The director of 'The Ghost Lamp' expresses his outrage: "I am being relentlessly attacked and slandered."
The director of the film "The Ghost Lamp" angrily spoke out when the film was embroiled in plagiarism rumors, claiming that his work had become a victim of a dirty media campaign.
In the middleGhost LampDespite surprising box office success with impressive revenues exceeding 67 billion VND (as of noon on February 12th, according to Box Office Vietnam data), director Hoang Nam's debut feature film unexpectedly became embroiled in a plagiarism controversy, leaving him visibly upset.
On his personal page, director Hoang Nam wrote that the information circulating on social media aboutGhost LampPlagiarism is creating "negative public opinion," significantly impacting his personal reputation and the film he poured his heart into.
The young filmmaker asserted:"From the beginning, 'The Ghost Lamp' didn't want to compete with anyone. The film was made with dedication and passion, aiming to give viewers a sense of pride in how wonderful Vietnamese culture and landscapes can be showcased on screen, and that it has the potential to be exported internationally."
Director Hoang Nam believes that theGhost LampReleased at a time when the Lunar New Year film market was experiencing fierce competition, the film inadvertently became a target in unhealthy media battles.
“I don't have the ability to engage in seeding or dirty media tactics; I approach filmmaking with sincerity. I'm happy to be well-received by the audience and delighted to receive praise from leading film experts. Currently, I'm being relentlessly attacked and slandered with untrue and biased accusations such as plagiarism…”", he wrote.
Director Hoang Nam emphasized the role of impartiality and viewer power in "deciding the fate of national cinema." He posed the question:"In the future, will Vietnamese cinema be a race of quality or a race of media attention?"
He expressed concern that if audiences are "misled by the media" and "lack independent judgment and personal opinions," genuine filmmakers will be "fearful" and "national culture will be manipulated," making it difficult for Vietnamese cinema to "reach the international stage" like other developed film industries.
DirectorGhost LampWe also hope that all levels of government will get involved to "help create a healthy environment for the film industry, so that genuine artists can feel secure in creating and contributing."
The movieGhost LampHe is facing accusations of "borrowing" ideas from several foreign films, includingExhuming graves to find evil spirits (Exhuma)of South Korea and horror seriesInsidiousandThe Furtherof Hollywood.
Regarding this, Hoang Nam explained that the custom of "exorcism and soul projection" is a common feature in both Korean and Vietnamese culture; his work is not plagiarized.Grave-digging and vengeful spiritsAnd he hadn't even seen the other films mentioned in the allegations.
He emphasized that the topic of exorcism or soul-exorcism is not exclusive to Korea or other countries, and cited the famous story of "Pham Cong Cuc Hoa" from Vietnamese folklore as an example.
Ghost Lampinspired byThe Story of the Girl from Nam XuongThe story centers around Thuong, a hardworking woman who single-handedly cares for her son, Linh, while waiting for her husband to return from military service. One day, young Linh finds a strange lamp and begins calling the shadow cast on the wall his father. The village shaman warns that it is a ghost lamp, capable of summoning evil spirits.
