New show Twentieth Century Heroes: "If Not Now... (Probably) Never"

Produced by Vietnam Television's Digital Content Development and Production Center (Digital VTV), Twentieth Century Heroes will be broadcast on 24h Motion program and VTV's digital platforms from July 15.

"Twentieth Century Heroes" is about historical stories through the narration of the guests themselves, a contemplative look at the past, about a youth on the battlefield. The show promises to bring a lot of emotions to viewers when they meet characters whom they only heard or read about.

The war has passed, but the loss figures remain forever and have provided much food for thought. These are 127,000 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers whose husbands and sons died, about 13,000 Heroes of the People's Armed Forces and Heroes of Labor, about 800,000 war invalids and beneficiaries of policies as invalids, more than 300,000 fighters in the resistance wars and their children who were infected with Agent Orange, about 111,000 revolutionary fighters who were jailed and tortured by the enemy in notorious prisons such as Hoa Lo and Son La, Lao Bao, Con Dao, Phu Quoc.

Sharing about the decision to carry out this program, journalist Thanh Vu from the production team, said: "It is sad that there has not been a large-scale program on portraits of heroes of the twentieth century, those who sacrificed their lives in the two wars of resistance against the French and the Americans. They are the brave heroes whom we normally only know in the pages of books. So, we thought if we could film the heroes in time when they are still alive to tell vivid historical stories for generations to come."

"However, the opportunity for us to make films about them is no longer much," journalist Thanh Vu added. "The anti-French soldiers are now 80-90 years old; many have died. Anti-Yankee fighters have also reached the age of 70. Now is the time to find them, to hear them tell their life stories, to appreciate and be proud of Vietnam's history in the twentieth century."

Journalist Thanh Vu also said that during the filming process, the crew members felt unable to hold back their tears when they heard honest statements from their characters: "A very old revolutionary fighter told us: "Ask us. Ask a lot of questions, because in a few years, there would probably no one left."

Journalist Thanh Vu said all the characters featured in "Twentieth Century Heroes" were selected in consultation with the Ministry of National Defense and the Veterans Association. Upon watching the show, viewers will meet characters who were previously only known through textbooks and student learning materials, such as hero La Van Cau, who cut off his arm and destroyed enemy positions; heroine Pham Thi Thao, the commander of a battalion carrying ammunition on the battlefield; hero Pham Tuan, who was Vietnam's first astronaut.

And there are many, many other heroes you'll meet, and you'll hear them tell stories on the "Heroes of the Twentieth Century" program.

"I think every year we should dedicate two to three months to convey these stories about these wonderful people. This is a time associated with important events" - said journalist Thanh Vu - "And we hope that the materials about characters that we have met and filmed will be valuable documents about history. These films can also be brought to schools to aid history lessons, making them more meaningful and moving."