Chương I Luật Điện ảnh 2022: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Law provides for cinematographic activities; rights, tasks, and responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities; state management of cinematography.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Vietnamese agencies, organizations, and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities in Vietnam and abroad.

2. Foreign organizations and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities in Vietnam.

3. State management agencies of cinematography; agencies, organizations, and individuals related to cinematographic activities.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

For the purpose of this Law, the following terms shall be construed as follows:

1. “Cinematography” is a general art industry that applies audio-visual technology and creative techniques to produce films.

2. “Film” means a cinematographic work whose content is expressed by consecutive moving images or images created by technical and technological devices and has audio (or not) and other effects according to the principles of cinematographic language. A film is recorded on materials used in the cinematographic industry or via digital methods or other means of digital equipment and disseminated to viewers, including feature films, documentaries, cartoons, and films of combined genres.

Films do not include recording products for disseminating news on radio, television, and the internet; art shows, video games, recording products that show the activity of one or more people and describe events and situations, or reality shows.

3. “Cinematographic activities” means activities of producing, distributing films, promoting the development of cinematography, submitting films for legal deposit and archive, and training the cinematographic personnel.

4. “Cinematographic industry” is a creative economy in the field of culture that uses artistic talent and cultural potential combined with technology and business skills to create cinematographic works and services.

5. "Cinematographic facilities” are enterprises, public service providers, and other organizations established by organizations or individuals engaged in cinematographic activities according to this Law and relevant laws.

6. “Film production” means the process of creating a film, from developing the script to completing the film. 

7. “Film distribution” means trading, purchasing, selling, leasing, exporting, or importing films.

8. “Film dissemination” means making films available to viewers via film screenings in cinemas, public screening venues, headquarters of diplomatic missions, foreign cultural agencies established in Vietnam, on television, the internet, and other audio-visual media. 

9. “Film rating” means the appraisal of film content, classification of films for appropriate dissemination according to viewers’ age, or prohibition against dissemination.

10. “Film script” is the entire content of a film expressed in writing or other characters on materials used in the cinematographic industry, via digital methods, or other means of technical equipment.

11. “Film owners" are organizations or individuals that financially invest in physical and technical facilities to produce films, buy film ownership, or are gifted or inherited films and other forms as prescribed by law.

12. “Vietnamese film” means a film permitted to disseminate in Vietnam according to this Law that has at least 2 of the following factors: the director has Vietnamese nationality, a Vietnamese cinematographic facility engaged in the film production, the owner or co-owner of the film is a Vietnamese organization or individual.

13. “Provision of film production services” means the provision of means, technical equipment, backgrounds, personnel, and other activities related to film production.

14. “Studio” means a place to shoot film footage that meets the requirements of space and technical equipment to set up suitable backgrounds for film production, including indoor and outdoor studios.

15. “Public screening venues" are theatres, houses of culture, exhibition places, cultural centers, clubs, accommodation service establishments, catering establishments, disco clubs, shops, stores, stadiums, arenas, squares, public transportations, and other means or places where film screenings are held.

Article 4. Principles of cinematographic activities

1. Develop advanced Vietnamese cinematography imbued with national identity, meeting the People's demand for cultural and artistic enjoyment and international integration.

2. Preserve and promote cultural and traditional values, ensuring humanism, aesthetics, and entertainment.

3. Respect and ensure creative freedom within the framework of the law, and protect the intellectual property rights of organizations and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities.

4. Ensure equality and fair competition of organizations and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities and the development of the cinematographic industry.

5. Develop the cinematographic industry in compliance with market rules and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

6. Use the state budget and social resources to invest in and support cinematography in an effective, public, transparent, targeted, and focused manner, prioritizing the highlands, mountainous areas, borders, islands, ethnic minority areas, and rural areas.

7. Comply with regulations of the law, socio-ethical standards, and professional ethics and take responsibility for developing a healthy business culture.

Article 5. State policies on the development of cinematography and the cinematographic industry

1. The State shall promulgate policies on the mobilization of resources, implement measures to ensure a safe environment for investment and business, develop the cinematographic market, and facilitate organizations and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities to develop a cinematographic industry in association with the socio-economic development and international integration.

2. The State shall invest in and support the following activities:

a) Film production implemented according to the plan to serve political tasks on the topics of history, revolution, leaders, notables, national heroes, children, highlands, mountainous areas, borders, islands, ethnic minority areas, and preservation and promotion of Vietnamese cultural values;

b) Compilation of film scripts, distribution and dissemination of films, provision of organization budget, technical means and equipment to disseminate films to highlands, mountainous areas, borders, islands, ethnic minority areas, and rural areas and children, armed forces, and other tasks of politic, society, diplomacy, and education;

c) Organization of national film festivals, international festivals, specialized or thematic film festivals, film programs, film weeks in Vietnam; film awards and film competitions at national and international levels; Vietnamese film festivals, film programs, and film weeks abroad.

d) Receive the transfer of ownership and rights to use film scripts and films with high ideological and artistic values for dissemination, education, research, archive, and political tasks; processes of editing, translating, and subtitling films to introduce Vietnam and its citizens;

dd) Development of film ratiocination and criticism; dissemination, introduction, and orientation of cinematographic aesthetics;

e) Research and application of scientific and technological achievements to cinematographic activities;

g) Development and promotion of the Vietnamese cinematographic brand;

h) Construction and repair of technical-physical facilities and studios for film production, distribution, dissemination, and submission for legal deposit and archive;

i) Development of a statistical infrastructure system and database of the cinematographic industry.

3. The State shall promulgate incentive policies on credit, tax, and land for organizations and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities as prescribed by law.

4. The State shall encourage organizations and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article and the following activities:

a) Production, distribution, and dissemination of films; promotion of the development of cinematography; international cooperation, scientific research, technology transfer, provision of digital services for the development of cinematography;

b) Provision of services of finance, credit, guarantee, and mortgage of intellectual property rights and insurance products for the development of cinematography;

c) Provision of sponsorships and gifts for cinematographic activities and cinematographic development support funds established by organizations or individuals.

5. The Government of Vietnam shall elaborate Point d and Point e Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 6. Development of cinematographic personnel

1. The State shall promulgate policies to attract, provide training and advanced training, facilitate the development of cinematographic talents, especially young talents, and provide appropriate remuneration to improve the quality of cinematographic personnel.

2. The State shall prioritize investing in, developing training facilities and training majors specialized in cinematography that meet the international standards and providing support to art and culture training facilities for specialized training or joint cinematography training in Vietnam and abroad.

3. The State shall encourage training, advanced training, and technology transfer for the development of cinematographic personnel serving the production, distribution, and dissemination of films via the implementation of programs, projects of the State, and international cooperation; combine cinematographic personnel training with research and application of science and technology.

Article 7. Socio-political-vocational organizations and socio-vocational organizations of cinematography

Socio-political-vocational organizations and socio-vocational organizations of cinematography that are established and operate according to the Law on Associations of Vietnam shall:

1. Protect the rights and legal benefits of their members as prescribed by law;

2. Participate in developing, disseminating, and providing education in policies and laws on cinematography;

3. Participate in promoting and providing training and knowledge of cinematography; develop a healthy environment of professional activities and business for their members; mobilize social resources to implement cinematographic activities as prescribed by law;

4. Develop and organize the implementation of the code of professional ethics; mobilize their members, organizations, and individuals engaged in cinematographic activities to comply with the law;

5. Detect and request competent state agencies to handle violations of the Law on Cinematography of Vietnam.

Article 8. Foreign-invested cooperation in cinematographic activities

1. Foreign organizations and individuals may cooperate with Vietnamese cinematographic facilities in investing in the production, distribution, and dissemination of films according to the Law on Investment of Vietnam under the following forms:

a) Establishment of foreign-invested organizations, capital contribution investment, share purchase, purchase of contributed capital, in which the foreign investor’s capital does not exceed 51% of the charter capital;

b) Agreement on cooperative business.

2. Houses of culture, cinema units, public cinema clubs and associations, and mobile cinema teams of Vietnam shall not participate in the agreement on cooperative business or joint ventures with foreign service providers.

Article 9. Prohibited contents and acts in cinematographic activities

1. Prohibition against contents that:

a) Violate the Constitution and laws; incite opposition to or sabotage the implementation of the Constitution and laws;

b) Disseminate contents that oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; sabotage the great national unity bloc; damage the interests of Vietnam, its people, and cultural values; insult the National Flag, Communist Party of Vietnam Flag, National Emblem, and National Anthem;

c) Disseminate or incite invasive wars, cause hatred and discrimination among ethnic groups and the people of different countries; disseminate reactionary ideology and social crimes; sabotage social culture and ethics;

d) Distort the national history, deny revolutionary achievements; insult the nation, notables, and national heroes; inappropriately express or infringe the national sovereignty; slander and insult the reputation of agencies, organizations, and the honor and dignity of individuals;

dd) Disseminate and support terrorism and extremism;

e) Incite and insult religions and belief; disseminate and promote illegal belief and religious activities

g) Disclose state secrets, personal secrets of an individual, and other secrets as prescribed by law;

h) Incite violence, criminal acts via by detailing measures, images, sounds, dialogues, scenes of beating, torture, murder in a brutal manner, and acts of insulting human dignity, unless such contents are used to criticize, denounce, or condemn crimes and uphold justice, honor traditional and cultural values;

i) Show details of lewd, depraved, incestuous images, sounds, and dialogues;

k) Violate legal rights and benefits of children and minors

l) Violate principles of gender equality, gender stereotypes, and gender discrimination.

2. Prohibition against acts of:

a) Distributing or disseminating films in cinemas, on television, and public screening venues without the Film Rating License of competent state agencies of cinematography or the Broadcast Decision of press agencies with television operation permits;

b) Disseminating films on the internet without classifying such films or displaying the results of film ratings as prescribed by this Law;

c) Changing or falsifying contents of films and film rating results regarding films with Film Rating Licenses or Broadcast Decisions;

d) Producing, distributing, and disseminating films and submitting films for legal deposit and archive without compliance with this Law, the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam, and relevant laws;

dd) Distributing and disseminating films subject to revocation of Film Rating Licenses or Broadcast Decisions;

e) Making copies of films without the consent of their owners, unless otherwise prescribed by the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam;

g) Not notifying competent state agencies when disseminating films in public screening venues;

h) Appraising and issuing Film Rating Licenses contrary to the law.