Their work is not simply to recreate a framework that has fading away over time, they have carefully restored every step, every movement, every lane of dust... to create a vivid video that makes viewers feel like they are living in that historic moment.
History should not only be in books. History needs to be told through images, sounds and emotions, so that today's young people can understand, touch and live in what their ancestors have gone through" - Le Van Phuc, deputy leader of Skyline, shared.
Also in that journey, the Skyline group also carried out one of the most elaborate and touching projects: Recreating photos of 64 martyrs of the Gar Ma. From the blurred photos at the memorial site, the group contacted each martyr's family, in some cases having to call for three consecutive days to connect. Each photo is a dialogue, a look at history, a moment of silence when a relative complains: "No one has ever done this to my child. Now I see it as clearly as if it had been alive since it was in the East Sea.
The Skyline was born in early 2021, originating from a group of young people with a common passion for photo editing. They met through small projects, helping people in difficult circumstances complete old photos. Each photo is a story, a passion, a part of the memory that has blurred over the years.
But then the turning point was when a martyr's grandson came to them with the desire to restore his photo, who died in the southern battlefield. When receiving the photo after restoration, the grandson burst into tears. He trembled about his uncle, about the years of resistance war, about a family that was forever unfinished.
At that time, our group understood that what we were doing was not just technical editing. I am preserving memories, reviving the images of children who have passed away for the Fatherland" - the group member emotionally recounted.
From that moment on, Skyline embarked on a new journey. A journey without reward, without glory, only gratitude and perseverance. They chose to restore photos of martyrs, people who have devoted their youth and lives to national independence.
But that journey was not easy. Most of the Skyline members are young people with little in-depth knowledge of history, military uniforms, and culture of each period. There are photos of martyrs that are severely damaged, leaving only a few blurred lines. To restore, they have to follow every clue, investigate every small detail, compare with the document, and then contact the martyrs' relatives to confirm each look and smile.
Le Van Phuc confided: "There are photos that we need more than 100 hours of work, or there are photos that have to be edited dozens of times. Because every missing detail is a disrespect to the deceased."
In addition, time is another big challenge. The members all have their own jobs, going to work during the day and coming back at night to take advantage of sitting and restoring photos. There are nights when they stay up all night to give photos to the martyrs' families on holidays or before the death anniversary. Once, when they went to the house of a Vietnamese Heroic Mother to give a photo, they were shocked to hear that their mother had just passed away two days before. The whole group went silent, a very small delay, but a huge obstacle.
The Skyline still remembers the story of female martyr Dang Thi Kim, the niece of the late General Secretary Truong Chinh. She died at the age of 19. The family only kept a very vague photo, which was published in newspapers.
Un discouraged, in March 2024, Khuat Van Hoang - a member of the group quietly restored the photo. At nearly 2am, the completed photo was posted by Hoang on social media. The next morning, we received a message from Ms. Hang - the niece of martyr Dang Thi Kim: "Honey, I was moved and shocked to see such a clear photo. This is the long-standing wish of her family.
The photo restoration Skyline is completely free. They pay their own funds, call for sponsorship in printing, and sell historical publications to raise funds. In cases outside the policy with a desire to restore photos of relatives and groups, they still accept and use that contribution to reinvest in other projects to show gratitude to martyrs.
Currently, they continue to recreate historical videos using AI. But AI, no matter how modern, requires perseverance, emotion and human hands. Every time they make a video, they have to process it hundreds of times to make a desired move. But when completed, they know that they have just created a vivid cut of history, so that future generations can see, understand, and be grateful.
In May and July, Skyline will continue its journey of gratitude in Quang Ninh and Quang Tri, locations associated with the blood and tears of war. The group is planning to make historical short films, with the hope of touching the hearts of young people, awakening patriotism, national spirit and gratitude in each person.
We are just ordinary young people. But if we all do something to preserve memories, even very small ones, history will not be forgotten. The memories will last forever for us" - Deputy Head of Skyline said.
They are not noisy. No disillusionment. But each completed photo, each video recreating history, each time giving memories to a martyr's family is a Skyline that forever preserves the origin and sacred tradition of the nation.
