Q french film

At the Indie Fest in the U.S., which promotes independent filmmakers and unique voices, the movie won the Award of Excellence for its art direction, and the Award of Merit (Asian Film Feature).

It also won three awards at the Paris International Film Festival: Best Narrative Feature Film 2021; Best International Collaboration 2021; and Best International Actor 2021, which was bagged by actress Hong Phuong.

A “Tinh Yeu Vo Hinh” poster. Photo courtesy of the producer.

In the movie, directed by Chinese director Guo Xiang, Phuong plays Nguyen Thi Hoa, a nurse trying to find love but beset hit by tragedy as she falls in love with American doctor James Marquis (Kazy Tauginas) in the 1930’s French Indochina.

The film is a collaboration of filmmakers in Vietnam, China, and the U.S., with Chair of the Broadcast Journalism department at New York Film Academy, Bill Einreinhofer as executive producer, and a budget of around $500,000, according to IMDb, an online database of information related to films and television programs.

“The subtext of the film is the nature of colonialism, and the corrosive effect it has on both the colonizers as well as those colonized,” Einreinhofer explained.

Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Cinema Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that “Tinh Yeu Vo Hinh” has been licensed for screening in Vietnam. Producers have said the move will hit domestic giant screens this year.

The film week runs from December 21 to December 27, with six classic films about one of the best children’s holidays of the year. The films include “Yellowbird”, “Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion”, “A Reindeer’s Journey”, “Santa & Cie”, “The New Adventures of Aladdin”, and “The Brand New Adventures of Aladdin”.

Among the films, “Yellowbird”, a heartwarming tale of an orphaned bird leading a migration across the world, is a special cinematic work. The film is the first 3D animation to be produced entirely in France with a talented team from Europe. French animator and director Benjamin Renner, co-director of Oscar-nominated “Ernest & Celestine” (2012), created the character designs for the film. The music is the work of British composer Stephen Warbeck, who won an Oscar for his soundtrack to “Shakespeare in Love” (1998).

The remaining films have all been recently made, with funny content close to children bringing messages close to life. Along with the desire to bring the audience warm and happy moments with family and friends, the organizing board also hopes the audience will take the opportunity to understand more about French cinema, in addition to the familiar Christmas works of Hollywood.

‘Les Cowboys’  will be screening at L’Espace at 6pm on Sunday.

HÀ NỘI — L’Espace will present two movies on Sunday as part of its monthly movie screening programme.

The films shown are Le voyage du Prince (The Prince’s Voyage) by directors Jean-François Laguionie and Xavier Picard, and Les Cowboys (The Cowboys) by director Thomas Bidegain.

Inspired by A Monkey’s Tale made over 20 years ago by celebrated animator Laguionie, The Prince’s Voyage is about the old monkey Prince who runs aground on an unknown shore. Injured and lost, he is found by 12 year-old Tom, and taken in by his parents, a couple of scientists who were banished from their community because they believe in the existence of other monkey civilisations. With Tom’s help, Prince discovers a society he knows nothing about, while Tom’s parents decide to use him to prove that their theory was indeed correct.

Les Cowboys is a directorial debut of acclaimed French screenwriter Thomas Bidegain. The 2015 movie, which is about a father searching for his missing daughter with his son, was screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

While Le voyage du Prince will be presented at 3.30pm, Les Cowboys will be screened at 6pm. Ticket costs VNĐ50,000 and available at L’espace, 24 Tràng Tiền Street. VNS

15 years for a film about Uncle Ho

Q: The film “Hanoi mua dong nam 46” (Hanoi in the Winter of 1946), which was written and directed by you, is one of the great cinematographic works on President Ho Chi Minh. It won a prize from the Vietnam Cinematography Association and also helped you gain the best director award at the 1999 Vietnam Film Festival. In your opinion, what is the biggest difficulty when making a film about a historical figure, especially a great leader?

A: I made only film related to President Ho Chi Minh. In my opinion, no matter who the film is about, we must understand the character as our relative. To create the film “Hanoi in the Winter of 1946”, I had to read many books and documents about President Ho Chi Minh in that period.

Q: How did the film on leader Ho Chi Minh have significance for you?

A: I made the film “Hanoi in the Winter of 1946” in 1997; however, my intention to make it came to my mind in 1982 when I watched the Indian movie “Gandhi” for the first time.

Although the methods of fighting for national independence by the two brilliant revolutionaries were different, Gandhi’s peaceable thought was similar to President Ho Chi Minh. It was most evident in 1946 when the Vietnamese leader tried to make concessions to France using all means at his disposal in order to avoid a war. This love of peace is also a characteristic of President Ho Chi Minh’s thought.

I made the film because of another personal reason. My father, doctor Dang Van Ngu, who was doing medical research in Japan at that time, intended to take us and our mother from Hue to Japan for a family reunion. But at the last minute, he read President Ho Chi Minh’s Appeal for National Resistance, so he changed his mind and decided to return to the homeland to join the resistance. I like most recall the time when President Ho Chi Minh wrote the appeal in the house of a farmer on the outskirts of Hanoi. The moment changed the fate of a nation and so many Vietnamese families, including mine. I cherished the project for 15 years. I read many documents and talked with many witnesses and eventually finished the film’s script in 1995.

Q: Up to now, films on Uncle Ho have been mainly documentaries. There have been seven feature films, a very small number whens compared with the great life and career of President Ho Chi Minh as well as the strong distribution of his thought. Is it true that Vietnamese cinema still “owes” audiences good movies on the great leader?

A: Yes. There is truly a “debt” of Vietnamese cinema because indeed, there have not been any outstanding works on Uncle Ho that could satisfy audiences.

Q: After the film “Nha tien tri” (The Prophet) by Vuong Duc in 2015, audiences have seen watched any movie on President Ho Chi Minh. Around 30-50 feature films have been produced per year. However, young directors have not followed previous generations to make the films on the life and career of politicians and leaders. Could you share about the reasons for this?

A: Currently, around 90% of films are produced by private studios. Making movies on the leader and the fight for national reunification and independence is not their responsibility. If State agencies do not accept the responsibility, there will not be such films. The State has paid much attention to investing in the movies on this topic to commemorate major holidays. However, the results are not commensurate with that investment.

Q: In your opinion, what qualities do the young directors need to possess in order to exploit historical topics, especially on revolutionary wars and Uncle Ho?

A: I saw that many young directors have approached the topic of revolution very well. Director Bui Tuan Dung, with the film “Thau Chin o Xiem” (Thau Chin in Siam) on the revolutionary activities of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc in Thailand, is an example. The most important qualities are the passion and seriousness in their work, regardless of age.

People’s Artist, Director Dang Nhat Minh

The last film of his career

Q: In the past, the conditions for film production were tougher, more backward, and stricter than in the current time. However, it seems that the films produced at that time have deeper artistic value although younger directors are trained better and the facilities and equipment for making films are more modern. How can we explain this?

A: There is an objective fact that the audiences’ tastes today are different; therefore, the artistic values also change. Yesterday’s values should not be compared to today’s values.

Q: In your opinion, can Vietnam’s cinematography industry integrate and become a part of world cinema?

A: Vietnam’s cinematography industry has become a part of world cinema since the film “Chung mot dong song” (Sharing the Same River) was screened in 1959. At the time, the famous French film critic Jeorge Sadoul said that it was a cinema in the Indochinese Peninsula but it is neither Indo nor China. He means that Vietnamese cinema had its own identity. If we can keep that unique identity, we will be able to integrate into the world.

Q: Suppose you decide to make one last film in your career, which topic would you like to cover?

A: I am making a film, entitled “Hoa nhai” (Jasmine) to close my cinematic career. It has been shot but its post-production stage has not been completed due to lack of funds. This is a film produced by Khanh An private studio in Hue City on a very limited budget.

The story is about daily life in Hanoi, revolving around two main characters: a shoeshine boy coming from the countryside and a barber on the sidewalk. I have lived in Hanoi for over 60 years. The scenes in the film are my daily observations; therefore, it is very simple, highlighting the sentiments of the people. I believe that Hanoians still preserve the substance of “jasmine”.

Thank you very much for your interview!

After suffering a stroke last March, he has been dependent on family members for most of his personal activities.

Despite being bedridden, he still composed poems and painted.

The passing of his wife at the end of last year hit Thiệp hard, and his condition deteriorated.

Poet Tran Dang Khoa said Thiep passing means Vietnamese literature has lost ‘a big old tree’.

Writer Nguyen Huy Thiep at an event hosted by Youth Publishing House a few years ago when he was healthy. File Photo

“I think during the period of 1985-1996, no one could write short stories better than Thiep,” Khoa said.

“He had a special style, short and sharp. Luckily he was among the list for the State Prize in Literature and Arts this year, which is worthy recognition for his talent and contributions.”

On March 17, Thiep submitted to the State for the prize for his two short stories namely Tướng Về Hưu (Retired Army General) and Những Ngon Gió Hua Tát (Winds in Hua Tat Village).

His latest piece was a traditional opera script Vong Bướm (Butterflies’ Souls) written in 2012. In 2018, he published the novel Tuổi 20 Yêu Dấu (Beloved 20s), which was completed in 2003, in which the main character is his own son, a drug addict suffering from urbanisation.

In his 50-year writing career, among 50 short stories, Tướng Về Hưu has been considered one of his most successful pieces.

Thiệp started writing when he was 36 with a short story printed in Văn Nghệ (Literature and Arts) newspaper on June 20, 1987.

Critic Vuong Tri Nhan said: “With a profound style of writing of an experienced person, who was losing much belief and hope in life, in Tướng Về Hưu, the writer sketches a scene where pragmatism is widely spread among people, turning into people’s habits. In that place, everyone is stubborn and get used to their stubbornness.”

The story was made into a film under the same title by director Nguyen Khac Loi and released in 1988.

Writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, chairman of Viet Nam Writer’s Association, once noted that Thiep dared to speak up the truth.

“Literature should not always make people feel happy and satisfied but it should also make people feel ashamed,” Thieu said at a workshop on literature in 2016. “Thiep must have been hurt inside very much to speak out the painful truth.”

Thiep himself often said: “Above ‘harsh reality’ should be ‘honesty’. Writer should write the truth.”

Researcher Phan Cam Thuong judged Thiepamong the few distinguished writers of 20th century.

According to Thuong, after Nam Cao, only Thiep is a writer with sharp ideology. While Nam Cao wrote very well on Vietnamese peasants of the first half of 20th century, Thiep acted the same role in the second half of 20th century.

Thuong said if there was an award like the “golden pen” for the best writer every year, in 1987 and the first half of 1988, the winner for that title should have been Nguyen Huy Thiep.

Thiệp was born in 1950 in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. As a child during the war, he moved with his family through various countryside areas in provinces of Thai Nguyên, Phu Tho and Vinh Phuc. He graduated from History Faculty, of Hanoi Teachers Training College.

He was awarded the French Literature and Arts Medal in 2007 and the Premio Nonino prize by Italian authorities in 2008.

His distinguished works include Tướng Về Hưu (short story, 1987), Những Ngọn Gió Hua Tát (collection of short stories and drama scripts, 1989), Tiểu Long Nữ (novel, 1996), Tuổi 20 Yêu Dấu (novel, published in France in 2002). VNS