Director Ha Le Diem was born in 1992, and graduated with a major in Journalism from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi. She also attended a short training course in documentary film at the Centre for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD). After a short time working as a journalist, Ha Le Diem turned to the documentary film path.
In 10 years of working with this genre, she has three works, of which 'Con Di Truong Hoc' (Going to School), Le Diem's first film made when she was a university student, won the Silver Kite Award of the Vietnam Cinema Association in 2013 and the closest achievement is 'Children in the Mist'.
The film tells the story of Di, a 13-year-old H’mong ethnic girl living in Sapa town, Lao Cai province. Di, like many girls her age, has to face the unsound custom of 'keo vo' (wife-pulling), which can change the future of girls in a less positive direction. Di tried to resist, determined not to get married and wanted to continue studying.
The female director met Di in 2017 and met her childhood image there because Ha Le Diem is also a Tay ethnic girl, having witnessed many friends lose their childhood because of early marriage. She tried to approach and convince Di to record the growth milestones of this character, during a journey of more than three years. In many stages of the film, the director lived with Di's family.
In the film, the director focuses on exploiting psychological changes of Di, leading to the climax at the age of 14, when she was "pulled" by a new boy to marry her. This situation leads to many conflicts about the consciousness between generations in a family; customs and human rights; the relationship between the individual and the community.
Di does not want to follow the custom of 'keo vo', but she is also afraid that her parents will be ashamed within the community when they go against the custom. Ha Le Diem exploited many expensive segments, including short interviews with the director and the characters. Through storytelling and expressions, the audience better understands the thoughts of ethnic minorities about customs and relationships in the family.
Most people are confused and doubtful but do not dare to fight the custom that has existed for many generations alone. Vang - the boy who pulled Di as his wife - also said: "I don't know why I married her either. I'm still young." The film also shows the approach of authorities and schools to the spiritual life of ethnic minorities.
In addition to the highlight of the content, "Children in the Mist" is also captivating by its beautiful images, attractive storytelling and montage. The mountains and forests of northern Vietnam appear in artistic frames. The draft film was shot over three and a half years. The director then spent four months translating the H'Mong ethnic language into Vietnamese and English subtitles. The post-production and rough editing of the film took more than six months, before being sent to Thailand for retouching, sound effects, and colour correction, for an additional two months. The film is a non-stop journey of a young female director.
She shared, that the film does not judge anyone or impose anything good or bad, but the first purpose is to record the most honest things from the character's life. However, through her film, Ha Le Diem hopes that children in the mountains will have access to more learning opportunities.
For a long time, when it comes to film directors and documentaries, many people are familiar with the idea that this job is suitable for men because the important condition is still health. However, the little Tay girl decided to embark on a difficult path, to become an independent documentary filmmaker, self-managing everything from filming to editing, handling sound and lighting.
When asked about the secret, Ha Le Diem shared that she is a person who loves the feeling of freedom, self-discovery, and learning everything, especially, stories and emotions. No matter how difficult it is, as long as you have enough passion, the difficulty will become a small matter.
Ha Le Diem’s works always pay special attention to women and children in the mountains. For example, the previous film titled ‘Con Di Truong Hoc’, was about a single Dao woman infected with HIV, who raised her child alone in Bac Kan. Her faith in love and hope for life is focused on her only child.
To have real footage, student Diem, at that time often took a bus from Hanoi to Bac Kan, whenever she had free time, then climbed passes and waded streams to a house in the middle of the forest, living with her character to witness their life story, to feel the life and understand the character better.
The film won the Silver Kite Award, but few people know that the amount of money that the Centre for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents supports for independent film directors, is only two million VND, and the director used a personal Canon 550D camera to shoot, instead of renting a dedicated camcorder.
With her silent efforts and love for her profession, Ha Le Diem has been able to set foot in distant places she once dreamed of, such as the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong (China), Canada, the Netherlands, and India, to participate in film courses, projects, and international film festivals.
"Children in the Mist" is a rare documentary film screened in theatres, although the ticket price is only 50,000 VND per ticket. Film screenings attracted a large audience.
The film crew also invited prototypes including Di and her family to participate in the exchange. This is an attractive and interesting element, that helps the public to access more than the scope of a movie, and at the same time, it is suggestive of other documentary projects about the strenuous path to international reach, conquering the public in many different ways.
