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Q: Without an artistic family background, what caused you to leave Binh Duong Province and enroll in a film course in HCM City?
A: I had not thought of becoming a director nor had any sense about this career. Formerly I was a photographer and I accidentally took photos for students of the HCM City College of Theatre and Cinema. I decided to learn to be a director at the college. I didn't think that I had a passion for the movie industry. Even in my photography career, I wasn't passionate. I just did it to earn a living and help my family. But after a short time, I began to love my directing job.
My first-year courses confused me and I felt lost and without a purpose. My classmates treated me with contempt, so I buried myself in my classes. The more I studied, the more interested I became in the arts, particularly film directing. I graduated with top honours in my film director programme and continued my education with a cinematography degree. I graduated from the school in 1999.
Q: Being a director at that time was hard. Did you find a good job after graduation?
A: Not many students from the college could find a job in the movie industry, which had not developed yet. Now there are many private film producers. I was fortunately at the head of my class, and Nguyen Ho, head of the HCM City Television Film Studios (TFS) supported us. He called my friends and myself and dared us to work on certain jobs. Popular directors like myself, Nguyen Quang Dung and Vo Tan Binh, as well as others, must thank him.
Being a director now is a good job as many private film companies exist. Many young people want to become a director but they don't know how to set a target in advance and follow it. My target is to become a commercial film director.
Q: Are there any differences between the student and the director of today?
A: I'm much more tired and of course I have more money, but the joy is the same, no more no less. My busy job gives me little time to relax.
Q: Tell me about your first film.
A: Vo Chong Chuot (Mouse Couple) was my first film, shot as a graduation thesis in 1999. My nickname at school was Dang Chuot (Dang the Mouse). I fortunately saw a book titled Vo Chong Chuot written by Ha Huy Tuan and the idea then arose. I started writing the script for the film and then found the main "actors" for my first film.
The film helped me place first in the graduation examination. My expenses were only VND4 million (US$240) and eight mice. After graduation, I made another film about the animal named Chuot and it was screened on HCM City television. When it first showed I was very nervous and worried.
Q: As a director and scriptwriter, do you feel stressed out doing too many jobs?
A: No, most of my films I wrote myself. The scriptwriting was very helpful for me in becoming a director. Most Vietnamese directors don't write scripts but those who want to demonstrate their style should have their own scripts.
Q: Most of your films focus on love stories. Do you ever intend to make a horror or action movie?
A: Yes, I did make a scary film Nha Tien Tri Ao (The Virtual Prophet), which received a special award among 3,000 films at the JVC Film Festival.
Q: Could you tell me about your most recent project?
A: We are working with BHD Film, a local producer to make 35 episodes for a series called Bong Dung Muon Khoc (Tearful Mood), which will be shown on television this August. It is a humorous love story about an 18-year-old blind girl who lost her parents when she was a child. The girl sells books to earn a living. She meets a rich, dissolute man whom she teaches how to live in a more responsible way.
Now I am halfway finished with a script I've written for another film, which will be shot this September. The film Dep Tung Cen ti met (Almost Beautiful) was made for BHD Film. It is a love story and comedy. It is about a beauty queen in Can Tho Province who dreams about becoming an actress. She comes to HCM City and seeks opportunities but never succeeds because of her appearance. She only succeeds in getting minor roles.
Q: Among Vietnamese and foreign directors, who do you respect the most?
A: I don't want to be influenced by any director, but I respect Nguyen Quang Dung from Viet Nam and Ang Lee from China. I like the styles of the films they have made. If they make six films, I can see six different styles from them, like six different directors. They are excellent, interesting directors.
Q: Do you intend to do different films as well?
A: In most of my films, I try to make them different in style but not so different as Ly An's films. My Chuot and Nhung Co Gai Chan Dai (Long-Legged Girls) were not the same. A director who wants to seek attention from the audience must be good at creating surprises in their films.
Q: What do you think about young Vietnamese actors?
A: Many of them are talented. The actresses are better than the actors. It is much harder for me to seek an actor than an actress. Everybody thinks that an actor or actress must graduate from a professional film school, but most actors and actresses in my films are not trained at schools. This trend is common around the world.
I don't care if they are trained or not, only if they are skilled. A good director must know who is appropriate for each role.
Q: In Viet Nam's film industry, most directors are inclined to do "instant noodle" or commercial films, which bring high profits but have little artistic value. Can you comment?
A: It is wrong to classify artistic and commercial films. There are only interesting films or boring films. Only a good film can attract a big audience. A commercial film can have a good story, good acting, good sound and beautiful scenes that are artistically done. Titanic is one example. It is also a commercial film but earned several billion dollars in revenue and snatched 11 Academy Awards.
There is no boundary between "instant noodle" and artistic films. Most of the films I have made have both market and artistic value. My Nhung Co Gai Chan Dai _Long Legged Girls) film is an example. Audiences loved it. We all became more well-known and the producers made a lot of money. The film also won the Silver Lotus prize in Viet Nam. Who can say that this film was not artistic?
This article first appeared on www.vietnamnews.vanet.vn
July 2, 2008
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