Netflix to soon debut made-in-Vietnam movie

Netflix will make an April debut for “A Tourist's Guide to Love,” Netflix’s first and fully-captured-in-Vietnam movie with an investment of $3.5 million, said Josephine Choy, vice president and general counsel, Asia Pacific, of the streaming giant.

She made the statement at a meeting with the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Culture and Education Committee in Hanoi on Friday. Choy affirmed the move would demonstrate Vietnam’s beauty and culture to 190 nations via the Netflix platform, while lauding Vietnam’s assistance during the filmmaking process in 2022.

She added that Netflix is willing to cooperate with Vietnamese partners to bring Vietnamese products to the global stage. The company has so far brought about 200 Vietnamese films to its platforms and collaborated with local agencies to create subtitles and voice-overs for some Netflix movies.

Besides, Choy said Netflix is willing to enhance Vietnam’s innovative economy, as part of the country’s digital economy, and urged the country to lift barriers and hurdles in the sector.

Nguyen Dac Vinh, head of the National Assembly’s Culture and Education Committee, welcomed Netflix’s investments in Vietnam and said the country’s legislative body would facilitate Netflix’s activities.

One day earlier, Choy had a meeting with Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam. She said Netflix is working with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to set up its Vietnam representative office and called on the Ministry of Information and Communications to support the process.

On Tuesday, at a working session with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Choy expressed Netflix’s backing to the ministry in updating the legal framework for cinematography, particularly terms related to movies on Internet-based platforms.

The Vietnamese government’s Decree 71/2022 stipulates foreign over-the-top (OTT) service providers in the Vietnamese market, such as Netflix, iFlix, WeTV, iQiYi, must set up legal entities in Vietnam. The OTT television service in Vietnam recorded a revenue of VND1.55 trillion ($65.97 million) in 2022, up 26.2% year-on-year versus 2017, with 22 firms and 5.5 million subscribers, according to the information ministry.