The budget for "Sleeping City" was only 30,000 USD.
Despite the record low production budget, the film is well-made and full of artistry. In addition, the film brings together internationally renowned filmmakers: Director of Photography Bank Chalermpornpanit (whose films have been shown at the Berlinale, Busan, Hong Kong, Taiwan); musician Martynas Bialobzeskis (Chairman of the Youth Committee of the Lithuanian Composers' Union, who has performed in Latvia, Estonia, Germany, Poland, and the US), who like Luong Dinh Dung's script and filmmaking style, so they wholeheartedly supported him and received a symbolic salary. The film was also graded in Korea and post-produced in Thailand.
The character Tao and the gangsters in "Sleeping City".
According to Luong Dinh Dung, during the planning process of making "Hungry Hill" and "Hungry Ghost, Code 45", foreign investors wanted him to make a film to shape the opening style for bringing two horror projects to 70 countries.
Previously, Luong Dinh Dung was also asked by a member of the Venice Film Festival to bring "Sleepy City" to this festival, but because the film had not yet received permission at that time, he missed the opportunity.
According to the director, before being shown in Vietnam, the film was shown in Estonia, India and Canada and made a strong impression on the audience. "When it was shown at the Film Festival, the Head of the Jury told me: Your film needs to be adjusted and reduced in violence or else it cannot be awarded. They also told me to avoid going to the screening locations. A group of filmmakers and animal rights activists came directly to me and asked me in detail about the actual chickens. I had to explain that some chickens had been released and some scenes were done with special effects. It was very stressful at that time" - Luong Dinh Dung shared.
In fact, when releasing the film in Vietnam, he personally proposed that the distributor only show it in theaters in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City because of its sensitive and violent elements.
Behind the scenes of the scene with 3 gangster characters.
Anton Bitel, EyeForFilm, Edinburgh, UK commented: "Sleeping City" is both a picture of the lives of "invisible" people in the city and a fable of Tao's own. Building on the almost mute protagonist, along with cruelty to animals and a strong combination of real -world and theological elements, but it is also an original film in its own right, offering unique and mythical perspectives on the current living world from street perspectives, and from above. "Sleeping City" is a work that clearly bears similarities to the works, perhaps even a very strong worldview, compared to the films of Korean master director Kim Ki-Duk.
Love movie with sister, marry me in real life
The film "Sleeping City" revolves around Tao - a 26-year-old young man, living a normal, lonely life in the middle of a bustling, prosperous city. One day, a group of tattooed thugs also came to hide in the abandoned house where the young man was living. They brought with them noise, violence, drunkenness and a prostitute. The young man was bullied and tortured by the thugs, and began to have drastic psychological changes.
The main role was assigned to Quoc Toan. Although he really liked Quoc Toan's handsome, innocent face, the director rejected him many times, even refused to continue casting because Quoc Toan was too persistent. "Until one time Quoc Toan sent me a video , I sat down and watched Toan's performance and saw Toan's spirit. I called Toan and asked: Are you determined yet? Toan said: I will do better than you think. I like that" - Luong Dinh Dung recounted.
Behind the scenes of the movie "Sleepy City".
The role of the prostitute was given to Hien Le. In fact, the director had invited many actors but all refused to act in this sexy scene. Finally, he found Hien Le - a woman who was about to move to America with her husband. Before that, Hien had participated in many small roles in TV series and some films after graduating from the Academy of Theatre and Cinema. She was trained at the Academy of Theatre and Cinema and worked at the Youth Theater for a while. Hien participated in more theater than in cinema. Her most successful role was Osin Tuoi in "The Four 10A8".
In response to the director's request for nude scenes, Hien Le appeared to be very professional. She said: "Hot scenes require professionalism as well as a conscious film crew. When it comes to whether or not to film "revealing" scenes and how much, Hien herself, a well-trained actress, feels that if the request is within her control and serves an artistic purpose, she is not afraid.
When filming, there were only people really involved there and everyone was very professional, so Hien felt more confident and focused on acting."
After the movie "Sleeping City" finished filming, the male lead Quoc Toan and Hien Le's younger sister officially dated. Currently, the two are married and have given birth to a very adorable baby girl.
Talking about having filmed sensitive scenes with her brother-in-law, Hien Le said: "While filming, both sisters were very serious, even when filming sensitive scenes, there was no physical contact, so it can be said that there was nothing to worry about. Hien always considered Toan as a younger brother and really hoped that her two brothers would have a satisfactory married life."
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