How to Share Your Stories on the Silver Screen: Film Production in Contemporary Vietnam

This course offers both practical knowledge and screenwriting training. In the practical
knowledge section, we will be examining the current state of film production in Vietnam (from
the beginning of the 21st century until the present day) by analyzing several popular production
models: state funded films, films partially subsidized and commissioned by the government,
privately investments, international co-productions, foreign films shooting and hiring crews in
Vietnam and independent films seeking finance from domestic and international funds. This
section also provides in-depth analysis and comparison regarding different systems of public
policy directed towards the cinema industry in Vietnam and other countries such as Korea,
China, France and America, apparent in their regulations, development strategies and various
situations of censorship. Students will be able to grasp an understanding of how a country’s
public policy impacts the development of its cinema.
The screenwriting exercises, which take up to 75% of the class, will guide students through the
process of coming up with ideas suitable to be developed in the context of aforementioned
models of production as well as their capacities. Students will be trained to present these ideas in
a professional format of a comprehensive look-book that is ready to pitch to potential production
companies or investors.
Depending on their progress, students are encouraged to develop ideas that challenge the
audience’s usual watching habits, the industry’s current ability to produce as well as stereotypes
about Vietnamese films and censorship in order for them to optimize their imagination and
creativity. We hope the students can start contemplating on their own path to materialize the
ideas that are ‘impossible’ in the current context yet possible in the near future.
There will be two (tentative) guest speakers, Mrs. Dinh Thi Thanh Huong, Vice President of
Galaxy Media & Entertainment and Director Charlie Nguyen, who will discuss with students on
related topics.