Vietnamese Horror Film Gets Major Investment

Southeast Asian film investment fund Triple Green CineCapital (TGC) has announced its first investment in Vietnam, partnering with Chanh Phuong Films. This collaboration will back the production of "The Scourge," a horror drama adapted from a popular Vietnamese video game with over 100,000 downloads. The film will retain the game's setting in a haunted apartment building, inspired by a real Ho Chi Minh City location, and enrich it with local urban legends and customs.

Skyline Media is handling international sales, having introduced the project to buyers at the Cannes market last week. Chanh Phuong Films, founded by Vietnamese-American filmmaker Charlie Nguyen, has a track record of producing successful Vietnamese films. TGC, launched last year, focuses on genre films from Southeast Asia, recognizing horror's strong potential due to its visually driven nature which transcends language barriers. The fund cited recent successes from South Korea and Thailand as evidence of horror's global appeal, especially for stories rooted in local folklore.

Leonard Lai, CEO of Triple Green CineCapital, emphasized the significant growth potential in Vietnam and Southeast Asia's film markets. He stated that "The Scourge" was chosen to reinforce the value of original intellectual property and local filmmakers. This partnership signifies TGC's confidence in the Vietnamese entertainment industry and its business plan to distribute Vietnamese films globally. Charlie Nguyen expressed that having a regional partner with a global perspective provides a strong foundation for Vietnamese stories and talent to compete internationally.