HO CHI MINH CITY -- If conflict is at the heart of a good movie, then Vietnam's cinematic tussle is this: Can it attract Hollywood to make movies in the country while still censoring filmmakers?

Under a clause in Vietnam's new Cinema Law, foreign producers must give script summaries to the government in their applications to film locally. © Illustration by Michael Tsang
One-party state's Cinema Law bans 'reactionary ideas and social evils'