese film producers are now facing many difficulties, such as a shortage of updated technology and funds. Moreover, they have to compete fiercely with foreign distributors," he said.

The lion's share of the domestic cinema market was being held by foreign distributors, who were making profits thanks to the distribution of American and South Korean movies in the Vietnamese market, Nhiem said.

Representatives of both Lotte Cinema and CGV Cinema systems declined to comment on the VFDA establishement when Viet Nam News contacted them by telephone.

Vietnamese film producers and distributors are facing disadvantages in their own country.

The VFDA will study film protection policies in other countries and also plans to appeal to management bodies to adopt policies to protect Vietnamese film distributors.

Ngo Thi Bich Hanh, deputy director of BHD Studio, said her enterprise has made great efforts to vie with foreign groups such as Korean CGV and Lotte groups for survival.

"In the last two years, we have invested in the development of cinema," Hanh said. "If Vietnamese investors such as the state-owned and private sectors develop more cinema systems, it will balance film distribution between domestic and foreign enterprises."

In addition to the four cinema complexes in HCM City and a joint venture cinema in Ha Noi, the BHD plans to build 10 more cinema systems, adding about 70 to 80 screens by the end of 2016.

"At first, we will propose the revision of cinema law to make it suitable to recent developments," said Hanh, who has also been appointed the VFDA's deputy president and head of market researching section.

"The cinema department agreed to our proposal because the cinema law has not been revised since it was promulgated in 2006."

Hanh also said the first project of the market researching section would be to study countries such as Korea, China and France that have good policies to protect their domestic cinemas.

The VFDA also aims to popularise Vietnamese films in rural areas and meet the demand for cinema systems there.

"Cinemas in rural areas do not have standard infrastructure to ensure that new movies will not be copied," VFDA president Nhiem said.

"We try to collect the opinions of all members and co-ordinate with relevant bodies to design policies that promote Vietnamese film distribution in rural areas," Nhiem said. — VNS