Developing the market for Vietnamese historical feature films: Lessons from the film Red Rain

Abstract

This article examines the success of the film Red Rain as a representative case illustrating the transformation of Vietnamese historical cinema in the context of cultural industry development. Employing a case study methodology combined with a comparative approach, the study focuses on how Red Rain transcends the limitations of propaganda films to emerge as a cultural-commercial product with strong market appeal. Based on this case, the article offers lessons for the development of the Vietnamese historical film market, including positioning historical cinema as a potential market segment, promoting public-private partnerships in film production and distribution, adopting strategies to engage young audiences, implementing multi-platform promotion, developing multi-channel distribution, and building brand identities associated with ancillary cultural products. The findings affirm the feasibility of commercialising historical and cultural values, while also suggesting a new approach to the study of historical cinema as a distinctive cultural-economic product in the context of globalisation.