"Elizaveta" and "Five Minutes of Silence"
At the international film market Telefilm Vietnam, which took place from 8thto 10th June in Ho Chi Minh City, Russian companies presented to Vietnamese and Asian distributors a kaleidoscope of new series, from historical dramas to comedies and detective stories. The joint Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) stand was organized by ROSKINO, the Russian film promotion body.
"Sisters", from START online cinema, is a comedy melodrama—the story of three sisters who have long become strangers to each other, but after the death of their father are forced to manage the family business together. The project was interesting for Vietnamese buyers as comedy projects about family life have often been successful there. Filming for season 2 has already begun. The online cinema START also presented original series: the comedy dystopia “The No Man Zone”, the mystical drama “Passengers”, which became the best mini-series at the Seoul International Drama Awards in 2021; the youth series “The Gig”; and the dramedy “Eva in Labor”.
"Elizaveta", from Russia Television and Radio, is an adventure drama by the same talented team who created the historical saga “Ekaterina”, which was screened in Vietnam in 2019 with great success. In the new series, the love affairs of the young princess Elizaveta are combined with dynamic scenes of chases, duels, and fights. Vietnamese viewers are well acquainted with the content produced by the Russia Television and Radio. In addition to “Ekaterina”, since 2018, Vietnam Television (VTV) has also aired the television series “Two Legends”, “Volition”, “Sophia”, and the feature films “The Spy” and “The Soul of a Spy”. Sovteleexport, the official content distributor of Russia Television and Radio, noted that a few years ago content from Russia was alien to modern Vietnamese audiences, but participation in film markets in China, South Korea, and Vietnam over the past few years has significantly increased the interest of channels and distributors.
"Five Minutes of Silence", from NTV Broadcasting Company, is a drama about a search and rescue squad. They have become legends because in each rescue operation the heroes manage to find a way out of an impossible situation—ways sometimes bordering on madness. NTV series are already familiar to Vietnamese viewers: in 2019, Arait Multimedia, acquired the rights to the action-packed drama “Countdown” in Vietnam. NTV company stressed that in recent years, Vietnamese interest in foreign content has been growing, primarily through OTT services, and "Five Minutes of Silence" could become a window on Russia for Vietnamese audiences.
"Patient Zero", from SREDA, is a drama about the first HIV outbreak in the USSR in 1988. The main role in the series is played by the Kazakhstan actor, Askar Ilyasov. Series and films produced by SREDA are universal and appeal to different cultures and generations. For SREDA, Vietnam is a new direction for development and sales. More and more Asian partners have become interested in the formats of the company's original series. The rights to adapt the successful TV series “Silver Spoon” have already been sold to Korea and negotiations are underway on several projects to create remakes in India and the UAE; the MENA region also regularly reviews series to create local versions. At Telefilm Vietnam, in addition to the drama “Patient Zero”, the company also presented the series “Chimera”, the story of the formation of an entire shadow empire, as well as the hit series “Alibi” and “Married Life Scenes”.
"The Right Guy to Marry" from Russkoe Film Company, is a life-affirming comedy melodrama about a rich heiress who, having learned about the betrayal of her fiancé, marries the next man she meets. Such a story will find an audience in any part of the world, and Arabic streaming platforms have already shown interest in this series.
"The Kidney" from KION, is a dramedy about a 32-year-old fire inspector Natasha who is intelligent, cold-blooded, and manipulative. For the sake of profit, she will stop at nothing, not even undressing her own brother and sister. Natasha thinks that everything in life can be bought—friends, apartments, premium brand clothes and a handsome boyfriend. But she is wrong. She finds out her kidneys have failed and she only has 3 months to live without a transplant—the search for a donor is on.