In 2023, Vietnamese cinema made its mark internationally when the documentary “The Children in the Mist” became the first Vietnamese work to be shortlisted among 15 documentaries competing for the 2023 Oscar in the category of “Best Documentary”. Behind this award is the persistent journey of overcoming difficulties to pursue the passion of Ha Le Diem (born in 1992).

Born into a Tay ethnic family in Bac Kan province (now Thai Nguyen province), Diem has always been curious and wanted to learn about the world around her since childhood. “Whenever I learned something new, I loved to tell it to my friends. That hobby gradually blossomed into a passion for storytelling and in 2010, I chose journalism at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) to satisfy my desire to travel to many places, meet many people and witness real-life stories,” Diem shared.

Director Ha Le Diem. Photo provided by the character

After studying journalism, Diem realized that her articles and reports still did not fully express the depth of the stories she wanted to tell. In 2012, the young girl fell in love with cinema through a free filmmaking course at the Center for Supporting and Developing Cinema Talents (TPD), Vietnam Cinema Association. The more she studied, the more Diem realized that she was suited to filmmaking, especially documentaries. Ha Le Diem shared: “I like holding a camera to record everyday moments, the moments that are happening and waiting for what is about to happen without following any pre-existing formula. Each film is a natural and vivid story. That makes me passionate about this job.”

After studying at TPD, Ha Le Diem made her first short documentary, “Children go to school”, about a mother in Bac Kan who is HIV positive but still optimistic about raising her child. “The idea came from the time I interviewed the mother. Seeing that the story could be turned into a film, every weekend I went to the mother and child’s house to record everyday moments,” the director shared. After 3 months of hard work, the film was completed and received positive reviews from the audience. In 2013, the work was awarded the Silver Kite Award by the Vietnam Cinema Association (no Golden Kite).

The success of the film “Con di truong hoc” became the motivation for the young girl to continue pursuing her passion. In 2016, Diem participated in the Varan Vietnam Documentary Film Creation Camp and had a clear direction for her career. “In 2017, when I went to Sa Pa, I saw baby Di (born in 2004) playing with her friends. I wondered how Di would grow up and Di herself was curious about that. So, I decided to take the camera, follow Di and record her childhood moments,” Diem shared.

Taking Di as the central character, choosing a story focusing on the lives of highland children with the custom of wife capture, Ha Le Diem impressed audiences at home and abroad when she released the film "The Children in the Mist" in 2021. At the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival ( the world's largest documentary film festival), with this film, Ha Le Diem was honored as "Best Director". The jury at the film festival commented: "Documentary filmmakers often face challenges when they want to build a close relationship with the character while maintaining an objective directorial role. With her first feature film, Diem has excellently balanced this element, realistically portraying a Mong girl between childhood and adulthood, between traditional and modern culture". In 2023, the young girl continued to receive the Best Director award at the 23rd Vietnam Film Festival held in Lam Dong province.

After 13 years of pursuing independent documentary filmmaking, Ha Le Diem believes that this job requires flexibility and patience. From the accumulated experience, Diem is now not only a director but also a producer, cameraman and film curator to support other filmmakers. Regarding her future direction, the female director said that she still prioritizes stories closest to her, focusing on women and children. "Currently, I am making a long documentary, hoping to complete it well to soon bring the audience genuine and meaningful moments," Ha Le Diem excitedly said.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/co-gai-dan-toc-tay-ben-bi-voi-phim-tai-lieu-1012984