The launch of the newly-established Culture and Movie Centre, and the upgrade of the Le Do Cinema, are expected to satisfy the demand for entertainment from local residents and visitors.

Some Tra Cang primary school pupils in Quang Nam Province’s Nam Tra My District going to the Le Do Cinema for watching films.

Currently, the Le Do Cinema at 46 Tran Phu Street is the only State movie theatre operating in Da Nang. It was built before 1975 and was upgraded once in 1993.

In October 2016, 121m² of the front area of the cinema was handed over to the construction unit of a tunnel project which took Tran Phu under Le Duan. Therefore, the current area of ​​the cinema is only 500m², which is not suitable for building cinema type 3 with required area of 1ha, type 2 with between 1.5 and 2ha, and type 1 with 3ha.

Meanwhile, the cinema’s movie equipment is totally outdated in comparison with the advanced machines used in other local movie theatres.

Since last year, the cinema has only hosted international film festivals. Very few tickets have been purchased at the cinema although the venue has offered a wide selection of new and best films to cinema-goers.

In attempting to solve the problem, the municipal authorities have given the green light to spend 5 billion VND from the city’s budget on upgrading the Le Do Cinema. The upgrade work is scheduled to begin early next year.

The upgrade will include building 3 movie rooms, purchasing HD projectors, redecorating the front of the cinema, improving the interior decorations, and upgrading the air conditioning system and other downgraded items.

Mr Ngo Van Bay, Director of the municipal Culture and Movie Centre, highlighted the importance of the upgrade of the Le Do Cinema in maintaining its operation, matching with the future development strategy of the local film industry, and laying the foundation for the operation of the Centre in the years ahead.

Earlier, on 11 September, the municipal Department of Culture and Sports had announced the establishment of the Culture and Movie Centre.

The Centre was established based on a merger between the local Events and Festival Organising Centre, the Cinema and Film Distribution Centre, and the Culture Centre.

The newly-established Centre takes the responsibility for publicising the guidelines and policies of the Party, State and the city; organising cultural events, and film festivals; and managing and operating the Le Do Cinema effectively.

In addition, the Centre will establish a club for movie lovers, organise film storytelling contests, and screen classic Vietnamese films on weekends.

Mr Huynh Van Hung, Director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, hoped that the city would host even more high-quality cultural, arts and cinema activities in the coming time. This will help to enhance the effective operation of the soon-to-be-upgraded cinema and the newly-established Centre, and satisfy the increasing demand of movie lovers.