LookAtVietnam – A feature film on the life of President Ho Chi Minh is set for release on May 19 next year to coincide with the leader’s 120th birthday.

President Ho Chi Minh.

Based on a screenplay by Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat, it tells about the life of Nguyen Tat Thanh, name the late President called himself for a while, in Hue city and Phan Thiet, in the early 1910s.

It recounts his time as a teacher at Duc Thanh School in Phan Thiet before he moved to Sai Gon and worked as a kitchen hand on a French steamer travelling to Marseilles.

“I chose this period of President Ho Chi Minh’s life for my screenplay because not many films [have done so],” Ngat explained.

“Through my story, I wanted to spotlight our leader’s remarkable ideas for achieving his country’s freedom while [still] young,” she said.

Huu Chau, the film’s director, said the crew began filming in Hue early last month and then in Phan Thiet, Quang Nam and Da Nang.

“Skilled actors like Trung Anh, Manh Cuong and Thu Ha are in the film,” he said.

Though his staff did extensive research by going through books and documents about the President before filming, there were still problems in achieving artistic credibility while narrating the leader’s life.

“We wanted to help young audiences understand the spirit and revolutionary cause of the greatest leader in modern Vietnamese history,” he said.

Young Ha Noi-based actor Nguyen Minh Duc was chosen from among 1,000 candidates to play the role of Nguyen Tat Thanh.

“I felt very proud but under pressure playing Nguyen Tat Thanh – our Uncle Ho,” said Duc, a second-year student at the Ha Noi Theatre and Cinematography University.

He called the role his biggest challenge so far, saying, “Besides its historical and political implications, the film is also about my hero.”

The film’s post-production work will be done in Thailand early next year.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News