Why Saigon Eclipse?

Saigon Eclipse as a title has several meanings. When I landed at Ho Chi Minh City airport, October 95, we disembarked the plane and as we exited the plane at noon, the sky was pitch-black, there was a mysterious wind blowing in the ao dais of the air attendants: I landed during a full sun eclipse. I discovered the city under that light and when I reached my hotel, I opened my diary and wrote: Title for a feature film: Saigon Eclipse.
Saigon Eclipse is also the name of the film-in-the-film Kim (the director played by Dustin Nguyen) is making. His film is a heroic fantasy based on a legend: When a Solar Eclipse is seen over the Saigon river, a time gate opens. A modern day hero from the western world flies through the gate to save a beautiful princess from an ancient past. His goal is to bring her back to the future – his future in America- but soon they realize their future in the present and in Modern day Vietnam.

The eclipse is also the symbol of the struggle between day and night, light and darkness, good and bad. But the eclipse is always in motion and there is never entire light or entire darkness, nothing is completely black or white, good or bad. It’s also an homage to Antonioni’s film “ the Eclipse” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056736. He has developed a style that is anti-dramatic. The idea is instead of pushing the drama to the limits of melodrama, you flatten the emotional peaks. This style allows you not to be overwhelmed by your emotions and be able to have a broader vision of life. Antonioni is also close to the Italian Neo Realism movement, the postwar time, times of tremendous changes and of a nation’s reconstruction. This is exactly what we are living nowadays in Vietnam. It’s very exciting.

Where is the connection between Truyen Kieu and Eclipse?

I guess for this one you have to come and see the film. What I can say is Truyen Kieu takes place during a lifetime and Saigon Eclipse over a couple of weeks. The characters in Saigon Eclipse are inspired by the characters of Kieu and reinterpreted in modern Vietnam and the reason is I fell the story of Kieu is very relevant today.

What is the message you want to convey?

Saigon Eclipse is a film made in Vietnam. It’s the first time a Vietnamese film was made with such an International cast and crew. We are not a foreign film that is shot in Vietnam, but a Vietnamese film made with international standards. Our goal was do as much work as we could in Vietnam and I can say that we accomplished more than 90 % of the work in Vietnam. It’s very important for us to show that it is possible to work there in a good working environment. We want to show a Vietnam that people have never seen before. Not a colonial one, not an apocalyptic one but Vietnam as we live it every day: Vietnam as a Country, not a war.

How the movie was funded?

I’ve been working for the last 12 years in Vietnam and through my work and the company I founded with my partners Mark Hoffman and Chanh Tran, I’ve developed a network of great people who just like me love Vietnam, work there and are actors of all the changes that have been happening. Businessmen, Fund directors, Lawyers, Industry captains have supported me and have invested private equity in the film. We all believe in the future of Vietnam and we want to share with the world this great experience.

Why do you need actors and actresses from different ethnicity speaking different languages?

Do you know many countries where the people communicate in different languages? Do you have ever lived in places were the community is not linked with the ethnicity? Have you ever been to a city where most of the cab drivers speak your language? Well, I’ve traveled quite a bit and Vietnam is a place where it happens every day and I wanted to make sure people would know about it.

Any difficulties (bureaucracy, permit etc…) doing the movie in Vietnam?

Making movies is one of the most difficult job that exists so difficulties are part of the everyday process. But I can say honestly we had amazing support from the authorities. You must understand that Vietnam is changing all the time and the mentalities are opened to evolution and they are opening more each day. The secret is to also be open minded as well and not to hide your real motivations. This is the key to success.

Any positive feedbacks so far?

As I write today 4 May 2007, it’s been exactly 1 year that we started our first day of principal photography. I received the first film prints ten days ago in Ho Chi Minh City. Last week-end I was in Texas to receive the Special jury award for Theatrical Feature Drama at the Houston WorldFest Independent Film Festival.
http://www.saigonnews.vn/sncdetailnews.aspx?Kind=6&Item=21807
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2007/05/690804/
http://www.tuoitre.com.vn/Tianyon/Index.aspx?ArticleID=199410&ChannelID=10

Last night I was at the opening of the VCFilmFest Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film festival with 2 of the stars of the film, Marjolaine Bui and Dustin Nguyen, http://www.wireimage.com/SearchResults.aspx?igi=270936&s=marjolaine%20bui&sfld=C&vwmd=e, where we will be showing the film next Saturday. http://www.vconline.org/festival/program.cfm?program_id=22

SAT, MAY 05 - 09:00 PM
Laemmle's Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood (corner of Sunset and Crescent Heights)

Hope this will be the next good feed back, so please come numerously…

How does the audience in Vietnam response to your movie?

We will have our Vietnam premiere in 10 days, 15 May in Ho Chi Minh City and launching countrywide on the 18 May, so let’s talk again at this point!

Do you have plan for a future project?

Creating a Film Fund to finance Vietnam content films.

www.saigoneclipse.com