A scene from Bar Girls.

Le Cong Hung, Deputy Director of Vietnam’s Film Import-Export and Distribution Corporation (Fafilm) said he does not discount this option, but he does not think now is the right time. He explained that producing films in Vietnam is still a very risky business. Almost all local feature films are produced with government support, by state own studios.

Film producers do not have to worry about money and do not think about their audience. Most of the films produced are non-commercial. “I do not know why, some of them are great films, and frequently win prizes in international film festivals,” said Mr Hung.

Except for private companies, studios primarily produce for the propagated political aims of the government. The income of film publishing companies, such as Fafilm, comes almost entirely from imported films.

After privatisation, companies will have to balance their own finances, meaning they will be faced by the prospect of personal financial ruin. State-owned studios would then be challenged by private enterprises determined to succeed.

Mr Hung said many staff members of state-run studios would lose their work. For senior employees or people who have contributed greatly to the art, to leave them out of work would be unsuitable.

Another argument of the government against privatisation, is that film producers will focus only on the taste of rich people in urban areas, while audiences in rural regions will be abandoned.

Surprisingly, state own films often receive international recognition at film festivals, but do not succeed in the local market. The reason may be that they do not meet the demand of local audiences.  Vietnam has a problem with its system of producing and publishing.

So far, the system has been divided. It does not have a synchronous advertising plan. Work is entrusted to publishers just a few days before the screening date. Sometime, local audiences do not even know about the film before it is screened.

Conversely in cinemas, private films, which have less support, run synchronous, sensationalised advertising campaigns and conduct publicity stunts that attract audiences, and thus reap greater profit.

Gai Nhay (Bar Girl), a film about prostitution in bars and dance halls, made by private film company Thien Ngan, brought the company over VND12bil in profit, marking a big change in local industry, and bringing about the birth of many more private companies.

What the film authorities are most concerned about is that with privatisation, film producers will focus on sensational topics like this, abandoning the historic and artistic ones that state-owned studios focus on.

“Our biggest problem is that we do not have professional film producers, which has left our film industry far behind the rest of the world. But with that background and the challenges we currently face, is now the right time for us to privatise the national film industry?” Mr Hung pondered.