Vietnam’s Lost Cinema Era Inspires TCCF Project ‘Waiting for Godard’

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran A new project examining the decline of Vietnam’s state-run film industry and its impact on veteran filmmakers is being developed by director Vu Minh Nghia, set for production in 2025. “Waiting for Godard” follows a young independent director who interviews former filmmakers from the Vietnam Feature Film Studio, exploring the aftermath of the studio’s 2017 sale to a transportation company – a move that left numerous industry veterans unemployed.

The project is selected for Taipei’s Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) where it is part of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and Produire au Sud feature film pitch.

Vu discussed the cultural shifts that inspired the project with Variety. “When Vietnam entered the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Western culture flooded in quickly, especially music and movies.

American and Hong Kong films dominated the market, making people no longer interested in wartime propaganda films,” he explained. “In the past 20 years, Vietnam has changed very quickly, but it seems that economic development doesnot go hand in hand with culture.