National Cinema Center’s website crashes from state-produced war film booking surge

The poster of the film "Dao, Pho Va Piano." Photo from National Cinema Center Facebook

The film is currently exclusively distributed by the National Cinema Center.

This surge in traffic was attributed to the unexpectedly high interest from the audience, which was referred to by Vu Duc Tung, the acting director of the National Cinema Center in an interview with Tuoi Tre Newspaper, as "an unprecedented phenomenon."

As a response to the website’s crash, which remained unresolved as of Monday, the Center advised on Facebook that tickets should be purchased through its app, bank apps, and e-wallets, instead of its website.

"Dao, Pho Va Piano" made its debut on Feb. 10, coinciding with the first day of the Lunar New Year and initially offered three screenings daily. Early showings saw theaters filled to between a third and a half of their capacity, as per Tung.

However, due to escalating demand, the frequency of screenings was increased and reached 15 showings starting from Monday, with all tickets sold out until Tuesday. The film is expected to continue screening for at least a month.

According to VTV, "Dao, Pho Va Piano" portrays a young couple’s journey to reunite on Feb. 17, 1947, the last day of the 60-day Battle of Hanoi which signaled the start of the First Indochina War.

Directed by Phi Tien Son and commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism along with the Cinema Department, the film was produced by Film No. 1 Joint Stock Company at a cost of VND20 billion (US$815,080).