HÀ NỘI — A young man is under police investigation for illegally livestreaming a movie screened in a cinema in the southern province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu.

The 19-year-old college student from the province, turned himself into police and admitted to livestreaming the film. He and his girlfriend went to the cinema to watch the movie Cô Ba Sài Gòn (The Tailor) on Monday, three days after the movie debuted nationwide. The man livestreamed a third of the 90-minute film and only stopped when he saw a cinema staff member. Part of the movie was shared on a film fanpage of which he is an admin.

One of the two producers of the movie, actress and director Ngô Thanh Vân responded on her Facebook: “I feel hopeless with these cases. It hurts, especially given the effort that the whole team put in to the movie. Producing a movie is already hard, the film market is challenging and now we have to deal with this kind of audience.”

The man then deleted the post after receiving critical comments from netizens. He also sent apology to the producer and went to police to report his wrongdoing on Monday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Vân asked Vũng Tàu police to investigate the case. She said the youth’s act violated the copyright rules.

“Producing a movie may cost from VNĐ5 billion (US$220,000) and even a lot more. Some producers had to give up a great deal for it and even sell their houses and cars to invest in the movie,” said director Nguyễn Quang Dũng. “I understand that the youth may be immature sometimes, but they need to bear responsibility when they reach adulthood.”

The director’s movie Siêu Nhân X (Super X) was also illegally livestreamed in 2015.

Under the Vietnamese Criminal Code, the illegal recording of film and images may be punishable by fines from VNĐ15 million to VNĐ35 million (($660-1,500).

In case the violation causes serious consequences, violators will be fined up to VNĐ200 million ($8,800) or sentenced to up to three years in prison.

Previous movies that have faced the same problem include Tấm Cám-Chuyện Chưa Kể (Tấm Cám-Untold Stories), Lô Tô (Loto) and Em Chưa 18 (Jailbait). 

“Cinema tickets in Việt Nam range from VNĐ50,000 to VNĐ 120,000 (($2.2-$5.3), which is generally affordable for most people, said Nguyễn Minh Ngọc, a 27-year-old movie-goer in Hà Nội. “So I think people would not stop going to cinema to watch the movie just because part of it was livestreamed. As long as the movie is good, I believe that audiences will still choose to watch it in cinema.” — VNS