Lawmakers mull creating fund for cinema development

At the Sunday preparatory session of the National Assembly, while discussing a Cinema Bill, lawmakers considered various ways to fund development of local cinema.

A draft of a decree they created said the government would contribute to initially establishing a fund.

Then more funding would be raised through voluntary contributions, sponsorships and other sources, it said.

Finally, 3 percent would be deducted from ticket sales of foreign movies, 3 percent of film classification fees would be drawn, as would 1 percent of popular movie subscriptions, 0.05 percent of pay-TV subscriptions, 0.5 percent of revenues from advertising on film programs television, and 5 percent of post-audit fee, the decree said.

Phan Viet Luong, deputy chairman of the House Committee for Culture and Education, said the fund would support the development of cinema, meeting the aspirations of the industry.

Many countries have similar funds, he said.

Luong said in the house that his committee is still seeking opinions from delegates on whether foreign individuals and organizations have to submit film scripts before shooting in Vietnam.

The Cinema Bill will be reviewed and discussed in the National Assembly, which will sit until Jun. 16.