Nguyễn Huy Hoàng, author of the poem collection Quà Cho Con (Gift for Children). Photo thethaovanhoa.vn

Nguyễn Huy Hoàng wrote the poem collection Quà Cho Con (Gift for Children), a favourite since its publication in 2016.

Tân Việt Book Company bought the copyright to the collection for book sales only for a cool VNĐ550million (US$25,000). 

Hoàng, who was recently appointed deputy director of the Việt Nam Film Institute, hopes to make a motion picture based on the collection with funding from private investors yet to be named.

Việt Nam News’ reporter Nguyễn Thúy Bình interviews Hoàng about the project.

Could you introduce your idea for the film project?

It will be a continuation of my poem collection. The collection includes 100 poems which I wrote to encourage children to respect and love their homeland, be hardworking and be grateful to those who help them.

But every poem won't be in the film. I had an idea to make a film when I release the poem collection. I wanted to build a cultural brand of Quà Cho Con which will include different products like cartoons, music, art performances and comics.

I hope that the cultural brand will be well received by the public.

Could you tell something about the story?

Inspired by the poems I wrote the film script and will join the film making process. It will be a fictional adventure story of a sister and her younger brother.

The main roles will be a nine-year boy and his teenager sister. The boy will be missing and his sister will have to find him.

She works with Vietnamese and international task forces to fight aliens from outer space to save her brother and other children.

The film will also focus on child sexual abuse, teenage mobile phone addiction and high-tech criminals.

At the beginning, I intended to make a cartoon. But later I changed the plan to make a motion picture because it will make the film's message more popular.

Cover of the poem collection Quà Cho Con (Gift for Children). Photo tiki.vn

When do you hope to shoot the move?

It needs about US$1 million to produce this film. We will cast in February and the film will be shot in summer 2020.

The filming background will be in northern provinces such as Long Cốc in Phú Thọ, Lan Hạ Bay in Cát Bà Island, Hải Phòng City, Mù Cang Chải in Yên Bái, and Núi Thủng in Cao Bằng.

The copyright of your poem collection sold for more than half a billion  đồng three years ago. Do you expect the film will be a blockbuster?

I'm not thinking about fame. I just hope that the film will be received warmly by audiences. 

I don't need to make my name famous. It is important that my product is useful for society.

I just need the messages I want to convey through my works to penetrate life and help make the young generation better.

I'm determined and believe in what I do.

What message do you want to spread through the film?

I want to convey the message that love is a gift and nowhere is as peaceful as a home.

In addition, I want young people to be studious, confident and have dreams and ambitions.

When you have a desire or a dream you will have goals and motivations to turn it into reality.

I also have an ambition to show the film outside Việt Nam because the film's story could happen anywhere in the world. VNS