Japanese professor Michiko Yoshii (left) depicted in Em Và Trịnh. Photo Galaxy M&E

HÀ NỘI Japanese professor Michiko Yoshii has submitted a request to the Vietnamese Cinema Department asking for an official apology from the producer of the film Em Và Trịnh (You and Trịnh).

The request was revealed by the legal representative of the Japanese professor, lawyer Nguyễn Thị Diễm Phượng, according to anninhthudo.vn.

The request was made after the producer of the film failed to make a public apology for revealing her private life to the public without her consent by the date agreed upon, September 20.

The request also seeks advice on appropriate behaviours of the parties involved, avoiding complicating the issue further.

Earlier, Yoshii’s lawyer said that she had sent an official letter asking the producer of Em Và Trịnh to publicly apologise for using Yoshii's image in the film without permission.

The letter stated that the film revealed some information related to the private life and personal details of both Yoshii and the late musician, which violated not only their civil rights but also their privacy.

According to the lawyer, the film producer had not contacted the professor prior to its launch. She also did not agree on the use of her personal information for the production of the film.

The letter demanded the producer of the biopic to send an official apology to Yoshii one week after it was sent. Her lawyer would commence legal action if the request is not met. 

However, a week later, the professor had not received any response from the film producer. 

On September 21, Galaxy Cinema, the producer of Em and Trịnh, replied to Lao Động (Labour) newspaper that the unit was working with professor Yoshii and asked for an extension to handle the request.

Phượng revealed she has received the email from the production company that affirmed that the issue would be handled with respect to the law and the Japanese professor.

However, as the deadline for the request had expired, the lawyer sent a letter to the Vietnamese Cinema Department for consultation on proper action between the two parties.

She also added that professor Yoshii has agreed to wait for the official apology for another ten days.

The director of the Vietnamese Cinema Department, Vi Kiến Thành, said that the incident is a civil issue and the department needs specific documents as a basis to come up with a proper solution.

Released on June 17, Em Và Trịnh, a biopic on Trịnh Công Sơn (1939-2001), one of Việt Nam's greatest musicians, immediately attracted attention from both film critics and enthusiasts.

Despite its success in revenue, the film has also become the centre of controversies related to the characters depicted.

The renowned Vietnamese singer and one of Sơn's muses, Khánh Ly, even declared that she would never watch the film as its crew did not respect her. According to her, she did not agree with some scenes but they were still retained when the film was released.

Besides Khánh Ly, singer Thanh Thúy also denied wearing cheongsam and walking in the dark alley with the musician as shown in a scene of Em và Trịnh.

Meanwhile, the production company confirmed the film was clearly stated to be "inspired by real characters", meaning that they were only inspired from reality instead of copying it, and then retold in cinematic language. VNS