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Wins & Woes: Optimism sweeps Vietnam’s film industry as regional & international TV interest plummets
26 August 2025
Since early 2023, Vietnam’s Decree 71 has pretty much decimated the international/regional TV industry’s interest in the country. Higher operating costs, driven by tighter regulation and oversight, coupled with low yields... you get the picture. Players scaled back, paused expansion plans, or slammed their laptops shut and exited the market entirely. Even French giant, Canal+, which has doggedly soldiered on in Vietnam since what seems like the beginning of pay-TV time, is now reconsidering its presence. “The Vietnam business is being closely assessed as its performance has been meaningfully affected by the market environment,” the company said in July.
The domestic film industry, on the other hand...
Not least of the bright and shiny signals coming out of this sector is new, young-ish leadership in key government positions. At the end of February this year, the 48-year-old Lê Hải Bình was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. He assumes the role after years in various diplomatic and foreign affairs positions.
About three months after his appointment was announced, Lê hosted a delegation from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). According to post-meeting notes distributed by the Ministry, Lê said Vietnam’s current legal framework for the film industry was “very open, creating favourable conditions for content producers”.
In the same session, he said there was still a “small amount of content that is not suitable for the conditions and culture of Vietnam, so some content still needs to be strictly managed”. But he emphasised the end of an era that was characterised by the viewpoint that “if you can’t manage, then ban”.
That was all part of a vibrant six months for Vietnamese filmmakers. And that’s official, according to Viet Nam News, the state-run news organisation. The English-language daily reports a record-breaking first half 2025, with eight local films breaking the VND100 billion/US$3.9 million revenue mark. As a result, local filmmakers “are entering the latter half of the year with renewed confiden...
Since early 2023, Vietnam’s Decree 71 has pretty much decimated the international/regional TV industry’s interest in the country. Higher operating costs, driven by tighter regulation and oversight, coupled with low yields... you get the picture. Players scaled back, paused expansion plans, or slammed their laptops shut and exited the market entirely. Even French giant, Canal+, which has doggedly soldiered on in Vietnam since what seems like the beginning of pay-TV time, is now reconsidering its presence. “The Vietnam business is being closely assessed as its performance has been meaningfully affected by the market environment,” the company said in July.
The domestic film industry, on the other hand...
Not least of the bright and shiny signals coming out of this sector is new, young-ish leadership in key government positions. At the end of February this year, the 48-year-old Lê Hải Bình was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. He assumes the role after years in various diplomatic and foreign affairs positions.
About three months after his appointment was announced, Lê hosted a delegation from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). According to post-meeting notes distributed by the Ministry, Lê said Vietnam’s current legal framework for the film industry was “very open, creating favourable conditions for content producers”.
In the same session, he said there was still a “small amount of content that is not suitable for the conditions and culture of Vietnam, so some content still needs to be strictly managed”. But he emphasised the end of an era that was characterised by the viewpoint that “if you can’t manage, then ban”.
That was all part of a vibrant six months for Vietnamese filmmakers. And that’s official, according to Viet Nam News, the state-run news organisation. The English-language daily reports a record-breaking first half 2025, with eight local films breaking the VND100 billion/US$3.9 million revenue mark. As a result, local filmmakers “are entering the latter half of the year with renewed confidence and high hopes for another leap forward,” the news platform says.
The next spark of life is Korea-Vietnam joint project – Saigon Oppa – scheduled to shoot in Vietnam and Korea in 2026. The film was showcased in Seoul in August as part of the “Vietnam–Korea Cultural Industry Cooperation Forum”, and billed as “a deepening of cultural and creative industry ties between the two countries”. The parties involved include Korea’s Film Line and Vietnam’s BHD.
Written and directed by Korea’s Park Gyu-tae (6/45: Lottery Couple), Saigon Oppa is about two Vietnamese husbands who reluctantly travel to Seoul in search of their wives, who go to Seoul to a K-pop concert and to chase after their favourite Korean idols. Their misadventures gradually unfold into a tale about love, kindness and mutual understanding.
BHD describes Saigon Oppa as a “touching exploration of cultural connection and emotional discovery, offering audiences in both Vietnam and Korea a fresh, heartfelt perspective on relationships, identity, and shared humanity”.
Vietnam’s other Korean collaborations this year are Mang Mẹ Đi Bộ (Leaving Mom), Điều Ước Cuối Cùng (The Final Wish) and Cải Mả (Reburial). BHD vice chair, Ngô Bích Hạnh, says the success of Mang Mẹ Đi Bộ reflects a “new level of cooperation between Vietnam and South Korea, characterised by closer collaboration, greater equality, and a shared commitment to showcasing the cultures of both nations”.
Another 2026 highlight is epic martial arts feature, The Last Secret of the First Emperor (Hộ Linh Tráng Sĩ - Bí Ẩn Mộ Vua Đinh), directed by Nguyen Phan Quang Binh (Song of The Stork) and produced/distributed by BHD – Vietnam Media. The film, starring heartthrob Johnny Trí Nguyễn (who is also the film’s martial arts director), follows seven warriors on a mission to mislead hostile forces. Their true objective: to protect the spirit of the country and ensure that the tomb of Vietnam’s first Emperor remains an eternal mystery.
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