Poetess Phan Huyen Thu is a pioneering independent documentary filmmakers in Viet Nam. She has won many awards for poetry and her documentaries.

She spoke to Culture Vulture about indie-documentary filmmaking in Viet Nam.

What is the difference between your films and others produced by State-owned studios?

I want to stress that documentary films are not necessarily news reports. Press documentary filmmaking is an independent category, but in Viet Nam they are all lumped together, which is an unfortunate mistake. Documentary films are shown at the cinema. They are also distributed on CD. To make a documentary film you need to have a professional film director. It is quite different to entertainment film making. A documentary film maker has to observe everything that occurs in life and transmit that into the film. I think my documentaries are not outstanding. I try to tell a complete story without actors or acting. The story does not happen in reality but it is real.

You say that documentary films are not made for television. But they are not screened in cinemas in Viet Nam. How do you reach audiences?

Many asked me where they can see documentaries. The truth is nowhere. I use high technology to make my documentaries popular. I post them on the internet or I hold screenings for people who will post them on YouTube. Most of my audiences see my documentaries via the internet.

I think documentary filmmakers should give prior to this activity, to share and create an audience over the internet. I always try to find the fastest and closet way of introducing my documentaries to audiences. I want audiences to fully understand what my documentaries are about. I don't care if my documentary is interesting or not. It depends on feelings and experience.

Are awards important to you?

I used to say that awards were not important to me. I think awards are important because they demonstrate they show that professional documentary filmmakers accept me. My first documentaries were criticised a lot. I was told that if I wanted to know how to make a documentary I should work in a television studio. I was disappointed but not upset. The public tends to want to see me as an envious artist and fame hunter.

Now everything is changing. The Viet Nam Central Science Documentary Studio, where I'm working, is encouraging artists to make long documentaries in a different style.

You are an established poetess but work as a journalist. Is that what sparked your interest in making documentaries?

When I was a journalist I sometimes interviewed veteran documentary filmmakers such as Le Manh Thich and Tran Van Thuy. They encouraged me to write scripts. I helped some directors write scripts and I was asked to edit them. I was recruited to work at the Viet Nam Central Science Documentary Studio in 1999 as a journalist. At that time I had no cinematic knowledge. In the beginning I think I wrote good scripts but I was disappointed because my scripts were used only to make money.

I attended Ateliers Varan documentary film workshop. When I finished the first course I sent my documentary to the International Women's Film Festival of Creteil, Paris. After that, I continued to study my Master's. However, I was not allowed to make a film because I did not graduate from the Cinema and Theatre College.

You plan to set up a documentary studio for yourself. Is that so?

I have earned money by producing advertisements, music video clips, short documentaries and television reality shows, which will help with funding. I am in contact with television channels such as Discovery, the BBC, CNN, KBS and NHK, which is important and will help with the project. — VNS