HCM CITY— A comedy slated for cinemas nationwide during the Lunar New Year (Tết) holiday is expected to do well at the box office.

Chị Trợ Lý Của Anh (My Female Partner), directed by Mira Dương, attracted more than 3,000 people at its premiere on Thursday in HCM City.  

The film is about a love story between a young businesswoman, Doanh, and her business partner, Nam, who is her biggest competitor.

It includes young actors Huỳnh Tuyết Anh, Tùng Yuki and Quỳnh Chi. 

Pop star Mỹ Tâm, who has nearly 20 years of experience in music but has not been involved in films, is one of the film’s producers. She also plays Doanh.

Her fans mistakenly believed that Tâm was also the director because the director’s name was not revealed to anyone except the film crew when filming began three months ago.   

Tâm, a native of Đà Nẵng Province, began her career in 1997 when she was studying at the city’s Music Conservatory.

Her latest album, Tâm 9, ranked 10th on Billboard’s World Albums chart in the third week in January last year based on sales data compiled by Nielsen Music, according to  Billboard.com.

She is the first Vietnamese singer to be listed on Billboard. 

The album, Tâm 9, which includes 13 songs in pop soul, was released late 2017 and more than 5,000 copies were sold one day after its release. More than 20,000 copies were sold in January. 

“Tâm’s Facebook has more than 2.5 million followers. I think Chị Trợ Lý Của Anh will be a blockbuster this season,” said moviegoer Nguyễn Hồng Hạnh of Bình Thạnh District, a fan of Tâm. 

Another film is YOLO- Bạn Chỉ Sống Một Lần (YOLO-You Live) by talented director Phan Minh.

The musical romantic production features a young singer played by pop idol Soobin Hoàng Sơn, and his friends who face challenges as they pursue their dreams.

The 90-minute film stars young rapper Cường Seven as the lead character.

“I invited young talents in both music and film to guarantee that my production will have quality music,” said the film’s director Minh.  

“My film will include 3D effects,” he added.   

Minh also asked music producer and composer Hoàng Touliver to train his actors.

“My film is a song about life and love,” he said. “I hope audiences, particularly young people, will learn about bravery, honour and responsibility.”   

Both films will be in cinemas until after Tết, which begins on February 4. — VNS