Attending the meeting were Deputy Minister Ho An Phong; Director of the Department of International Cooperation Nguyen Phuong Hoa; Director of the Department of Cinema Dang Tran Cuong; Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh.
The delegation of Hollywood directors and film producers included Ms. Rose Lam, Global Production Director – Riot Studios; Mr. Nicholas Simon, CEO and Producer – Indochina Productions.
Expressing his joy at welcoming the Hollywood delegation to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Minister Nguyen Van Hung stated that after 30 years of normalizing relations between Vietnam and the United States, especially since the two countries established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development in 2023, cooperation between the two countries has achieved increasingly positive results. In particular, cooperation in the fields of culture, sports, and tourism has developed significantly.
With Vietnam’s open and transparent policies, based on implementing the joint statement between the two countries on upgrading diplomatic relations, the exchange of tourists as well as people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have made significant progress. The number of tourists from Vietnam to the United States and tourists from the United States to Vietnam is steadily increasing. The United States is one of the top 10 key markets for tourism in Vietnam.
The Minister believes that the successful coordination in organizing communication activities, promoting destinations, and leveraging cultural soft power has helped both sides understand each other better.
In 2024, with the view of promoting tourism through cinema, Vietnam will hold a program to promote Vietnamese tourism and cinema in the United States for cooperation and development in cinema, promote tourism, and through that, enhance the relationship between the two countries.
The Minister happily announced that Vietnam has been one of the most attractive countries for tourists, receiving many international tourism awards. Vietnam boasts beautiful natural scenery, which serves as material for ideas in poetry, music, art, and cinema, and the Vietnamese people are gentle, friendly, and always hospitable. Taking advantage of this strength in recent times, Vietnam has proactively collaborated with many countries to develop cinema.
The Minister affirmed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is ready to welcome and cooperate with U.S. partners to develop cinema and tourism, contributing to the overall development of both countries.
Thanking Minister Nguyen Van Hung and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for taking the time to welcome and work with the delegation, Ms. Rose Lam, Global Production Director – Riot Studios, stated that Riot Games is a video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer from the United States with many world-famous titles. Among them, the game League of Legends has 650 million players globally.
Riot Games is surveying and plans to shoot a television series consisting of 9 episodes based on League of Legends and the online animated film of the same name in Cat Ba, Hai Phong at the end of 2025. The episodes will be widely broadcast on platforms such as Netflix, HBO, and more.
According to Ms. Rose Lam, Riot Studios has surveyed many other countries in Asia such as Japan, South Korea, and Thailand and found that Vietnam is the best location for the company’s creative and production needs. The delegation has surveyed and assessed Cat Ba as a suitable and highly feasible location.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Nicholas Simon, CEO and Producer – Indochina Productions, stated that the filming of the television series by Riot Games in Hai Phong would be a great opportunity to promote Vietnam.
According to Mr. Nicholas Simon, Vietnam is one of the priority countries sought for tourism or filmmaking, with a large and stable audience, and the fact that a Riot Games movie is filmed in Vietnam will have a very positive effect.
At the meeting, Riot Studios presented specific plans for film production in Cat Ba, and representatives from the Hai Phong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism exchanged and supported cooperation.
Concluding the meeting, Minister Nguyen Van Hung once again thanked and highly appreciated the Hollywood film directors’ delegation led by Ms. Rose Lam for visiting and surveying film shooting locations in Vietnam.
The Minister noted that the presence of the delegation at this time demonstrates respect for the commitments and contents in the memorandum signed by both parties at the Vietnam tourism and film promotion program in the United States organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2024. At the same time, he affirmed that Vietnam always respects agreements, principles, and is ready to cooperate with partners for mutual development.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism highly appreciates that in a short time, Riot Studios has researched the market, surveyed actual locations in Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and decided to choose Cat Ba, Hai Phong as the filming location.
Emphasizing the viewpoint of the Party and State of Vietnam, which always seeks to be friends with all countries in the world for peace, friendship, and cooperative development, the Minister affirmed that Vietnam is ready to cooperate and create the most favorable conditions for the research and filming delegation. He also proposed the film crew some issues as follows:
First, the delegation needs to understand the consistent viewpoint of the Vietnamese Government that any activity on Vietnamese territory must comply with Vietnamese law, in the spirit of cooperation for development, harmonious interests, and shared risks.
Second, this is an entertainment film, therefore the company needs to study Vietnam’s Cinema Law to ensure the best quality footage, minimizing inappropriate elements, violence that do not align with Vietnamese and international cinema standards.
Third, the filming context is expected to be the Cat Ba archipelago, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Therefore, the issue of heritage protection and environmental protection must be prioritized. Vietnam’s stance is not to trade off the environment for economic benefits.
Fourth, this cooperation activity is one of the vivid proofs of the two countries upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is ready to accompany and cooperate with the film crew and hopes that after this start, there will be more Hollywood films shot in Vietnam.
The Minister stated that after this meeting, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to communicate with Hai Phong to create more favorable conditions for the film crew. At the same time, proposals will be made to waive or grant free visas to the delegation for convenience during filming.
The Minister once again emphasized that in the context of the Party and State of Vietnam striving to develop the country towards prosperity, ready to expand cooperative relations with countries around the world for common development, Vietnam is willing to prioritize Hollywood film crews coming to Vietnam. Through Hollywood – the center of the global film industry, Vietnam hopes to further promote Vietnamese cinema and tourism, becoming a cultural industry that significantly contributes to the country’s development.