Director Tran Thanh Huy is known for the film “Rom”, which won many domestic and international awards. He has just returned with the TV series “Going Towards Fire” inspired by the work of firefighters.
With this film, Tran Thanh Huy and his crew want to pay tribute to the great sacrifices of officers, soldiers, and firefighters across the country who have not been afraid of hardships and difficulties, and are willing to risk their lives to extinguish fires and rescue people.
PV: What was your biggest concern when making the film "Towards the Fire"?
Director Tran Thanh Huy: The most troubling thing is probably the obsession. In the film, there are many situations about fires or accidents that we collected from many real sources, so every time I filmed a scene, the real events came flooding back to me. There were times when I was very tense and didn't know if I should film this scene or not, because it would hurt the victims' families.
PV: Vietnamese TV dramas have long attracted audiences with content about love and family. Are you worried that making a film about firefighters will be boring? What makes you confident that "Towards the Fire" will be well received by the audience?
Director Tran Thanh Huy: For me, there are only good movies and bad movies. And I still believe that if a movie is good, it will be well received by the audience. And to have a good movie requires a lot of effort, not only from me but also from the entire film crew.
I think “Walk Towards the Fire” has enough life elements that when anyone watches it, they will sometimes see a part of themselves in it.
PV: The K+ production investor has put a lot of effort and created the best conditions for you to make the film according to the criteria "what is real, you do, what is fake, you leave out". Can you tell us about the most elaborate and expensive scene?
Director Tran Thanh Huy: I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the investors and producers for creating all the conditions for me to do many things I wanted.
It can be said that this is a film that combines all the most difficult aspects of filmmaking with many complex scenes such as apartment fires, market fires, alley fires, rescue in difficult terrain, deep rivers, high mountains... The film has extremely complex scenes, the scale of which is "no different from a movie".
All action scenes in the film must be rehearsed very carefully, I absolutely do not allow reckless actions on set. For firefighting and rescue scenes, the film crew always receives consulting support from the Fire Prevention and Rescue Team PC07 Da Nang City.
And I think the most elaborate and expensive scene was definitely the karaoke fire in the final episode.
For me, this is the episode that cost the entire crew a lot of money and effort. Every difficulty is in this episode.
To create the simple and quiet but heroic grief of the firefighters is the ending point that my team and I worked hard to build for the film “Towards the Fire”. Hopefully, the audience can feel and sympathize with the firefighters.
PV: What can you share about the only “beauty” of the firefighting team, Ho Thu Anh? Do you have any special requests for the actress?
Director Tran Thanh Huy: At first, after choosing the role, I met the entire film crew and found Thu Anh to be a gentle actress and she accepted all the requirements I set. I asked the actors to be as similar to the character as possible, from the way they spoke to their tanned skin. And during the days in Da Nang, I saw her riding a motorbike, wearing a short-sleeved shirt to let her skin get some sun, I knew she was trying very hard.
During the rehearsal days, especially when filming important and risky scenes, especially the final episode, I set a difficult requirement for her acting, forcing Thu Anh to act in a narrow space, acting continuously for more than 20 minutes just for the close-up scene, which I thought was the most important scene of Thanh Ha's character. And I saw how determined you were.
I believe Thu Anh will grow strongly in the future.
PV: Making a film about firefighters will inevitably involve loss and pain. Are you afraid that the film will “touch” the pain of those who have experienced the incident?
Director Tran Thanh Huy: As I said above, when I wrote the script, I knew that if I didn't do it carefully, it would easily touch on the pain of those who had experienced it. But if we look at it from another perspective, if we don't recreate it, then those who have never experienced it will have a different perspective, be afraid, and from there be more careful, trying to keep themselves and their families safe. That's why I still decided to make this film.
PV: Is Tran Thanh Huy a difficult director? What are your working rules?
Director Tran Thanh Huy: Honestly, I'm not picky, but I'm very meticulous in every frame about all the storytelling techniques or acting, everything that appears on the screen, I always want it to be as perfect as possible.
The crew that works with me only needs to understand my taste in movies, then everything will be easy. I always have the motto that making movies is about creating together, not just me.
I think if I create a creative space for artists, that's when I get a lot in return.
PV: You went through a difficult time with your first film, “Rom”. What motivated you to continue pursuing the path of filmmaking?
Director Tran Thanh Huy: Making films is my hobby, becoming a filmmaker is also my dream, so every time I step onto the set, I feel excited. Every day I get to work, think, and create with images and sounds, is happiness for me. I have been involved in film for 20 years, from when I was in school until I started working, filmmaking has become a big part of my life. I would feel very miserable if I could no longer make films. Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, I will continue to make films. Difficulties are challenges that I must overcome.
PV: Having won an international award with “Rom”, you have yet to return to your second film project. Are there any difficulties?
Director Tran Thanh Huy: If this question had come to me 2 years ago, I would have said it was very difficult. At that time, I had to overcome myself, overcome the thought of whether the second film would be as good as the film "Rom".
Right now, I'm craving to return to cinema, trying my best to return with my second movie in the near future.
PV: Thank you!
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