YOUTH DRAMA - Independent director Phan Đăng Di (right) works on Ước Mình Cùng Bay (Wishing Fly Together), a web drama series featuring urban youth. Photo courtesy of the producer.

HCM CITY — The first six episodes of an online web drama series about urban life, directed by award-winning artist Phan Đăng Di, has attracted more than 350 million views.

The show Ước Mình Cùng Bay (Wishing Fly Together) focuses on love, family, and the values of the youth today.

The values of self-love, forgiveness, respect, honestly, responsibility and compassion are highlighted.

The film also looks at the trials and tribulations between parents and children.

It was released in early February and has 50 episodes.

Director Di used young artists such as Quang Đại and Thuỳ Dung as lead characters, and their performances have left a strong impression on audiences.

"I decided to challenge myself making Ước Mình Cùng Bay, a web drama. I hope my film will be entertaining and useful to young audiences, and provide much laughter," said director Di, one of the country’s few independent filmmakers.

HCM CITY STORIES - A scene from Ước Mình Cùng Bay (Wishing Fly Together), a new production by director Phan Đăng Di, starring young artists from HCM City. Photo courtesy of the producer.

Di has released 11 films.

He was nominated for a Golden Bear prize at the 65th International Berlin Film Festival in 2015. His work, Mekong Stories, was also the first Vietnamese movie to compete for the Golden Bear.

The film tells the stories of three young people in HCM City in the 2000s - a photographer, a bartender and a dancer - who face conflicts and challenges in their lives.

Mekong Stories won the Young Jury Prize at the Festival of the Three Continents in Nantes, France.

It was screened at 50 film festivals around the world, receiving reviews from newspapers and cinema magazines such as Le Monde, Premiere and Positif.

The film’s copyright was then bought by French firm Memento Films and was screened for three months at 400 cinemas in 30 cities in France in 2015. More than 50,000 tickets were sold.

Di worked as a producer and art director for the film Cu Li Không Bao Giờ Khóc (Cu Li Never Cries), a winner at the Berlinale Film Festival in February.

The film helped its director Phạm Ngọc Lân of Hà Nội to bring home the Best First Feature from the Society for the Management of Film and Television Rights.

“I think releasing films on online platforms is a good way to save money on production and provide audiences with art,” said Di, who has 20 years of experience in the industry.

Ước Mình Cùng Bay is released on VieON. — VNS