HCM CITY — Tết (Lunar New Year holidays) is the time for local film producers to introduce new TV serials highlighting Vietnamese customs and traditions during the most important time of the year.

Film producer and director Đặng Minh Quốc is working on a five-episode comedy featuring the unicorn–lion–dragon dance as a celebration of the Year of the Dragon.

Long Phụng Sum Vầy (The Reunion of Dragon and Phoenix) revolves around the life of two families who are rivals in unicorn–lion–dragon dance. Despite their conflicts in the past, both families together face challenges to preserve their traditions and protect the love of their children.

Quốc told local media that the film was his third production for Tết, and added that the lion – dance – dragon dance was one of the country’s traditions in Tết which would be a red thread to connect people when spring came.

He also said: “Long Phụng Sum Vầy will feature joyful stories conveying messages of preserving national traditional values and folk art, as well as spreading solidarity between soldiers and people.”

The film features popular actors and actresses such as Lê Bê La, Khánh Linh, and Bích Phương, who spent a lot of time practising martial arts and unicorn–lion–dragon dance moves.

Long Phụng Sum Vầy is expected to be broadcast on February 10, or the first day of the Lunar New Year, on local television channels and social media platforms.

Vĩnh Long Television (THVL) will bring audiences a love story of two fairies in a fantasy series named Duyên Tiên Tiền Định (Fate in Love) directed by Bùi Ngọc Phương Nam.

The 23-episode film tells a love story of two fairies who are exiled from heaven because of violating heaven’s rules. The couple must overcome obstacles on Earth to be together again.

The work presents familiar actors such as Hòa Hiệp, Quỳnh Lam, Thanh Hiền, Phương Dung, and Phương Khánh.

Hiệp, who plays the leading role, said: “Director Nam is famous for historical dramas. He guarantees a film’s success.”

He added: “Featuring a new theme of fantasy, the film promises to bring many laughs and a lot of joy to audiences during the holiday.”

The film will be aired during the Tết holiday, beginning on February 8.

Firefighter Song

A drama to honour firefighters titled “Đi Về Phía Lửa” (Coming Through Fire) will be screened on K+ channel during Tết.

The film is a remake of Tears on Fire, a drama that portrays the life stories of four Taiwanese firefighters, three men and a woman.

The Vietnamese version revolves around four young firefighters in a local fire brigade. It depicts difficulties and dangers which they have to face in rescue operations, as well as reveals emotional stories of their personal lives.

The film features Lãnh Thanh, Trần Ngọc Vàng, Xuân Phúc, and Hồ Thu Anh, who participated in many training courses with professional firefighters in Đà Nẵng.

According to the producer, the staff has received support and consultation from the Đà Nẵng Municipal Fire Police Force to make the film close to reality.

The film is directed by Trần Thanh Huy, who is known for his debut movie Ròm.

Set in a squalid tenement for working-class Saigonese, the movie revolves around số đề, an illegal gambling game that piggybacks on Việt Nam’s official lottery operation. Ròm and a gaggle of other street kids make money from selling lottery result slips and taking bets for số đề bookies as “runners”.

The film won the “Best First Feature” award at the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada, and the “Best Film” for the Special Section Award at the 2020 Asian Film Festival Barcelona.

The movie earned VNĐ55 billion (US$2.37 million) in 10 days after it was released on September 25, 2020. — VNS