Making a film "My Mother"

When I finished the photo book My Mother and took the photo set My Mother to a solo exhibition in photometria (Greec), I felt relieved because I had completed a big job. I have lived with my mother for more than half a century, witnessed and experienced countless emotions, from the smallest things in life to moments that touch deeply into my heart.

But during the process of taking photos of my mother, I connected with my mother more, understood her better, both about her life, personality, as well as the love of her father and mother in memories and the letters her father sent that she had kept for decades.

It was a relief but then I fell into a state of not wanting to take photos anymore, while my mother kept weakening according to the laws of time.

Until one day near the Lunar New Year of the Snake (2023), the screenwriter, Dr. Dang Thu Ha, advised me to make a film about her so that when I exhibit "My Mother" in the future, I can combine it with showing the film. With the emotion after reading the photo book and witnessing her life, Ha always wrote scripts and organized film production, from renting filming equipment, recording to the post-production process later ( film making, sound design...).

The time to turn on the phone was the time when my mother had just suffered a heartbreaking fall. Her mother had difficulty moving, her voice was very weak, sometimes her hearing was unclear and she lay on the bed more. But that is why the filming of her mother reading New Year's Eve's poem, trembling, interrupted, sometimes tripping, sometimes throbbing became a highlight in the film. It is not only a personal effort but also shows that spiritual life is an important pillar in the mother's life.

The scene where the mother held her hand exposed to the sun on the bed on the afternoon of the second day of Tet was an impromptu and poetic scene. Optimism is one of the factors that help mothers overcome their illness to continue living.

Or the scene where the mother drops off the light pink ao dai worn at the wedding in 1965, now still as beautiful as her mother said: "Even if I have a future, I will still marry my father".

There are interesting details in the mother's room such as the scene of a small doll hanging in the corner of the table - where the theses, theses of the doctoral student and the research works of the mother are located. That is a small gift from a doctor who has been studying away from home to his mother and mother has kept it for decades. There are things whose spiritual value is much greater than material value.

The camera angles in the film are carefully and realistically selected, reflecting the true spirit of my mother: A careful researcher, living by discipline and principles. Almost all of the filming scenes are internal scenes and spaces in the house where my mother lives, because that is the increasingly narrowing world of my mother. A world full of sexy energy. Photography allows me to capture decisive moments, while cinema expands space and time, allowing emotions to flow naturally and vividly.

filming is a long journey, lasting a whole year, but the filming process is equally arduous. With dozens of hours of filming materials, taking away any and all excerpts is a matter of consideration, calculation and courage. Because there are unfortunate passages left - such as mother's birthday, or the scene where the brother talks about "the talented cat" left in the mother's room - but when included, it affects the structure of the film. Finally, everything that is chosen to be made, even the smallest details, must serve the film towards a wide audience, because this is not a film that is only shown in the family. Just like there are very long scenes but when set up and cut, they are very short, even just temporarily congested - but without it, the painting is flawed.

When the film had finished its first version, there was still a feeling of missing something, like a sentence that still haunted me.

One night, my mother suddenly became very seriously ill. The next day, I had to take my mother to the emergency room, at that time she was really panicked and cried: "Mom, Mom! Im dead. It is true that when it is most dangerous, people - regardless of age or young - call me your mother. At that time, I was able to help my mother film with a handheld phone. In the end, that short film was the sentence for the 37-minute film.

My Mother does not have comments, only a few short self-identity quotes of mine and uses some lines in the famous song My Mother by musician Tran Tien. The concluding line of the 4 lyrics: "Mom, the world is vast/ bookless as my house/Even for wealth and glory/ Glory is not as good as having a mother" ended with the image of me in my beloved house, helping me express my feelings about you.

The first film "My Mother" is a tribute to me and also a way for me to preserve her image - not only in my memory or heart, but also in every frame, every movement. The camera, in my hand, is the second eye - looking at you with all my love, respect and emotion.

I hope, My Mothers is not just a personal story. Because maternal love is the most sacred and noble feeling in the world. Everyone in the world has a mother. Those who are still mothers, when watching the film, may suddenly realize that they need to cherish every moment with their mother more, because one day, we will no longer have that opportunity. Those who have lost their mothers will probably find in the film a moment of silence to remember, to love, to whisper "mother" again - even though it is only in their hearts.