A film production method for producing a thin film on a surface of a workpiece, including the steps of: disposing the workpiece in a chamber; supplying a process gas into the chamber with the inside of the chamber being maintained at a predetermined pressure; applying a light having an energy between 3 eV and 10 eV to the surface of the workpiece to cause a photoelectron to be emitted from the surface of the workpiece; and applying an AC electric field to the surface of the workpiece, wherein the AC electric field has an electric field intensity causing a Townsend discharge to occur without generating a glow discharge plasma.