The first poster for Vinaman, a film by movie star, director and producer Ngô Thanh Vân. The film will feature challenges and secrets about a Vietnamese superman who fights evil and protects justice. — Photo courtesy of Studio68

Thu Anh

HCM CITY — Movie star, director and producer Ngô Thanh Vân of HCM City has launched her latest project on a Vietnamese superhero. 

The film, Vinaman, will feature challenges and secrets about a superman who fights evil and protects justice.  

Its first poster was released on Vân’s Facebook page last week, attracting many likes and comments from film critics and fans. 

Vân and her studio, Studio68, are working on casting the film. 

“The world has Superman, IronMan and SpiderMan. How about us? I wanted to capture a Vietnamese superhero named Vinaman, who has a Vietnamese spirit and character, in my new film,” Vân wrote on her Facebook page. 

Her film is based on real stories in Việt Nam during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I saw many doctors and volunteers in the fight against the virus. I don’t think a superman should be the strongest. I believe he should be a person who makes the biggest sacrifice,” she wrote. 

Nguyễn Thị Kim Chi, a 10th-grade student from HCM City, said: “Vân has a lot of experience in the industry. She performed in Hollywood films and has worked with talented Vietnamese and foreign film directors. Her film, Vinaman, will be the best work of its kind on superman in Việt Nam."

Vân began her movie career in 2004 with a leading role in Rouge, a 13-part TV series produced by international channel MTV Asia, after spending years in music and on the catwalk.  

In 2006, she played a leading role in Dòng Máu Anh Hùng (The Rebel), a kung fu film directed by Vietnamese-American Charlie Nguyễn. The film won the Grand Jury Award at 2007 Sharing Visions, a biennial international film festival for Vietnamese filmmakers held in Los Angeles. 

A scene in Trạng Tí, a film featuring Vietnamese folk stories, produced by Ngô Thanh Vân, one of the country’s few female film directors. — Photo courtesy of Studio68

Vân has performed in several films and TV shows before becoming a director and producer. Her first movie as a producer was the comedy film Ngày Nảy Ngày Nay (Once Upon A Time), a co-production between the artist and her partner, Canadian-Vietnamese director Cường Ngô, in 2015. 

One year later, she directed her first film, Tấm Cám-Chuyện Chưa Kể (Tấm Cám-The Untold Story), a fantasy work based on a fairy tale known as the Vietnamese version of Cinderella. She invested more than VNĐ20 billion (nearly U$900,000) in filming.

Tấm Cám-Chuyện Chưa Kể was released in 37 cinema complexes in Hà Nội, HCM City and provinces, earning more than VNĐ70 billion ($3.1 million) in ticket sales.

In March, Vân began post-production for Trạng Tí, a film featuring Vietnamese folk stories. She used blockbuster director Phan Gia Nhật Linh to help guarantee ticket sales. — VNS