"It's October Now" with People's Artist DANG NHAT MINH

The non-profit program "It's October Now" organized by Trigger Film Academy and Storii will screen 9 films by People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh at Dcine Ben Thanh theater, from October 5 to 29.

Human issues

People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh is one of the directors with an impressive film career and a persistent working spirit. He creates works with creative thinking, focusing on human issues, issues of concern to humanity and imbued with the breath of the times. Realizing the great influence of director Dang Nhat Minh on Vietnamese cinema in particular and Vietnamese art in general, Trigger Film Academy cooperates with Storii and Dcine to organize the program "Dang Nhat Minh Film Month: Now it's October".

Poster of the program “Dang Nhat Minh Film Month: Now it's October”. (Photo provided by the Organizing Committee)

The program will screen 9 films and documentaries by People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh, including: "When will October come", "Girl on the River", "Guava Season", "Missing the Countryside", "May - Faces", "Return", "Town in Reach", " Hanoi in Winter of 1946", "Jasmine". This is also the first time that the last film in the career of People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh, "Jasmine", is screened in Ho Chi Minh City. Each film is screened 1 time and is completely free for audiences who love and want to enjoy the films of this veteran director.

"We believe that this film screening program will become an important cultural bridge to popularize excellent works of Vietnamese cinema to the young generation and help enliven the cultural and artistic life of Ho Chi Minh City residents," said director Le Binh Giang, Head of the program's Organizing Committee.

In particular, during the opening screening of the program, People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh will interact online with the audience who will come to enjoy the work "When will October come" and he will also interact with the audience during the closing screening of the film month with the work "Hoa jasmine".

Dedicated to cinema

People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh was born in 1938 in Hue , his father was Professor Dang Van Ngu - a leading doctor in parasitology research in Vietnam and his mother was Ton Nu Thi Cung - daughter of a famous mandarin of the Nguyen Dynasty, Ton That Dan. Unlike his father's wish to become a doctor, People's Artist Nhat Minh, from a Russian interpreter for groups of experts teaching at the film school, entered this field and went all the way to the role of director.

The film “When will October come” - a classic of Vietnamese cinema. (Photo provided by the Organizing Committee)

He started his career with documentaries: "Following the Geologists", "Ha Bac Homeland", "May - Faces", "Nguyen Trai". After that, he had his first works: "Sea Stars", "Last Rainy Day of the Year". The work "The Town Within Reach" written by him and co-directed with Pho Ba Nam became his first film work bearing his personal mark, creating a big buzz. The content of the film tells the story that happened in Lang Son town right after the Vietnam - China border war. Journalist Vu went to Lang Son to report on the situation of the town after the Chinese army destroyed it and withdrew to the other side of the border. Vu's memories of Lang Son, of his long-lost love for Thanh, of the human condition during wartime appeared one after another in the ruins of Lang Son left by the war. The film won the Golden Lotus Award at the Vietnam Film Festival in 1987.

After creating a buzz domestically, People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh stepped out into the world with "When will October come?", a work he directed and wrote. The film tells the story of Duyen, who carries the pain of knowing that her husband died in the war to protect the southwestern border. Duyen hides this from her family, especially her seriously ill father. She asks teacher Khang to write letters home to inquire about her family, as she did when her husband was still alive. Over time, rumors spread that Duyen and teacher Khang were having an affair... The film not only won domestic awards but was also premiered at the Hawaii International Film Festival in 1985, marking the first Vietnamese film to be screened at an American film festival.

Scene from the movie “Guava Season”. (Photo provided by BTC)

"When will October come" also received a certificate of merit from the Peace Protection Committee at the Moscow International Film Festival. In 2008, the film was rated by CNN as one of the 18 best Asian films of all time. His later films such as "Return", "Missing the Countryside", "Guava Season", "Don't Burn" also received many awards at various international film festivals.

People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh was awarded the title of People's Artist in 1993 and received the First Class Labor Medal in 1998. He was honored with the "Lifetime Achievement" award for his outstanding contributions to Asian cinema at the 2005 Gwangju International Film Festival. In 2007, he received the Ho Chi Minh Award for the works: "Thi tho trong tay", "Bao gio cho den thang 10", "Ha Noi mua dong 46", "Mua guava". In 2010, he was honored by the American Film Academy in Hollywood as a director with outstanding contributions to Vietnamese cinema. In 2013, he received the Kim Daejung Peace Film Award. In 2022, he was awarded the noble French Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by French Ambassador Nicolas Warnery...

In 2020, at the age of 82, he was still passionate about cinema and started filming the film "Hoa jasmine" set in Hanoi and invested in and produced by a small film studio in Hue. He called this his "last-minute passion film", the last work of his career. The film was completed and post-produced in 2021, premiering at the Hanoi International Film Festival in 2022. "Hoa jasmine" is my gift to Hanoi, but I also want to send it to the people of Ho Chi Minh City because we are all Vietnamese. I once slept in the Independence Palace on April 30, so I have a lot of emotions and memories with this land. I want to send a little jasmine scent to Ho Chi Minh City" - People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh said when the film was about to be screened in Ho Chi Minh City.

With all his dedication to cinema, People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh deserves the respect and admiration of the younger generation. Through the month of films about him, more classic works of Vietnamese cinema will reach young audiences so that they can better understand the diverse and unique perspectives of one of the veteran directors of Vietnamese cinema.

“People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh's films go into the soul, the deep desires inside people, so the films are not showy and the character's tragedy is often not noisy; the films are very calm and profound. Because they exploit the theme of humanity in general, when the works are presented at international film festivals, they are warmly received. Until now, these themes are still imbued with contemporary elements and are not outdated" - journalist Cat Vu commented.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/van-nghe/bay-gio-da-den-thang-muoi-voi-nsnd-dang-nhat-minh-20230922201555974.htm