Ly Hai 'reveals' unforgettable memories while making 'Forever with you' after nearly 20 years

With the theme of Utilizing technology in film production , director - producer Ly Hai recalls that in the early 2000s, when making the series Forever with you , which was very popular, the special effects were still very new in our country. Therefore, he and his crew had to research and learn online to create impressive scenes to surprise the audience.

Lý Hải 'bật mí' kỷ niệm khó quên khi thực hiện 'Trọn đời bên em' sau gần 20 năm- Ảnh 1. — Director Ly Hai shares about the time making *Forever with you*

He said: "When watching American movies, I really liked the high camera angles, and with my love for filming and editing, my crew and I did not hesitate to practice tying a rope more than 20 meters high, then tying the camera to move along the rope, and just experimented. Although there were many difficulties, these were the basics that brought me into the film industry."

He said that now the special effects in our country have been improved a lot, even gradually being processed for foreign blockbusters. However, he also gave advice to young filmmakers: "Although lucky to have the opportunity to be born, grow up and study in a convenient technological environment, do not abuse it too much. Because a work is only successful when leaving the theater, the audience is left with the story we want to tell, not how magnificent and massive the shots are."

He also shared that even now that he has experience directing large projects, he still prefers to do realistic scenes if they can be done realistically. The Lat Mat filmmaker confided: "Effects are very important, with them we can reduce time and costs for complex shots or frames. However, let's just use them as a support tool, helping us to do our work more conveniently and easily."

He "revealed" that he was once injured while filming a work, which forced him to use a stuntman and then "graft" his own face on it. With his meticulousness in the works he brings to the audience, Ly Hai said that it was a forced situation while he himself was still not very satisfied with this method.

Ly Hai's message to young people

Sharing his experience with young filmmakers, he said: "If you have passion, you only need a phone to be able to tell a good story if the script is unique. Of course, when the film has a crew of hundreds of people, you will be able to bring unique, new and more meticulous perspectives, but all of that only supports the main content. So if you love cinema, then just do it. The script must be good first, from there you can assemble and build the story."

Lý Hải 'bật mí' kỷ niệm khó quên khi thực hiện 'Trọn đời bên em' sau gần 20 năm- Ảnh 2. — Director Ly Hai sends many messages to young people at *Vietnamese 2025*

More specifically, he advised filmmakers to pay attention to three stages: script, sound, and image. Technology can greatly support the last two stages, thereby creating more complete and impressive works.

For example, each character should wear a microphone for sound to avoid noise, while for images, there are now many "coloring" technologies that can be applied appropriately depending on the content of the script.

However, he once again emphasized that if it is possible to do real scenes, then prioritize doing it, because anything natural will be closer to the viewer's emotions.

With the theme Vietnamese , contestants who are Vietnamese citizens and foreigners living and working legally in Vietnam from 15 years old and above can exploit all topics permitted by the Cinema Law, related to the country and people of Vietnam. Contestants can use works they have created (as a director or screenwriter) within the past 3 years, and have never participated in other competitions or film festivals. In particular, contestants can take advantage of AI software in the process of creating their works.

Right from the preliminary round, short films that meet quality standards will be selected to be published on Thanh Nien Electronic Newspaper thanhnien.vn . After that, 20 short films that make it to the final round will be published on Thanh Nien Newspaper's digital platforms, including the YouTube channel with more than 6 million subscribers.

The contest officially accepts entries from May 23 to July 7, 2025. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in August at Beta Cinemas Ung Van Khiem (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City).

See more detailed rules here.