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right to import films. This poses a real
threat to domestic cinematography.
It is often said that you like to swim
against the tide, would you agree?
I would say that all that matters is
that I have my own stance and it is often
dissimilar to others. I act like most other
people, but I have my own stance when
it comes to many specific matters.
Do you think people always under-
stand the true meaning of your films?
Sometimes there is a dichotomy be-
tween my aim and the perception. Take
my film
Don’t Burn
for example. People
first thought the film was made to praise
heroes or war martyrs like many other
firms about the war-time; however, I
made the film to illustrate war’s tragedy
that pushed good people to become
enemies. I hope that will never happen
again - that is why I made the film.
Which director do you most admire?
The iconic Japanese film director,
Yasujiro Ozu.
What could rescue Vietnam’s contem-
porary cinema?
Novelist Thach Lam once wrote:
“We must not follow anyone. We only
have to truly express our soul, ideas and
thoughts. We are comparable to foreign
writers only when we look deep into
our souls. Writers need to be honest.”
This encapsulates how to rescue
our cinematography industry. The
problem is many film directors have
tried to imitate Korea, the US or Hong
Kong in making films to attract au-
diences. Once that illness has been
cured, Vietnam’s cinematography can
be boosted by true values.
film
Born 1938 in Hue, Dang Nhat Minh
originally intended to follow his father
into a medical career. However, he be-
gan work in Russian films before trans-
lating for the Soviet cinema training
school in Vietnam. In 1965, he made his
first film - a documentary film about a
geological engineer.
Since then, Dang Nhat Minh has
won many prestigious domestic and
international awards. He was the first
Vietnamese person to be awarded the
Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture and in 2007
he received a Ho Chi Minh Award from
the Vietnamese government for his cin-
ematographic works.
In 2009, Do Not Burn, a film based
on a diary kept by Dang Thuy Tram,
a young female medical doctor who
served at a field hospital on the Vi-
etnam National Liberation Front, won
the audience prize at the 19th annual
Fukuoka Film Festival. In the same year,
the film won the Golden Lotus and
Golden Kite awards.
His most recent recognition came in
the form of a KimDae-jung Nobel Peace
Film Award at the 2013 Gwangju Inter-
national Film Festival in the Republic
of Korea.
Dang Nhat Minh accepting one of his many awards