Major Nguyen The Manh won 2 Gold Medals at the 14th Military Television Festival in 2025.
Major Nguyen The Manh received the C prize of the 15th National Solidarity Journalism Award, 2021-2022.
Major Nguyen The Manh was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Military Radio and Television Center for his propaganda work.
Volunteer to do journalism in remote and difficult areas
Born in 1984, Nguyen The Manh is a technician major, graduating with honors from the Central College of Radio and Television I in 2005. While many of his classmates chose to work at radio stations, television stations, and large media companies, the young man volunteered to join the Ha Tinh Border Guard. This was not a random impulse, but because "living, working, and contributing in a soldier's uniform" was Nguyen The Manh's dream since his childhood.
After four months of training as a new soldier at the Mobile Training Battalion, he was transferred to the Propaganda Department, Political Department, Ha Tinh Border Guard. From there, student Nguyen The Manh began his nearly 20-year journey of holding a camera, writing scripts, and editing arduous films, which according to him is “very glorious!”.
Propaganda in the Border Guard force is not the same as urban journalism. There is no modern editing room, no post-production support team, and sometimes there is not even a stable internet connection.
“When I first joined, I barely knew how to write commentary or create a script, only had some technical skills with cameras, videography, and film editing. But I determined that if I didn’t study and improve myself, I wouldn’t be able to do a good job as a border guard in terms of propaganda,” he said.
Not being able to struggle in a professional journalism environment, he had to learn by himself through documents, colleagues, and reporters from central and local press agencies. Gradually, from short news reports of a few hundred words and a few documentary films, he gradually progressed to in-depth reports broadcast on major mainstream news channels across the country, such as: VTV1, QPVN, ANTV...
In 2012, when he had a “small fortune” of journalistic works and years of experience in the profession, he was sent to study for a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) - a major turning point that helped him perfect his theoretical foundation and expand his approach to modern journalism in the military environment. With practical experience, combined with the knowledge he learned, Nguyen The Manh continued to earn a “good” degree to continue his new career.
For more than 20 years working at the border, border guard Nguyen The Manh has persistently recorded images, films, and real, emotional moments about the lives and battles of his comrades amid countless difficulties.
Major Nguyen The Manh, working during the Cau Treo International Border Guard Station and Nam Phao Police Station (Laos) patrolling to ensure security and order at the border gate areas of both sides during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Major Nguyen The Manh, filming a scene in the report Fighting drug crimes on the border.
Major Nguyen The Manh, filming a scene in the report Fighting drug crimes on the border.
Record and retell "epic songs" full of military-civilian sentiment
Major Nguyen The Manh was present to work on major drug cases.
Major Nguyen The Manh, working at the event of the Ha Tinh Border Guard launching a campaign to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2024.
Returning to work after graduation, he was present in almost all key areas, from remote areas, rugged border areas, to places of natural disasters, storms, floods, epidemics... With the feet of a soldier and the eyes of a journalist, he crept into every house, every checkpoint, every river and stream where soldiers were silently carrying out their duties. “Here, journalism is '3 in 1': filming, writing scripts, editing. There are no separate conditions like professional crews. There were trips, I carried a camera, walked all day through the forest just to record a few short, authentic scenes of people in the border area or a border patrol team. I am proud to be the one to record and tell those stories,” he shared.
That is why Major Manh has countless memories of riding a canoe in the flood at night, climbing on roofs to remove tiles to save people, or drifting in the middle of the ocean to record life-and-death rescue moments in the middle of a storm.
The 2010 flood in Huong Son left thousands of households isolated in the water. Late at night, he was ordered to board a canoe with the 2nd Squadron. It was 10 p.m. and the water had reached the roofs. The canoe weaved through rooftops and electric wires, approaching each family calling for help in the pitch darkness.
“I witnessed my teammates climbing onto the roof, removing each tile to rescue trapped people. I pressed the shutter amidst the howling wind, rushing water and crying children. Filming until 5am, I and the canoe brought 13 people out of the danger zone,” he recalled.
A small corner decorated with medals in the office of Major Nguyen The Manh.
Then in July 2011, a sudden tropical depression caused a fishing boat carrying seven fishermen from Thach Bang commune to sink while they were seeking shelter from the storm. Upon receiving the news, the Ha Tinh Border Guard decided to mobilize rescue forces despite the extremely dangerous level 7 and 8 seas. Nguyen The Manh volunteered to follow the rescue boat to record the entire rescue journey.
“I was so seasick that I vomited, but I still had to hold the camera steady, because if I didn't press the shutter, no one would know the hardship and bravery of the brothers when they struggled with the sea to save people,” he said.
After nearly 4 hours of struggling in the open sea, the rescue boat brought all the fishermen safely to shore. The real footage then appeared on VTV1's 7 p.m. News - like an epic in the midst of the storm.
Not only natural disasters, Major Manh is also a "special soldier" accompanying the drug-fighting force - a arduous front, especially in Ha Tinh - a hot spot for transnational drugs.
He directly followed detectives to solve major cases such as 479LV, 466LV, 460LV... cases where tons of drugs were seized. Filming had to be discreet, precise, and not reveal the plan. To do this, he not only learned safe working techniques but also understood the psychology and rules of the battle of wits with criminals. Documentary footage from these cases won many high prizes at the Military Television Festival, becoming valuable documents on the Border Guard's work in the fight against drug crimes.
When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, many people retreated to the rear, but Major Manh volunteered to go to the front line. He was present at the border checkpoints, where officers and soldiers stayed day and night to prevent illegal entry.
“There was a time when it was pouring rain and thick fog, but my teammates and I still stuck to our cameras, following the patrol teams, recording every scene of soldiers sharing rice and milk with Lao people who came here to avoid the epidemic,” he said. Those images were not only broadcast on television but also spread widely on social networks, contributing to clarifying the image of border soldiers in the hearts of the people.
Tireless dedication, lasting passion
From 2020 to present, Major Nguyen The Manh has written and produced more than 1,300 news, articles, and reports on the activities of border guards, good people, good deeds, and creative initiatives of the unit on mass media, especially VTV1, QPVN, ANTV...
He has participated in and won many major awards at press and television competitions inside and outside the army. Specifically: won 1 B Prize and 2 C Prizes in the Press Award on National Great Unity; 1 C Prize at the National Press Award on Foreign Information; 8 Gold Medals and 7 Silver Medals at the Army-wide Television Film Festivals organized by the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army; 4 A Prizes and 4 B Prizes at the Ha Tinh Provincial Radio and Television Festival; 2 A Prizes, 1 B Prize, 1 C Prize at the Tran Phu Press Award; 2 A Prizes at the Press Award on good people, good deeds and new rural construction...
With his outstanding contributions, in 2024, he was awarded 2 Certificates of Merit by the Border Guard Command for his outstanding achievements at the 2024 Military Television Festival; and was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the QPVN Channel for his outstanding achievements in coordinating propaganda work in the period 2013-2023. From 2020 to present, he has been awarded the title of Emulation Fighter at the grassroots level 3 times and in 2024, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province in the Determined to Win emulation movement.
Major Nguyen The Manh (far left) worked in Laos in 2024 to complete the work Vietnamese Features in Cam Cot.
“My job is to record the most authentic things, real people, real events. And tell them in the most authentic way, without embellishment or exaggeration, so that people believe in the good things that soldiers are quietly doing every day,” he said softly. Deep in each of those words, in those eyes, is the perseverance and humility of a soldier quietly doing journalism at the border…
Almost 20 years in the military, 20 years holding a camera, a video camera, a pen - Major Nguyen The Manh is not only a journalist for the Ha Tinh Border Guard force but also an inspiration to the young generation in the military about a noble profession - journalism for a soldier.
Major Nguyen The Manh confided: “I am grateful to the army for giving me a proper living environment, true to my wishes. That is to contribute, to do journalism, and to live true to my profession!”
Publication date: June 15, 2025
Production organization: Thao Le
Performed by: Khanh Lan - Minh Phuong
Presented by: Diec Duong
Source: https://special.nhandan.vn/noi-nhung-thuoc-phim-theo-doc-dai-bien-gioi/index.html
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