HCM CITY — A TV series on the American War in Viet Nam will be broadcast on Viet Nam Television (VTV) this weekend to mark the 35th anniversary of the liberation of South Viet Nam. The 13-part series, titled Viet Nam – The Ten-Thousand-Day War, was directed by Canadian Michael Maclear, a war reporter, writer and TV producer who spent three years reporting in North Viet Nam during the American war.
Using documentary reports and interviews by Maclear, the series tells real stories behind the longest Indochina war, which lasted for 30 years, focusing on key events during 1945 and 1975.
It recounts the first and last days of Americans in Viet Nam, capturing lively images about the war, and soldiers and people, both American and Vietnamese.
In a press conference in Canada in 1985 before the release of the film, Maclear said he wanted to tell true stories about the war in an aim to help younger generations evaluate it on their own.
He also refused to bring his anti-war ideas into the film, trying to remain neutral during filming, he said.
To complete his film, Maclear used reports from his fact-finding trips around North Viet Nam in 1969, 1970 and 1972.
His colleague, well-known reporter Peter Arnett of US-based Cable News Network (CNN), wrote the film's screenplay and commentary, and conducted interviews as well. Arnett was a reporter during the American War here and during the Gulf War in 1991.
Maclear and his staff received support from the Viet Nam People's Army Film Studio.
Born in 1929 in London, Maclear began his career in Canada in 1954 as a reporter and writer.
He has visited more than 80 countries and territories to make documentaries, including the award-winning Doctors Without Borders, The Eatons: A Canadian Saga, Acts of War and Flightpath, and Viet Nam – The Ten-Thousand-Day War.
Vietnam-The Ten-Thousand Day War first was aired on VTV in 2005 and received a warm response from older and younger viewers.
The series will be broadcast daily, beginning today on VTV1. — VNS