Tran Anh Hung and Pham Thien An won awards at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, creating a "boost" for Vietnamese cinema and a "thirst" for the imprint of the wave of overseas Vietnamese directors.
Early morning of May 28 (Vietnam time), many filmmakers, artists as well as domestic audiences watching the Cannes Film Festival 2023 were overwhelmed by the victories of directors Tran Anh Hung and Pham Thien An. These are considered historic victories for Vietnamese people at Cannes.
Bringing the film La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (tentatively translated: The Passion of Dodin Bouffant ) to Cannes 2023, French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung received a "shower" of praise from the professional council. After the work premiered at Cannes this year, Tran Anh Hung received a 7-minute standing ovation that only ended when he took the mic to say thank you.
The film celebrates French cuisine and love, through the love story between a man with a taste for food and his wonderful female chef. As a result, the work brought director Tran Anh Hung the Best Director award at the closing night.
Along with Tran Anh Hung's achievements, director Pham Thien An also made his name at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival with the Golden Camera award for Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell - the only Vietnamese film.
Inside the Golden Cocoon is Pham Thien An's first feature film. Previously in 2019, he attended Cannes for the first time with the short film Stay Awake, Be Ready , winning the Illy Award for Best Short Film.
Tran Anh Hung and the impressive generation of overseas Vietnamese directors
The proud mark of two directors of Vietnamese origin at Cannes 2023 has strengthened the confidence of the audience and the Vietnamese film industry.
Before winning the Best Director award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival with La Passion de Dodin Bouffant, director Tran Anh Hung made a splash with The Scent of Green Papaya (1993) - a work with a strong Vietnamese character and a clear aesthetic filmmaking style.
The film won the Camera D'or (Golden Camera) at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, the César Award for Best First Film, and was later nominated for the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.
The Scent of Green Papaya is a beautiful cinematic memoir by Tran Anh Hung about Saigon in the early 60s, told through the innocent eyes of Mui - a country girl who comes to Saigon to work as a maid for a middle-class family and witnesses the ups and downs of this family during her formative years.
Although he has been living in France with his family for a long time, stories about history, culture and people are still things that inspire him to learn every day. In his works, Tran Anh Hung always tries to convey the most Vietnamese details.
After The Scent of Green Papaya , Tran Anh Hung continued to advance to the peak of his career when he won the highest award - the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1995 with the film Cyclo . The work featured Hong Kong star - Tony Leung.
Throughout his career, Tran Anh Hung's works have always had a certain position in international cinema such as Vertical Summer, I come with the rain...
Along with overseas Vietnamese directors who have influenced the country's cinema, continuing the artistic spirit of the generation of directors Tran Anh Hung, Luu Huynh is a name that has left many impressions. The number of Luu Huynh's films is not much, but they all have a strong personal color and cinematic language such as Duong Tran (1999), Ao Lua Ha Dong (2006) - the film won the Audience Award at the Busan International Film Festival ... Or most recently, Leon Le with Song Lang (2018).
Following Luu Huynh, Charlie Nguyen (real name Nguyen Chanh Truc) is considered a prominent name among overseas Vietnamese directors. He and his younger brother Johnny Tri Nguyen created a breakthrough for Vietnamese cinema with the film Dong Mau Anh Hung (2007) - a work that is considered one of the best Vietnamese martial arts films ever.
In fact, this is a work that is considered to have raised the level of Vietnamese cinema, with an attractive topic and a dramatic and captivating way of exploiting it for the audience at that time. At the same time, the film also marked a strong change in the way of making films by overseas Vietnamese directors in Vietnam.
After Heroic Blood, Charlie Nguyen became the "box office king" with a series of impressive works such as De mai tinh, Long Ruoi, Cuoi ngay keo lo, Teo em, De mai tinh 2... He also played a significant role in the success of Em chua 18 - the film project that won the Golden Lotus award at the 20th Vietnam Film Festival .
Among the Vietnamese-American directors who have made a big splash at the box office with their entertaining films in Vietnamese cinema, Victor Vu (real name Vu Quoc Viet) is a name that cannot be ignored.
Returning to Vietnam to make films in 2009, he has quickly established his name with a series of box office-shattering projects such as Crossroads of Destiny (2010), Bride Wars (2010), Heroic Destiny (2012), Scandal: Secrets of the Red Carpet (2012), Bride Wars 2 (2014), Bloody Heart (2014), Scandal: The Return of the Halo (2014), I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass (2015), Immortal (2018), Blue Eyes (2019)...
Victor Vu's films are highly realistic. Whether it's exploring tearful love stories or the dark corners of showbiz, he shows his meticulous research and delivery. Although his strength is horror films, Victor Vu also creates his own distinct mark in other topics.
Dustin Nguyen (real name Nguyen Xuan Tri) is a talented Vietnamese-American actor, screenwriter, producer and director. His works such as Buddha's Fire, Winning the Lottery, When Will We Love Each Other ... are mostly picky viewers, but he always takes risks and pursues them with all his heart.
Vietnamese cinema looks forward to the generation of overseas Vietnamese directors like Tran Anh Hung and Pham Thien An?
Before the success of directors Tran Anh Hung and Pham Thien An at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, screenwriter Trinh Thanh Nha called it a "shock" for Vietnamese cinema, while director, People's Artist Nhue Giang and director Viet Linh - director of the film Me Thao in its heyday, considered it a "boost" for the country's cinema.
"After the honor that Tran Anh Hung brought to Vietnamese cinema 30 years ago, this time, I am very proud to hear that a film made by a young domestic director won big at Cannes. I think this is a big boost for our cinema, especially for independent film directors," said Ms. Viet Linh.
The public, experts, filmmakers and critics are waiting and hoping for the next generation of talented Vietnamese-American directors for Vietnamese cinema, contributing to outstanding works. They have inspired many domestic filmmakers and contributed to improving the quality of films.
That hope and expectation is not without basis, as director Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh has been pursuing the Picturehouse project for several years now - a semi-biographical film inspired by his childhood experiences of a "paradise cinema" of his family in Vung Tau during the war years.
After many years in the role of producer, Charlie Nguyen is also preparing to return with a number of new projects as both director and producer, the most anticipated of which is the biographical film project about "perfect spy" Pham Xuan An. Victor Vu is also shooting a film project with The Last Wife .
And after the success of Song Lang , the film won nearly 50 domestic and international film awards, Leon Le is also returning with a second project called Quan Ky Nam , inspired by an old apartment building in Saigon, where he stayed while returning to Vietnam to make the film Song Lang .
Screenwriter Trinh Thanh Nha commented that even in the country, there are notable directors such as Phan Dang Di, Luong Dinh Dung, Bui Kim Quy... before that was the generation of Luu Trong Ninh. According to her, the problem lies not only in individuals, but also in the creative environment. The film industry in particular and the art culture in general of Vietnam are not open enough for individuals to develop properly.
"Tran Anh Hung himself has also tried to inspire and impart filmmaking skills to young Vietnamese cinema artists through the Autumn Meetings . But when the creative environment is not open enough, inspiration and skills that have not been trained enough will gradually fade away.
If Vietnamese cinema wants to truly flourish in its homeland and reach beyond its borders, it needs a more understanding and openness from the management, review, and appraisal system...", screenwriter Trinh Thanh Nha expressed.
Critic Nguyen Phong Viet said that the awards of directors Tran Anh Hung and Pham Thien An at Cannes 2023 are clearly a great encouragement for Vietnamese cinema, especially in a period when it is necessary to identify values that are different from cinema in the region.
"In the near future, I believe that in addition to the wave of overseas Vietnamese directors returning home, there will be another wave of young Vietnamese directors studying abroad and then returning to Vietnam to start their careers.
Both of these waves are necessary because they will be the ones to bring a new breeze, plus updated knowledge about today's modern cinema trends... which will add a lot of positive energy to the development of Vietnamese cinema.
The most important thing is that we have more open mechanisms as well as create good conditions for cooperation and development for domestic and foreign projects, then soon Vietnamese cinema can make more marks like Cannes did this year," he shared.
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