Written by The CREATV Company on May 13, 2025. Posted in Contributors

Vietnam: 30 Years of First-Class International Production Services

2025 has been a year of milestones. Ho Chi Minh City, where The CREATV Company is headquartered, recently observed 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War with numerous celebrations, parades and public spectacles that captivated millions. This year also marks the third decade of continuous operation of the international production services company Othello Khanh founded when he arrived in Vietnam in 1995. And it also marks nearly ten years since The CREATV Company has written about Vietnam’s international filming scene in the pages of The Location Guide. To observe these occasions, we sat down with Othello to get a sense of where things are at, and where they could be headed.

 

 

How would you describe the industry in Vietnam that you encountered upon landing in 1995?

 

 

It was like going through a time-machine: arriving at a place that hadn’t changed since the end of the war 20 years earlier. I remember walking into the set on studio where it seemed the walls hadn’t been painted since 1975. I meet with the leaders of the state studios – state-owned studios producing only propaganda films as they all were at this time of re-opening to the world after a long embargo – that wanted to bring up production standards to be able to get more international productions.

 

The crews were amazingly friendly and open, real life MacGyvers doing everything on a shoestring budget and always with DIY solutions for everything. This was despite the antique (sound) stages – they were scattered pieces of modern equipment for production and post-production – they had to make do with. These people had a gigantic heart and talent. And their eagerness to learn was inspiring.

 

In the commercial world, at the lifting of the embargo in 1994, all the multinational brands (Coke, Pepsi, Unilever, P&G) were here. Yet, the agencies remained convinced the work could only be produced overseas. They simply didn’t believe it could be done in Vietnam. This is why I established my company: to prove it could be done here.

 

To sum it up, Vietnam at that time was a big rough gem stone ready to be cut into a diamond or a caterpillar starting its metamorphosis into a butterfly.

 

 

How much of what you envisioned for the future (for Vietnam in general, and the industry here in particular) at that time has come to pass, and what hopes of expectations have not materialised? 

 

Imagine yourself in a wagon discovering the big horizon of the Wild West. A 360 vision with opportunities everywhere. Framing the future was like looking through a fisheye lense. There was opportunity if you had a vision and the bravery to get to work.

 

Looking back from the future to today, time went so fast, it feels like we are crash zooming inside an infinite focal lens. I try to always be positive, and focus on my objectives, trying to keep the faith to continue progressing my goals and materialise expectations that haven’t yet been reached.

 

If you could impart some wisdom to yourself 30 years ago, what would it be?  

 

Arriving 30 years ago was like the first day in a new school where you didn’t know anybody. As a matter of fact, it was a bit like arriving in summer camp of Club Med where you think ‘everyone’s nice’ and make friends. Looking back, it was wonderful, but not everybody thought the same, as I painfully realized with time. I probably should have been pickier in choosing my friends.

 

 

Having straddled multiple worlds in the industry (documentary, TVC, feature film, corporate) where do you feel most adept at navigating the intricacies of producing/facilitating?  
 

 

At the end of the day, as a filmmaker, the most important thing is to tell stories with a camera and microphone, or even without. At the end of the day, it’s all about the people who you have to deal and work with.

 

Creative people are the ones with whom I have the best collaborations. I love the process. Sometimes visions differ but always arriving at the same goal.

 

The money people – are vital to this industry. They’re the lifeblood of production. Over the years, I’ve learned to appreciate them and find they’re able to work together with the creatives to achieve their vision to bring the product to different audiences.

 

Then, there’s the last category and these are the ones that are very difficult to get along with. The ones who are in it for the wrong reasons, like power, fame or sex. Often, the larger the jobs, the larger that pool of people.

 

 

Kong: Skull Island frequently comes up as a watershed moment for the development of the production services infrastructure of Vietnam. As a key player in making this production happen, what do you see as the lasting legacy of that project eight years later?

 

First, some context. In 1997, just as everything was starting to open up in Vietnam, a dramatic event extinguished the light of hope to bring production to Vietnam when the filming permit for a James Bond movie were withdrawn. The whole production had arrived, had started to work and left overnight, wrapping before the cameras started rolling.

 

20 years later, when the opportunity arose anew with Kong: Skull Island the authorities had learned the lesson of 20 years of darkness. Ten years later, today, the Vietnamese government is actively promoting and working on bringing international production into the country, easing the process and their involvement in the creative process to work together with filmmakers.

 

I do hope that the tariff on films that are being spoken of as we talk today in May 2025 will not cut the ground from under the feet of international production in Vietnam by putting tariffs on productions made outside of the US – even if Vietnam doesn’t offer any tax incentives. On the flipside, it could put Vietnam on an equal playing field with other countries that do offer financial incentives to film in their countries.

 

Tell us about the crews in Vietnam. What can an international production expect to get for their money here? 

 

Thirty years ago, there were less than 30 cinemas in all of Vietnam. Today there are over 1,100 screens and the film industry is very active with 74 Vietnamese films produced in 2019, a number that will continue to rise if current trends hold.

 

Back then you needed interpreters for every position. Today, the new generations of filmmakers are all bilingual... a lot of them have studied overseas. The MacGyvers of yesterday now are all into AI, tech-savvy, and are up to date with the latest equipment. And they still have the same eagerness to learn and to work on international production.

 

 

There’s been all sorts of ups and downs in the industry over the last 5-7 years — pandemic, world wars, economic and other uncertainty. How has the company evolved to meet the challenges of the unknown?  

 

I don’t think it’s by luck (or coincidence) that the company is still here after 30 years. Hundreds of competitive shops have popped up like mushrooms after the rain over the years. I think I’ve built a tree with deep roots: mushrooms eat each other, and my tree grows from their ashes.

 

We used to have everything in-house. Dozens of producers could be working at the same time on different projects. We had up to six crewed editing rooms, two sound recording rooms, a grading room, two sound stages and a hive full of PAs, costume and makeup working full time.
Over the years, the hundreds of people we’ve trained all greedily set up (competitive) shop to take over our share of the local market, but with the commercial industry doing a reverse metamorphosis, and cannibalism in the rat race, there wasn’t any cake left and most of them closed.

 

For us, we never really cared about what they were doing because we had other plans: we concentrated on international production services and got much leaner. I feel like I was piloting an Antonov An-225. But with the pandemic and the war in Europe, I've traded my burdensome cargo for a Rafale fighter jet.

 

What words would you offer to anyone considering filming in Vietnam? 

 

We have a very competitive offer with the CREATVAsia initiative, where we not only offer Vietnam but also neighboring territories to offer the best of Asia’s diverse and picturesque locations. Whether you’re lost in the jungle – finding your way out of the quagmire to the clearing of stability, accessibility, and affordability – or seeking an ideal beachside location over 3,000km of continuous coastline, there’s a film-friendly destination ideal for your production.

 

 

The CREATV Company is coming up on 30 years since it began operations. What would you describe as the biggest triumphs and lessons learned of the company you founded? 

 

In ’95, arriving in Vietnam with my Sony Hi-8 handicam, Sure microphone and walkman, I’m proud of the company I built and the great team that we have built today. It’s not about the equipment; it’s about the people.

 

In 2000, I started a project that was the documentation of Vietnam’s development following the “Vision 2020” initiated by the Vietnamese government putting Vietnam on track to be a modern country. As we reached the year 2020, and I was about to close that chapter, unfortunately, the pandemic came and everything stopped. You could say, arriving in 2020, there was a glitch on the lense, but we’ve cleaned it and can continue. See you in 2034!