Director Nguyen Quang Dung 

Dung made this comment in an interview with DTiNews after the release of his latest film “My nhan ke” or "Beauty trap" grossed over VND50 billion (USD2.4 million) during the Tet holiday.

After the Hanoi International Film Festival last November many people were concerned over the future of Vietnam’s film industry. Do you think that, if filmmakers continue to make movies with an eye towards making a profit like My nhan ke, that it could damage the quality of films made in Vietnam?

I think that the film industry has different periods of development. Art films and entertainment films are different. Currently, Vietnam still lacks high-quality entertainment films. In order to draw back our audience it is necessary to create a stable market that allows filmmakers to make a living practicing their craft.

Take US film industry as an example. They produce a wide variety of entertainment films along with art films. In the US these two types exist successfully side by side. The film industry here is not capable of doing this yet.

I make entertainment films because that's what I am good at. I enjoy doing this.

My nhan ke could be recognised as a typical entertainment film. Several professionals accused the movie of being dull and superficial for using famous artists as a way to attract the audience. Many want so far as to say that it was not compelling. Do you have any response to these criticisms?

My aim as a filmmaker is to make movies that have a story which carries its own message. Time will tell whether I've achieved that goal with this movie.

I find that it is difficult enough to keep people's interest for two hours, and I am aware of my own limitations. I have no intention of trying to achieve something that is out of my reach.

As the Vietnamese film industry heads into the future, what would be the effect of young directors focusing on entertainment films focused on box office sales?

Each artist has to choose their own path. We have lived in a subsidised economy for some time, which included the film industry. Once that disappeared it left a vacuum that was filled with private production companies.

“Gai nhay” or "Dance girl", by director Le Hoang, is a good example of this trend. This film attracted a large audience.

I think that it is important for domestically-made films to draw back audiences in a market that has been saturated by foreign films for some time. This is part of the long-term development of the Vietnamese film industry.

When I make a film with investment from a private production company I am responsible to them to make a return on their investment.

It has been widely recognised that many directors turn out substandard films on the quick to turn a profit. Does the audience have some fault in this process for going to see these films and then complaining?

Well, nobody in specific is to blame for this phenomenon. It's true that there have been a lot of entertainment films recently that were disappointing. On the other hand, I think that audiences should also educate themselves by watching more foreign films, like those made in the US and Korea, in order to be better able to judge the quality of the movies they see. A more educated audience would prompt filmmakers to make higher quality films.

“My nhan ke” gained record revenues despite being criticised 

As I've already mentioned, the film industry here will have to go through its own development. The outcomes between a film with a production budget of  VND1 million (USD47.80) and that of one with VND100 million (USD4,782) will be completely different. The most important thing, for the film industry in Vietnam, is that filmmakers do not loose sight of the fact that they have to attract the audience and have to make a long-term career for themselves.

Does this mean that you tend towards the spectacular aspects of cinema which requires large investment; and is it true that you would prefer to make art films instead?

Personally, I am not into extremely deep story lines. As a film student I had to sit through several Iranian films, but got fed up with this type of movie making that makes you tired of watching. Now the movies I like the most are those that are exciting and entertaining. In fact, I like cartoons the most.

I look forward to the day when I will be able to make movies with my own money. Then I will not be responsible to a production company who has put up the funding. I think that my style as a filmmaker will change at that point, and I will be able to gauge the preferences of audiences at any given time.