REVOLUTIONARY FILM - Movie star Trà Giang performs in Vĩ Tuyến 17 Ngày Và Đêm (17th Parallel, Days and Nights), a film about a southern woman during the American War. The film, directed by late People’s Artist Hải Ninh, was released in 1972. Photo courtesy of HCM City Cinematography Association.

HCM CITY — A photo exhibition featuring Vietnamese revolutionary cinema will be organised in HCM City as part of the city’s cultural activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of South Việt Nam's Liberation and Reunification Day (April 30).

The event is called Âm Vang Đại Thắng Mùa Xuân 1975 Trong Điện Ảnh (The Great Victory of Spring April 30, 1975 Featured in Cinema).

It highlights the history and development of Việt Nam’s cinema industry.

It will display 300 photos capturing images from famous historical films about Vietnamese heroic mothers, soldiers, and people who devoted themselves to the country’s independence and reunification.

PHOTO EXHIBITION - Posters and images from prize-winning films about Vietnamese soldiers and people during the anti-American war will be displayed at a photo exhibition in HCM City next month. Photo courtesy of HCM City Cinematography Association.

Highlighted pictures portray southern film directors and artists of the Southern Cinematography and Photography Branch (SCPB) during the anti-French and American wars.

The Vietnamese motion picture industry was established officially in March 1953, but activities actually began in the SCPB, which opened in the Đồng Tháp Mười region (now located in Đồng Tháp, Tiền Giang and Long An provinces) in 1947.

SCPB artists, such as People’s Artist Khương Mễ and Mai Lộc, worked hard to make lively documentaries and films on southern soldiers and people. Some of them died during the period.

Movie star Trà Giang and her colleagues pushed Vietnamese revolutionary film to higher heights in the 1960s-70s, and are also included.

Giang performed the lead roles in films such as Chị Tư Hậu (MrsTư Hậu) by late director Phạm Kỳ Nam in 1962 and Vĩ Tuyến 17 Ngày Và Đêm (17th Parallel, Days and Nights) by late director Hải Ninh in 1972. Both productions highlight southern women and their character.

Giang won the best actress prize at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1963 and 1973.

The exhibition is organised by the Việt Nam Film Institute and its partners, the Department of Cinematography and HCM City Cinematography Association.

It will open on April 5 and runs through May 1 at the September 23 Park in District 1. — VNS