Truong Ngoc Anh returns to the silver screen.

Truong Ngoc Anh has spent the past 20 years building a name for herself not just in one field of the arts but in several, making her name known as a model, singer and actress

She is most well-known for her performance in the internationally award-winning movie Ao Lua Ha Dong (The White Silk Dress) which was officially selected to represent Viet Nam at the 80th Academy Awards.

After years of focusing on her entertainment company, she has returned to the screen in movie Huong Ga (Rise) which is nominated this year for a Golden Kite Award. The awards ceremony will be held tomorrow in HCM City.

She spoke with Tinh Hoa Viet about her work in the movie Rise.

Why did it take so long for you to come back to the silver screen?

I was waiting for a good script. I don't want to appear frequently in movies. It's better for me to have just one role a year that I can dedicate all my heart to. It is how I show my respect for my audience which supports me quietly and without demands. They only want to watch good movies.

Did you feel a lot of pressure making Rise since it is your first movie in a long time ?

Yes, I did. This movie marks a change in my career. My role in the movie The White Silk Dress was a typical Vietnamese female character who has sacrificed and suffered. In Rise, it is the contrary, my role is an woman who wants to be a gang leader in the criminal world.

I want the audiences to see the change and feel differently when they see my image on screen. I also felt refreshed when I began to work at the movie studio; it has been such a long time since I had a role. The atmosphere of the studio moves me, like waking a forgotten part of my body, but it also made me exhausted.

Overall I'm happy because I got to do my favourite work with unbelievable colleagues.

At the beginning, you agreed just to the role of main character, but later you became the movie's executive producer. Why?

I believe it was fate. I spent time, money and my heart on this project. It is my return to cinema so the movie deserved all that I could give it.

I don't have great expectations for the movie, I don't expect it to be the most successful movie in Vietnamese cinema history. But I do want it to be received warmly by many audiences, I want new audiences to get interested in Vietnamese cinema and I want them to see how professional the industry has become.

What makes the movie successful, in your opinion?

The movie has almost everything that attracts female audiences, a dramatic love story and guys with chiseled six-packs. But what's noteworthy, is that it is the story of a gang's female leader.

The supporting roles in the movie are also really engaging; each one is someone you could see in real-life. The movie also focuses on the amazing strength of a woman, helping her to overcome hardships in life.

This is my company's first time working with director Cuong Ngo and it is also his first action movie, so everyone was really feeling excited and rejuvenated making the movie. — VNS