TV series for children continue to lag
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Another summer has come and young audiences of Vietnamese television may continue to be disappointed at the few film choices available to them.
Of the five TV series for audiences under 18 to be broadcast on Ho Chi Minh Television (HTV) this summer, only three cater to children.
Trang Teo, a 30-episode drama produced by Saiga Film tells a story about 10-year-old Teo who loves to reason and solve his family’s daily problems in his own way.
Phieu luu mua he (The Summer Adventure) and Nhiem vu dac biet (Special Mission) are more adventurous with city kid characters spending their summer in the countryside and discovering secrets of the place.
While the first, with 15 episodes produced by TFS, follows a group of young kids in their search for a gang of wood smugglers, the second is about a summer away from home of Kiet, a spoiled young boy who is sent to his grandparents as a cure for his online game addiction.
Despite such a modest number, the current children’s film scene on TV seems much brighter in HCMC than in Hanoi, where no new series is produced for young audiences this summer.
Explaining the problem, screenwriter Doan Truc Quynh said Hanoi TV stations don’t have many scripts for children’s films and whatever they have aren’t of good quality.
Quynh said almost no screenwriter writes children’s films for TV these days and almost all of the most successful series, Dat rung Phuong Nam (Southern Lands and Forests) to Kinh van hoa (Kaleidescope) have been adapted from literature.
A lack of professional child actors is another problem, Quynh said.
Director Dinh Duc Liem, an established named in the industry who made Vai dien dau doi (The First Role) about a young boy who loves cai luong (southern folk opera) agreed.
He said Vietnamese child actors are not professional actors and most are introduced by word of mouth or come from amateur children’s drama groups.
“This makes it very hard for us to choose our actors,” Liem said. He said it was simply pure luck that he discovered Vo Thanh Hoa, the lead actor for The First Role.
“Kids now have to study all day, their schoolwork is tremendous and there is no way their parents can let them take months off for filming,” Liem said. “Only a very few families with a real passion for this medium can allow their kids to take acting classes after school.”
Liem said training is important and it is easier to work with young actors who have some basic training, even though a natural talent is ultimately the most important asset.
For his part, Do Thanh Hai, director of the Vietnam Television Film Centre (VFC) which have produced well-received films such as Doi dac nhiem nha C21 (The Task Force of Apartment C21), said the reason there is few children’s films on TV is little demand.
“There are not many orders to make this kind of film at production companies like us,” Hai said, adding that there is also competition from other forms for young audiences such as cartoon networks, singing contests or VTV6, Vietnam Television’s youth channel.
Of the five TV series for audiences under 18 to be broadcast on Ho Chi Minh Television (HTV) this summer, only three cater to children.
Trang Teo, a 30-episode drama produced by Saiga Film tells a story about 10-year-old Teo who loves to reason and solve his family’s daily problems in his own way.
Phieu luu mua he (The Summer Adventure) and Nhiem vu dac biet (Special Mission) are more adventurous with city kid characters spending their summer in the countryside and discovering secrets of the place.
While the first, with 15 episodes produced by TFS, follows a group of young kids in their search for a gang of wood smugglers, the second is about a summer away from home of Kiet, a spoiled young boy who is sent to his grandparents as a cure for his online game addiction.
Despite such a modest number, the current children’s film scene on TV seems much brighter in HCMC than in Hanoi, where no new series is produced for young audiences this summer.
Explaining the problem, screenwriter Doan Truc Quynh said Hanoi TV stations don’t have many scripts for children’s films and whatever they have aren’t of good quality.
Quynh said almost no screenwriter writes children’s films for TV these days and almost all of the most successful series, Dat rung Phuong Nam (Southern Lands and Forests) to Kinh van hoa (Kaleidescope) have been adapted from literature.
A lack of professional child actors is another problem, Quynh said.
Director Dinh Duc Liem, an established named in the industry who made Vai dien dau doi (The First Role) about a young boy who loves cai luong (southern folk opera) agreed.
He said Vietnamese child actors are not professional actors and most are introduced by word of mouth or come from amateur children’s drama groups.
“This makes it very hard for us to choose our actors,” Liem said. He said it was simply pure luck that he discovered Vo Thanh Hoa, the lead actor for The First Role.
“Kids now have to study all day, their schoolwork is tremendous and there is no way their parents can let them take months off for filming,” Liem said. “Only a very few families with a real passion for this medium can allow their kids to take acting classes after school.”
Liem said training is important and it is easier to work with young actors who have some basic training, even though a natural talent is ultimately the most important asset.
For his part, Do Thanh Hai, director of the Vietnam Television Film Centre (VFC) which have produced well-received films such as Doi dac nhiem nha C21 (The Task Force of Apartment C21), said the reason there is few children’s films on TV is little demand.
“There are not many orders to make this kind of film at production companies like us,” Hai said, adding that there is also competition from other forms for young audiences such as cartoon networks, singing contests or VTV6, Vietnam Television’s youth channel.
