Once the country’s most prestigious film institution, the Vietnam Feature Film Studio (VFS) is now a shadow of its glorious past self.
Based in Hanoi’s Tay Ho District, the studio lot spans 5,500 square meters, hosting departments for costumers, film editing, storage and film archives.
According to Zing, the studio was founded in 1953. Throughout its decades of operation, VFS has come up with a repertoire of iconic works in Vietnam’s cinematic history such as Bao Gio Cho Den Thang Muoi (When the Tenth Month Comes) and Vi Tuyen 17 Ngay Va Dem (17th Parallel, Nights and Days).
However, flash forward to today, the studio – both the compound and the organization – has fallen into disrepair and mismanagement.
In an interview with Zing, director Vuong Duc, VFS’ last president, shared that by the time he took the post, the studio was already falling apart.
“When I became the director [of VFS] in 2009, it’s [sic] already knee-deep in challenges,” Duc said. “Facilities were outdated as the last time we upgraded the equipment was 10 years ago. The studio didn’t have any valuable assets either.”
In a recent photo feature, Tuoi Tre paid the Hanoi-based studio a visit to showcase VFS’ current condition, take a look below:
[Photos by Nguyen Khanh via Tuoi Tre]
