More than 20 years ago, when bringing Vietnamese films abroad was still extremely difficult in terms of funding and logistics, People's Artist Pham Nhue Giang personally brought the feature film version of "Desert Valley" from Hanoi to California (USA) to attend the Vietnam International Film Festival (ViFF).
The image of the female director cherishing and carefully preserving the film reel throughout the long flight became a special memory, showing absolute respect for the labor achievements of the whole crew.
With a production budget of only about 400 million VND, the film crew had to carefully calculate each frame to avoid waste.
Each failed filming is a big loss, creating heavy pressure on the actors.
To achieve maximum authenticity, the director persistently works with extras who are indigenous people of Sa Pa.
The most memorable is the scene of the Ta Giang Phinh farmer playing the father of the character Mi.
Uncle had to practice over and over again for 20 times, until the 21st time he completed it without hitting a word. The whole delegation burst into joy.
The film depicts the true portraits of teachers who "stick to the village" to teach in the highlands.
Teacher Thanh (late artist Nguyen Hau), Ms. Giao (Hong Anh), Ms. Minh (Tuyet Hanh) all carry special emotions when transforming into roles of teachers teaching literacy in remote and isolated areas, facing countless hardships and deprivations. In which, the character Ms. Giao dares to live true to the desire for love by the stream with the geological guy in the wild nature of Ta Giang Phinh commune.
This subtle perspective helps the film escape the "tension", bringing the image of the teacher closer to human instincts and emotions.
The explicit authenticity has conquered international audiences. A Korean producer voluntarily supported 50,000 USD for the director to go to Korea for surround sound mixing. This upgrade helps the film qualify for the Cannes Film Festival.
From the domestic Silver Lotus award to the Fipresci award for young Asian directors at the Melbourne Film Festival, "Desert Valley" proves that authentic cinema is still the shortest path to reach the hearts of global audiences.
More than two decades later, People's Artist Pham Nhue Giang still maintains her firm belief that cinema must make viewers ponder and reflect, not just entertainment.
On the occasion of the movie being re-screened in Da Nang, director Pham Nhue Giang shared: "In the flow of 40 years of Doi Moi, I believe that my work has met the criteria for exploration and innovation of Vietnamese cinema. This is an interesting experience when I have the opportunity to meet the audience again today to see what they think about a film that reflects society from 20 years ago".
Desolate Valley" is one of the films carefully selected to contribute to looking back at the face of Vietnamese cinema in 40 years of Doi Moi, within the framework of the program "The Face of Vietnamese Cinema 40 Years of Doi Moi" of the Organizing Committee of the 4th Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF IV).
