Films about the Hung Kings' period and Chu Dong Tu and Tien Dung 'are very unlikely to cause controversy'

Chử Đồng Tử - Ảnh 1. — Overview of the discussion on The Legend of Da Trach - From national epic to cinematic language on August 5 - Photo: D.DUNG

Mr. Nguyen Kim Khiem - General Director and Editor-in-Chief of Hanoi Radio and Television (Hanoi Radio) - spoke at the seminar Legend of Da Trach - From national epic to cinematic language , taking place on August 5 at the Hanoi Museum.

The event received comments and academic sharing from historical and archaeological experts such as Associate Professor Dr. Vu Minh Giang, Dr. Nguyen Viet, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Van Quan, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Minh Tri, Dr. Pham Duc Anh, Associate Professor Dr. Dang Hong Son so that the station has a comprehensive understanding of the legendary love story between Chu Dong Tu and Tien Dung as well as the Hung King era.

From there, the context, script and cultural materials in the "least controversial" Huyen Tinh Da Trach film project were built. The film, produced by Hanoi Radio, will start filming in the near future.

It's hard not to be controversial.

The Hung King era is very far from today. The love story of Chu Dong Tu and Tien Dung is also covered in the mist of legend and has many different versions with different readings/images, easily causing controversy.

The information data from experts is huge, how will Hanoi Radio apply it to the upcoming film project?

Borrowing the sharing of Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Minh Tri - former director of the Institute of Imperial Citadel Studies, chairman of the board of management of the Institute of Asian Civilization Studies, Mr. Nguyen Kim Khiem said that we hear a lot about Dong Son culture, associated with the heyday of the Hung King era, but do not have an exact picture of what the house, roof, residence, population, and village complex were like.

"There has been a gap in visual arts, cinema, and television about this period up to now," said Mr. Khiem. "The main goal of the film is to help the public visualize as closely as possible, as close as possible, and as beautifully as possible a brilliant historical period 2,500 - 2,700 years ago."

Bronze drums, cloth, some Dong Son people's statues

However, he also admitted that making a film about Chu Dong Tu and Tien Dung as well as setting the scene in the Hung King period was not easy. Hanoi TV chose to respect the biggest details of the story. From the advice of experts, the crew will try to harmonize the creative elements with that historical and cultural background.

"We do not dare to set a goal of not causing controversy because it is very difficult, we just hope to cause the least controversy," said Mr. Khiem.

Where is the line between acceptable and unacceptable wrongs?

Dr. Nguyen Viet - Director of the Southeast Asian Prehistory Center - expressed that "when making a film with historical elements, a history very far from the present day, it is very difficult to not make mistakes, but if there is advice and consultation from experts, those mistakes will be minimized as much as possible".

Chử Đồng Tử - Ảnh 5. — Casting announcement - Photo: Hanoi Radio

How to determine what is "allowed" and what is "not allowed"? Responding to Tuoi Tre Online , Dr. Pham Duc Anh - director of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences (Hanoi National University) - said that history consists of things that happened objectively in the past. Historiography, the cognitive science of history, can only try to get as close as possible to historical truth, it cannot completely reproduce it.

On the other hand, the perception of a historical fact/character/event depends on many factors such as historical cognitive perspective, ideology and historical materials remaining to this day, the capacity and level of the researcher as well as the method to convey and recreate history...

For the same historical story/event, professional historians and artists have different ways of recreating it.

According to this expert, "art has the right to create and recreate history in its own way, but must always ensure the core element, that is, historical perception must be as close as possible to what happened."

Chu Dong Tu Temple consists of two temples: Da Hoa Temple and Da Trach Temple in Hung Yen - Photo: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism

Prof. Dr. Vu Minh Giang - Chairman of the Science and Training Council (Hanoi National University), Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Science Association - noted that not only Hanoi Radio but historical film production units in general need to avoid the simplistic concept of putting history into films by only inviting one or two experts and considering their opinions as absolute truth without adequate research.

Consult as many people as possible. This will help to avoid mistakes or disasters at the lowest level.

Mr. Giang added, "creativity is encouraged but absolutely not defamation/distortion of history for wrong motives or regardless of historical facts."

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phim-ve-thoi-hung-vuong-va-chu-dong-tu-tien-dung-rat-kho-khong-gay-tranh-cai-20250805203359028.htm