Born in a mountainous district in Bac Kan province, Diem was also a child in the mist. Diem's biggest wish at the age of 16 was to go out and see the world: "I don't want to be born in one place and die in the same place". In 2023, she became the first Vietnamese female director to have a documentary film nominated for an Oscar.
Children of the Mist is the first Vietnamese feature-length documentary to be shortlisted for Oscar 2023.
The film is made by a female director born in 1992 – Ha Le Diem. Like her character, Diem is from an ethnic minority.
She shot Children in the Mist in 2017 and completed it by the end of 2021. The draft film was shot in 3 and a half years. Translating H'Mong into Vietnamese and English took 4 months. Post-production, draft, rough editing took more than 6 months. After that, the film was sent to post-production in Thailand for an additional 1 and a half months, mixing, and color correction for about 2 weeks.
Five years in exchange for a 5-minute movie. Ha Le Diem is the director and only cameraman of Children in the Mist.
"It's normal" - Diem plucked the noodles from the bowl at 2 pm and then giggled. It was her lunch and also her interview with the press.
Reporter: Diem, Children in the mist is a movie about what story?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: The film is about Di, a 13-year-old H'Mong girl. Di lives in Sapa, Lao Cai. Following Di from the time I was a little girl to adulthood, I want to tell about the fear, loneliness, and loss when a child has to grow up, about how a childhood disappears.
I also met Di by chance. When I went to Sapa, I was able to share with Di's family. Di invited herself up the hillsides with her friends. Di is like me. When I was Di's age, I also had friends. But by the end of 9th grade, all of you got married. At the wedding, I ate and cried. I don't understand why my friends get married so early?
Di's childhood will pass as quickly as mine. Therefore, I want to make a film that captures the most innocent and pure of childhood.
That day, I asked Di:
- Di, can you follow Di, turn Di until Di is big to understand why Di is big?
- But can your movie bring Di from when Di was an adult when Di was a child?
Reporter: But is Children in the Mist a pure story? I remember one audience member exclaiming: Too much violence!
Directed by Ha Le Diem: Yes. When I first started, I saw Di's childhood as pure. But as Di grew older, pressures of traditional and modern values came in. Those pressures make childhood disappear.
As an ethnic minority, Di has a lot of pressure. Even going to school and taking exams in Vietnamese is already a pressure. Because Di grew up in the H'Mong language.
In 2018, I witnessed Di being dragged by his wife. It was a violent scene. This event is a milestone that marks Di's becoming a woman from a child. Di has to play the role of a mature woman. I have to explain to everyone why I don't want to get married? Why do I want to continue studying?
Before that, I thought the custom of pulling a wife was just a fairy tale. But when meeting Di, meeting Di's cousins - who have had the experience of pulling wives, most of them were very scared. The custom of pulling a wife is a nightmare.
Reporter: Why did Diem name the movie Children in the Mist?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: This name was thought up by Hieu - his advisor. But that name reminds me of my childhood fear of fog.
I live in a house in the woods. The road to school is very small and narrow. Winter came, I just stepped out of the house when the road to school also disappeared. Fog surrounds his house. I thought in front of me was a white wall that I couldn't walk through. Who knows what lies ahead? I missed school for 4 or 5 days and lied to my parents: I'm sick.
I can't say I'm afraid of fog.
But my parents kept forcing me to go back to school, I still had to step out of the house. I mustered up my courage and walked and realized that just a little bit forward the road would be a little clearer. If you keep going like that, you will see the road in front of you.
Reporter: Is that feeling similar to Di's?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: Probably the same.
I understand the feeling of not knowing what to do for Di's future.
Reporter: Diem mentioned a small house in the forest. So where did Diem come from and how did he grow up?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: I was born in a very small village in the mountains, in the North of Vietnam. My house is at the end of a valley. The house is made of earth, the walls are made of bamboo, the roof is made of palm trees. When I'm on vacation, I don't go to school, it's normal that I don't see strangers for 1 or 2 months. It was a completely separate life, somewhat like Di's.
Reporter: Di is also a girl, Diem is also a girl. Having similar circumstances and starting point, what do you think about the lives of girls from ethnic minorities?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: When I was filming and living with Di's family, I noticed something as simple as this: Learning in Vietnamese is very heavy with a H'Mong girl. I think that is the common difficulty of children like me or Di.
At one point, Di said to me:
- Sister, Di feels that Di can't learn. Di feels that Di can't do it.
– Around Di, there are not many women who can go far, study far away. But Di can look at her sister, at Di's teacher. Since we were children once, we can do it, why can't Di?
Then children like Di have to face cultural and economic barriers. Possibly a shortage. Possibly starvation.
In winter, the children are very cold and hungry. Even at sponsored boarding schools, eating is still not enough. Many of you still skip breakfast to go to school.
As an ethnic minority, their voices will be slightly lost. On the street, they are stigmatized to the point of shame and do not want to go to school anymore.
Early marriage in some regions is also a barrier. Well, just the little things like that.
Reporter: Do those little things make a big impact?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: Yes, many of you are out of school.
Reporter: At the beginning of this project, Diem was only 25 years old. Maybe it's not an easy thing. So what difficulties did Diem face?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: When I started working, I didn't think too far. If you want to make a movie, then hope to have a movie.
At that time it was: If you lack something, borrow it. If you don't know something, ask for it. If you don't have a camera, borrow a camera, if you don't have a tripod, borrow a tripod. If anyone has anything, I can borrow it.
Then the money up there to travel, eat and drink is not much. I stay at Di's house, Di's parents do not take money. Dad Di also said:
- Rice is available at home. If you come here to eat, you can buy it yourself and cook it yourself.
In fact, even if you want to eat, there is nothing to choose. At the grocery store, there are only peanuts and dried fish, very rarely, there are eggs. On the most luxurious day, there is fresh pork. So those things don't cost money either!
The most expensive is the post-production and editing.
Reporter: After 5 years of following the character and making a movie, Diem's difficulty is only so brief?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: That's all.
I think, if I focused on my suffering at that time, I would never be able to make a movie. Real! I just focus on making movies. Having movies is happiness!
I remember when I was learning to ride a bicycle, my parents taught me: Wherever your eyes look, you will go there. If you just look at the potholes, the potholes will jump in anyway! I only look at what I want.
Moreover, I find that when I can't do anything but ask for this and that, it will be very difficult. I do with what I have, try my best, try my best. For me, just working hard is having a movie, regardless of whether it's good or bad.
There were times when I was very confused when editing the movie. That's the original idea, but can it actually be done? I'm so scared.
Afraid but still had to do it because the movie took more than 3 years to film!
Reporter: Has anyone said that Diem is stubborn or stubborn in pursuing something?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: Stubborn? Stubborn is due to personality already.
I remember when I was 16 years old, my parents hung a hammock at the base of an egg tree. In the evening, I often go to the hammock and look up at the sky. In the countryside, there are many stars and moons. The sky is sparkling with light. I see how small human life is. In such a life, what do I want to go to see the outside world? I don't want to be born in one place and die in the same place.
But want to go outside to do? Must go to college. Go to college and then go to film.
Reporter: At that time, did Diem set any expectations for his career or income when he started making documentary films?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: If I want to be rich, I will learn professions that make money. But being able to satisfy my whims is to make documentaries.
After graduating, I got a job with a good salary. But I see: Having a lot of money, I also spend it. With a little money, I also spend it clean. With less money, I live a little more miserable life.
It's better to live with less money and go to the movies.
I will be able to listen to others, be understood and live in their world.
When I live in everyone's world, I feel like I'm living another life.
I realize that a documentary always gives people an opportunity to have a dialogue. I always find something new even after watching it for the third time.
Reporter: To be a documentary director, is it easier for Diem to be female or male?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: Females are easier!
When foreign friends ask, does Vietnam have many female documentary directors? I answered yes, they were surprised. Of course, female directors also have certain difficulties. Like I'm not strong enough to hold a 4 - 5 kg camcorder. But in return, the female director is very hard working and meticulous.
Women are also often easier to show affection than men, so people also prefer to talk to. That's the strength of women when it comes to documentaries.
Reporter: Being in the top 15 nominations for the Best Feature-length Documentary Oscar is an unprecedented event in Vietnam. How does Diem feel when her brainchild is released into the world?
Directed by Ha Le Diem: Very happy and proud.
Children in the Mist premiered in the Netherlands, not Vietnam. Many people like it. Many people don't like it. Someone was shocked. A lot of people watch it and then leave. Because the movie is too violent with their feelings.
After bringing the film to show at film festivals abroad, I feel a little more confident. Filmmaking, filming: Well, I can do it.
Bringing Vietnamese film images to the international market requires a lot of contributions from many domestic filmmakers, not a single individual. When I was in the Netherlands, I just wanted to fly back to Vietnam right away. Because I see clearly, in Vietnam I am more useful. I want to do small things, I want to tell stories, lives, and people that no one normally pays attention to.
Filmmaking helps me grow both personally and professionally. Because I learned from the surrounding life, from Di and Di's family. Learn to be able to continue making new movies.
Diem of now has done the things that 16-year-old Diem dreamed of. Then I thought to myself, what will Diem of now dream about?
- Organization of production: Vietnamese-English
- Perform: Thien Uyen
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