The shift to a market economy in 1986 dealt a blow to Vietnamese filmmaking, which struggled to compete with video and television. The number of films produced in Vietnam has dropped off sharply since 1987.
Still, a number of filmmakers continued to produce film that would be seen on the arthouse circuit. These include Trần Văn Thủy’s Hà Nội trong mắt ai? (Hanoi Through Whose Eyes?, 1983) and Chuyện tử tế (Story of Good Behavior, 1987) and Trần Anh Trà’s Người công giáo huyện Thống Nhất (A Catholic in Thống Nhất District, 1985), Trần Vũ’s Anh và em (Siblings, 1986), Ðặng Nhật Minh’s Cô gái trên sông (Girl on the River, 1987), Nguyển Khắc Lợi’s Tướng về hưu (The Retired General) and Ðặng Nhật Minh’s Mùa ổi (Guava Season, 2001).
Trần Văn Thủy's Tiếng vĩ cầm ở Mỹ Lai (The Sound of the Violin at My Lai) won Best Short Film prize at the 43rd Asia Pacific Film Festival in 1999. Đời cát (Sandy Life) by Nguyễn Thanh won best picture at the same festival the following year.
Bùi Thạc Chuyên's Cuốc xe đêm (Night Cyclo Trip) won third prize in the short film category at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000.
Better known, however, are European productions in Vietnam, such as The Lover and Indochine, as well as films by Việt Kiều directors Tran Anh Hung and Tony Bui.
Tran's first feature, The Scent of the Green Papaya won the Golden Camera at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993 and was the first Vietnamese film nominated for an Oscar in 1994. His other films include Xích lô (Cyclo, 1995) and Mùa hè chiều thẳng đứng (Vertical Ray of the Sun) in 2000.
Tony Bui's Ba mùa (Three Seasons, 1998) won prizes at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998.
Another European co-production, Mùa len trâu (The Buffalo Boy) by Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh, has won numerous awards at film festivals, including the Chicago International Film Festival in 2004.
In recent years, Vietnamese filmmakers have moved in more commercial directions to try and regain audiences lost to television and DVDs.
One of the most successful films of recent years at the Vietnamese box office has been Phi Tiến Sơn’s Lưới trời (Heaven's Net), a film about corruption that closely mirrors the trial of Ho Chi Minh City gangster Nam Cam.
An even bigger film was 2002's Le Hoang's Gai nhay (Bar Girls), which depicted Ho Chi Minh City's titillating and seedy nightlife while also warning of the dangers of HIV and AIDS. Featurng the first government-approved topless scene, it spawned a sequel, Lọ lem hè phố (Street Cinderella) in 2004. Another film along these lines is Nữ tướng cướp (Gangsta Girls).
There are also comedy-romance films, such as Hon Truong Ba Da Hang Thit (Truong Ba's Soul in Butcher's Body) in 2006 Khi dan ong co bau (When Men Get Pregnant) from 2004