VietNamNet Bridge – Since its introduction to the public early this year, Giay (Paper) has caused a stir among the Vietnamese youth, as it is the first animation ever on Vietnamese history.

Big crowds: The screening of Giay (Paper) in HCM City attracted the attention of many of the city’s youth and historical experts. — Photo courtesy of Viet Su Kieu Hung

Paper is the first among the three episodes of Tu Chien Thanh Da Bang (Mortal Combat at Da Bang Citadel), the first part of Viet Su Kieu Hung (Valiant Vietnamese History) film project.

A team of young producers have invested in the scripts, the characters, graphic designs, music and dubbing. The film project aims to recreate significant battles, typical historical characters or mysterious stories in Vietnamese history through animation.

 Specifically, its first part, Mortal Combat at Da Bang Citadel recreated the country as it was in the 1400s and the historical combat between Vietnamese Emperor Ho Quy Ly, who reigned from 1400-1401, and the Chinese Ming invaders from the north.

“I was really astonished with what I was watching,” writes Nguyen Phung on Valiant Vietnamese History’s Facebook. “I have very little knowledge about the short reign of Emperor Ho Quy Ly in Vietnam. The film seems to unveil gradually the mystery of history, so that the audience can have in-depth and diverse views, and each historical lesson is not an exercise in boredom for the youth.”

The Paper episode, lasting 17 minutes, is the fruit of more than 80 days of relentless work of nearly 30 young people. Although working in different fields — some are still students — every member of the project shares the same passion for Vietnamese history.

“Our chief aim is to ensure the project works as ‘tinder’, igniting and inspiring the love for history among the youth, so that the Vietnamese people, both at home and abroad, develop more interest in the country’s history,” says 30-year-old Tran Minh Tuan, who is also the initator of Valiant Vietnamese History film project.

Top guns: The poster for Giay (Paper), the first episode of the animated film Tu Chien Thanh Da Bang (Mortal Combat at Da Bang Citadel), features the main characters of the film. — Photo courtesy of Viet Su Kieu Hung

The idea for the project came to Tuan after talking with actor/director Nguyen Dat Phi, who is managing Hung Ca Su Viet (Epical Vietnamese History) channel.

“I regret his channel could not develop the animation due to his tight schedule and shortage of time and labour. Thankfully, I am acquainted with many directors and artistes, who helped me create my first seven-minute demo clip titled ’Vo Tanh’ (an 18th-century Vietnamese military commander, best known for his role as a general of Nguyen Anh, who unified modern-day Vietnam and ruled as Emperor Gia Long). As it was well received by the audience, I started to look for more cooperators to create more such professional clips.”

“I was fortunately able to find many others who shared my passion and volunteered enthusiastically to join the project without seeking payment,” he adds.

The production team chose the topic for each episode by keeping in mind not the significant victories that have been noted down in Vietnamese history books, but by delving into those battles that have been rarely mentioned in the textbooks.

Top guns: The poster for Giay (Paper), the first episode of the animated film Tu Chien Thanh Da Bang (Mortal Combat at Da Bang Citadel), features the main characters of the film. — Photo courtesy of Viet Su Kieu Hung

The history in Vietnam mainly focuses on the successes and seems to neglect the failures, Tuan says.

Therefore, Mortal Combat at Da Bang Citadel will be about Vietnam’s defeat, and the takeaway message is that everyone should review their failures and draw lessons from them to ensure success in the future.

“Winning or losing, failure or success, they are all part of the valiant history of the nation that no one must forget,” he says.

Besides this, the project iniator believes the battle of Da Bang Citadel will reveal other aspects of the Vietnamese that was hitherto unknown.

“What has helped us to regain the nation after thousands of years of subjugation without being assimilated? We want to give the answer to this question via this animation,” Tuan adds.

Furthermore, the obscurity of this battle in history is also an advantage to the production team, as it not only rouses the curiosity of the community but also weakens pressure from criticism.

By hand: The artists of Viet Su Kieu Hung (Valiant Vietnamese History) sketch the characters in Giay (Paper) animation. — Photo courtesy of Viet Su Kieu Hung

Before embarking on an animation project, the team has to compile documents about each characters, including the details of their birth and death, family background, life events and personalities. Based on such details, the artistes will sketch the image of the characters, before working with the director to fine-tune the sketches. After the hand paintings are approved, they start painting on computers.

According to Tuan, Valiant Vietnamese History project was undertaken in consultation with Dai Viet Co Phong, a group specialising in ancient Vietnamese culture, including Phan Thanh Nam, a reputed name among Vietnam’s history enthusiasts, who has conducted many historical projects such as Hoa Van Dai Viet (Vietnamese Patterns) and Nguyen Phuong Anh, who is a lecturer in the People’s Security Academy and has a PhD in Vietnamese studies.

The production of Valiant Vietnamese History animations follows three rules: respecting historical facts, not defending the characters and running no propaganda.

“To make the historical film attractive, there must be some adaptations, which, however, still have to strictly follow these rules,” he says.

He aslo reveals that during the production of Paper, which is the first one of its kind and cost VND100 million (US$4,400), the team encountered countless difficulties, such as shortage of labour, finance, equipment and time. Even though the team and its partners are supporting the project financially without seeking remuneration, the long-term implementation of the project might be another story.

The biggest success for Paper, Tuan says, is the audience’s warm response, which was beyond expectation.

“Many viewers said they have been waiting for such film products about history for a long time. Paper has evoked much emotion, and they are willing to contribute to the project. Just a week after it released, the project’s funds rose to VND190 million from VND40 million”, he reveals.

Besides compliments, the team has also received many suggestions from both the audience and experts, who have pointed out the shortcomings, “which are very valuable for us to draw the experience and do better in the next part,” Tuan says.

“Moreover, many new cooperators have offered to give us a hand to complete the project,” Tuan adds.

Currently, the whole team is utilising all efforts to produce the next part of Mortal Combat at Da Bang Citadel, entitled Sat (Iron). The second part will work on the shortcomings of the previous one, and add sophistication to the characters’ outfits, designs and background.

“We hope to integrate more Vietnamese features into our next productions, so that they not only become historical products but also contain the culture of our predecessors,” he says.

 Paper can be watched online for free on two official channels of the project, facebook.com/vietsukieuhung and youtube.com/duoc-moi with English subtitles. 

by Luong Thu Huong

Source: VNS