TV series focus on rural life

Little house on the Delta: A scene from the series Vit Keu Dong (Free-Range Ducks) which is one of the series produced recently focusing on rural life. — File Photo

HCM CITY — Domestic film studios are making more TV series about the lifestyle changes and aspirations of people who live in the Mekong River Delta.

The television comedy Tay Choi Miet Vuon (Countryside's Newly Rich People) depicts the life of three farmers who became well-off after receiving compensation for their ricefields taken by local authorities for industrial projects.

The farmers, To, Gia and Thong, spend their newfound wealth and cause trouble to their families.

The 33-episode series is directed by Le Quang Hung and produced by M&T Pictures Company. Well-known actors in the series include Thanh Nam and Bao Tri.

The episodes are being screened on SCTV14 every day at 8pm.

"Studios have made many TV series about romance, family and city life," said film director Phan Hoang.

Hoang is one of the few film directors that have made TV series about rural life.

His recent series Khat Vong Dong Que (Aspirations of People in the Countryside) was received warmly when it was aired on Vinh Long Television early this year.

Produced by Cuu Long Film Studio, the 20-episode Khat Vong Dong Que tells about the hard life of farmers in a small village in the southernmost Ca Mau Province and their desire to escape poverty.

"I highly appreciate the efforts of young artists like Tan Hung and Ngoc Thao who perform in the series," said overseas Vietnamese Helen Tran, whose parents were born in Tien Giang Province in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

"There are many scenes depicting the artists working in the rice fields or wading through the mud under the scorching sun and heavy rains," Tran said.

"I also love to see many beautiful natural landscapes of Ca Mau in the series," she said.

After the success of the eight-episode series Vit Keu Dong (Free-Range Ducks), Le Phuong Nam made Dong Que (Countryside), which aired on HTV9 last June.

Misfortune suffered by poultry farmers during the bird-flu epidemic was featured in Vit Keu Dong.

Nam depicts the hard life of Vietnamese farmers between 1935 and 1945 when the country was at war.

The background of Dong Que is remote areas and vast mangrove forests in Dong Nai Province and the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

After Dong Que, HTV9 aired Dat Man (Salted Land) last month, funded by HCM City Television Film Studio (TFS).

"TV series focusing on rural life will account for about one-third of our production this year," said TFS director Nguyen Viet Hung.

Dat Man directed by Tuong Phuong, tells about the farmers' undaunted struggle to keep their land from being seized by village tyrants.

Several series, including Chuyen Xu Dua (Story in A Coconut Village) and Ben Tinh Yeu (Wharf of Love), show residents' desire to set up craft villages. Both series, which aired on HTV7 early this year, were popular with viewers. — VNS