HCM CITY — Việt Nam’s Tourism Ambassador and Hollywood film director Jordan Charles Vogt-Roberts returned to Việt Nam to launch a scholarship fund for Vietnamese students on Thursday. 

The fund will offer two full scholarships worth US$90,000 each for four years of study at a university in the US.

The annual scholarships include tuition and accommodation and living expenses for students studying in the arts and cinematography.

To give women opportunities in study and career, at least one scholarship will be awarded to a female talent.

The fund is open to students in the arts and cinematography. Candidates should submit a film clip or a poem for application.

Speaking at a press conference in HCM City, the director said that he had worked with dozens of organisations and benefactors to develop the fund.

He hopes the fund will begin in the autumn season.

During his 10-day business trip that began on May 6, the director participated in various social and charity programmes in Hà Nội and HCM City.

Vogt-Roberts said he was working with the ministry to make music videos about tourist destinations in Việt Nam to introduce the sites to international audiences.

 “I have also invited American directors and actors to visit famous tourist destinations, including Sapa of Lào Cai Province, Sơn Đoòng Cave of Quảng Bình, and Đà Nẵng,” he added. 

Last year, Vogt-Roberts and his crew worked in Ninh Bình, Quảng Bình and Quảng Ninh to film Kong: Skull Island or Titan, the King Kong prequel.

Shooting occurred from February 18 to late March.

The shoot took place in Tràng An, Vân Long and Tam Cốc of Ninh Bình, Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park in Quảng Bình and Hạ Long Bay in Quảng Ninh.

The film stars Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson, who all expressed positive feelings about Việt Nam during filming.

It was the biggest Hollywood movie ever to be filmed in Việt Nam.  

Kong: Skull Island or Titan earned more than US$142 million in ticket sales globally, and $6.6 million in only Việt Nam, after just two weeks of release. 

Vogt-Roberts was officially named Việt Nam’s Tourism Ambassador for 2017-2020 by the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in March.

He is the first film director to take on the position, which aims to promote the image of Việt Nam’s people and culture to the world.

“I can help further expose the world to Việt Nam, helping people know how beautiful this country is,” said the director after receiving the title.  

In his mid-30s, Vogt-Roberts’s directorial debut was with The Kings of Summer at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It was also screened at the 2013 Cleveland International Film Festival.

It won the Narrative Feature Audience Award at the 2013 Dallas International Film Festival. 

He also co-wrote and directed the TV series Mash Up. — VNS