VIETNAM FILM INSTITUTE HANDED
LAOS ARCHIVING FILMS OVER TO LAOS

Dr. Ngo Hieu Chi

On July 6^th, 1998 the Ceremony Repatriating of 1192 Laos film reels, which were preserved at Vietnam Film Institute (VFI) to Laos National Film Archive were organized solemnly in Hanoi with the attendance of Vietnam Vice Minister of Culture and Information Nguyen Trung Kien and Director of Mass Culture Department responsible for Cinematography of Laos Ministry of Information and Culture Bousaone Phongphavanh.

To acknowledge the merit of the Vietnam Film Institute for Collecting, Repairing, and Preserving the above films for the past 38 years, especially in the fierce anti-American war time and Handing Over them to Laos unconditionally, on January 4^th, 1999 in Hanoi, on behalf of Laos State and Government, Laos Minister of Information and Culture presented to Vietnam Film Institute the second class Laos noble medal Isala.

Since 1965 in Vietnam the film archivists began to collect films to preserve them permanently and construct the National Archiving Film Collection of Vietnam. While collecting Vietnamese films, they found some films recording images of activities of Laos people and Government, of the anti-American war in Laos and also some Laos feature films. They were still in Vietnam because in 1960s and 1970s in Laos, or to be exact in Laos struggling areas there were no conditions for film processing, so the Laos filmmakers had to manufacture their films in Vietnam. When coming back Laos, they generally brought only positive copies to show, and left the negative original films, duplicate films and some positive films also.

Preserved in the same film storage of Vietnam Film Collection, the Laos films were arranged on the separate cataloguing cards and film shelves from Vietnamese films because they were determined to hand over to Laos in a favorable condition. However, they were also repaired and preserved like the films of Vietnamese Film Collection until they were transferred to Laos. For a long time, Vietnam Film collectors have sought at film studios, film distribution companies, and even cinema theaters in provinces and cities in Vietnam the archiving films to add the Nation Film Collection, among them included Laos films. By the end of 1980s, the number of Laos films in Hanoi film storage amounted to 1000 reels.

In 1985, Vietnam Film Institute informed the Cinema Department, Laos Ministry of Information and Culture about these films and willing to hand them over to Laos. In this period, the film storage of Laos Film Archive was a temporary house, was just destroyed by flood about 200 film reels on the floor. Therefore, in one hand the Laos Film Archive had to construct the new film storage quickly (started in 1986), on the other hand, they requested Vietnam Film Institute to preserve these films for a longer time until the film storage has suitable conditions for film preserving. In 1994, Mr. Bounchao Phichit and Mr. Sythone Cholakham – Vice Directors of Laos Film Archive came to Hanoi to investigate Laos films in Vietnam Film Institute and Mr. Nguyen Thang, Head of Film Cataloguing visited Vientiane to supervise film storage of Laos Film Archive. Due to unsuitable equipments (there was only 1 small air conditioner for 4 film vaults), the film preserving equipments were very poor also, the Laos and Vietnamese leaders agreed to cancel the Film Handing Over in this period. In the early of 1998, the new film storage in Vientiane was completed construction and was equipped with suitable dehumidifiers and air conditioners, temperature reached 8°C and humidity 40%RH. As a result, in March 1998, the leaders of Laos Cinema Department and Laos Film Archive came to Vietnam Film Institute to inform the film preserving condition and plan to hand these films over to Laos with an aim to supplement Laos Film Collection. In May 1998, Prof. Tran Luan Kim, Director of VFI and Dr. Ngo Hieu Chi, Senior Manager of Film Preservation came to Vientiane to supervise Laos’s film storage and preserving equipments and discussed carefully the transferring program and in July 1998, the Repatriation Ceremony was organized as said above.

We hope the Film Repatriation from Vietnam to Laos not only stick the relationship between the two countries, Laos and Vietnam, but also realize a "Working Together to Preserve our Heritage" in our SEAPAVAA.

Hanoi, March 1999