Hanoi’s first private studio to work on sitcom

10:22' 25/07/2007 (GMT+7)

Director Do Thanh Hai VietNamNet Bridge - Mesa’s studio, the first studio in Hanoi to be owned by a private entity, is being completed to welcome the film team of a 300-episode foreign-type sitcom titled Merry Apartment this September. According to director Do Thanh Hai, who will be in charge of Merry Apartment, unlike another new film studio to be built in the My Dinh area by Vietnam TV Film Production Company, Mesa’s studio was designed especially for the sitcom’s film team to work there for the next three years at least. Mesa’s studio is situated on an area of 1,000 sq.m in the neighbouring province of Hung Yen, about one hour’s drive from Hanoi. Mesa’s studio has other facilities besides its studio such as office, production and logistics areas to ensure a self-contained system. As for Merry Apartment, it is an ambitious multi-episode TV comedy of the sitcom type which Vietnamese filmmakers have been exploring in recent years. It is based on a Chinese series and will cast familiar comedians in both the north and south like Quang Thang, Van Dung, Hong Van and Bao Quoc. Director Hai said this Chinese sitcom, which is about intricate human relationships and contact within a modern apartment, was a little bit different from western sitcoms such as the popular American show Friends, which has been broadcast on Vietnamese TV. “Western sitcoms don’t have to reflect real life too faithfully so they are freer to explore situations to make audiences laugh. Chinese sitcoms, on the other hand, are more or less influenced by eastern values. “Their dialogues are thus more subdued. Instead of directly tickling people with dialogues, they bring about laughter by the clashes among different characters,” said Mr. Hai. (Source: Tuoi Tre, Viet Nam Net)