ROMANTIC LEAD: Actress Midu will play a beautiful talent manager named Tuệ Lâm in the romantic movie Khi Ta Hai Lăm (When We Are 25) by female director Luk Vân. The film is expected to be released on Valentine’s Day. Photo courtesy of the producer

HCM CITY — Vietnamese filmmakers are working on new projects to serve moviegoers during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday of 2023.

Director Luk Vân recently announced her new movie project about young people chasing their dreams.

Khi Ta Hai Lăm (When We Are 25) tells the story of a beautiful talent manager named Tuệ Lâm who overcomes challenges to turn her boy group into pop stars.

Vân invited actress Midu to play Tuệ Lâm.

Midu, whose real name is Đặng Thị Mỹ Dung, has played both major and minor roles in dozens of feature films including Thiên Mệnh Anh Hùng (Blood Letter) by Vietnamese-American director Victor Vũ, and Mùa Hè Lạnh (Cold Summer) by Ngô Quang Hải.

Vân told local media that “Midu is a woman who is soft on the outside but tough on the inside. That’s all I need for the role of Tuệ Vân.”

Vân, a graduate of the directing department at the HCM City College of Theatre and Cinematography, has gained great popularity among netizens through short films on YouTube.

Đừng Nói, Hãy Yêu (Don’t Talk, Just Love) and Hà Nội, Em Yêu Anh (Hà Nội, I Love You) are some of the popular films.

She released her first movie project 4 Năm, 2 Chàng, Một Tình Yêu (Four Years, Two Men, One Love) in 2016 and the TV series Khi Ta 16 (When We’re 16) in 2017.

Khi Ta Hai Lăm is expected to be on cinemas on Valentine’s Day.

Film producer Trấn Thành, who achieved great success with blockbuster Bố Già (Dad, I’m Sorry) in 2021, is working on his directorial debut called Mai.

The movie is written by Bình Bồng Bột, who joined in blockbusters such as Tiệc Trăng Máu (Blood Moon Party) and Em và Trịnh (You and Trịnh).

The story is about a woman named Mai who suffers from bad situations in her life, but is still optimistic.

According to Thành, the film’s name has three meanings. One is a woman named Mai, the other is a bright tomorrow, and the last one is the ochna flower, a kind of flower representing spring.

Comic actor Thành rose to fame as one of the most successful film producers in Việt Nam thanks to his first movie Bố Già, directed by experienced Vũ Ngọc Đãng, which broke ticket sale records for Vietnamese films after earning VNĐ400 billion ($16.04 million).

The film was distributed in cinemas in Malaysia, Singapore, the US and Australia in April and May 2021.

The movie won four top prizes at the 22nd Việt Nam Film Festival organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, including the Silver Lotus Award for Best Feature Film, Best Actor Award, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay.

In December 2021, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism chose Bố Già to compete in the Best Foreign Language Film Category at the Oscars 2022.

The movie Mai is expected to bring laughter to audiences during the Tết holiday. — VNS