At the seminar
The seminar was attended by managers, representatives of agencies, departments, animators, state enterprises, and private enterprises in the field of animation.
According to VFDA Chairwoman Ngo Phuong Lan, Vietnamese animation has a history of 63 years, since the establishment of the Vietnam Doll Animation Studio in 1959 until now, about 800 animated films have been made with the current production scale of 17-18 movies a year, a modest number compared to the potential.
The lack of big, long-running films that are strong enough to dominate cinemas is one of the Vietnamese cartoons’ weaknesses. To have animated films that dominate the market, the sector must recruit famous filmmakers who can lead the Vietnamese animation industry, said VFDA Chairwoman Ngo Phuong Lan.
She gave an instance of famous cartoons in the world such as Doraemon and Cloud Bread which have attracted billions of viewers. Therefore, according to Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan, this is the time for the industry to broaden its horizons, assess the animation production capacity, and at the same time find a solution for what needs to be done so that the film businesses to participate in the film industry.
Associate Professor Bui Hoai Son, Standing member of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Education, said that in the last 10 years, the growth of cartoons has been quite good, bringing in 10-15 percent of the movie industry’s revenue. He added that the animation industry in Japan has contributed 5 percent - 6 percent to Japan’s GDP. Along with that, cartoons also actively contribute to spreading the message of life and humanity; thus, it helps increase cultural values. Hence, promotion of the value of cartoons will be an effective way to build the country's soft power and national brand.
Affirming the special position of animation, Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations Vuong Duy Bien also said that building of symbolic images - typical for Vietnamese animation like human characters - should be necessarily taken into account because he explained building a typical character for Vietnamese animation is building a Vietnamese brand. It's time for animation not only to serve the young public but also to attend the world's major film festivals and be recognized by the world.
Although he affirmed the potential to develop Vietnamese animation, Deputy Director of the Cinema Department Ly Phuong Dung said that animated films in Vietnam have a length of 10-15 minutes and just a few of them with 30 minutes in length. It is still very difficult to get 90-minute movies long enough to show in theaters.
However, at the talk show, many animation production enterprises such as Sconnect, Colory Animation, and DeeDee announced that they have a team of highly skilled human resources, on par with many producers in the world. Many production companies not only work for outsourcing companies but also act as co-producers in famous animated works.
But just a few animation businesses in Vietnam achieved success. A representative of DeeDee's shared that he had attended many animation-related festivals and fairs abroad but the company has not had any booth and there was no promotion at the national -level at such events.
Ngo Phuong Lan confirmed that the country will gradually bring animation and related products to the international market to pave the way for building Vietnam's film industry and protecting Vietnamese cultural identity in cartoons. Therefore, in order to affirm the position of Vietnamese animation in the world, it is still necessary to have more support with an overall and long-term vision from responsible agencies.
