In September 2024, Typhoon Yagi—one of the most devastating storms in Vietnam history—made landfall, while it had been forecasted, the destruction that followed was unimaginable. The most tragic aftereffect of Typhoon Yagi was the disaster that struck Nu Village in Phuc Khanh Commune, Bao Yen District, Lao Cai Province. In just five minutes, 16 million cubic meters of rock and soil abruptly descended into onto the village, burying all homes and leaving 67 people dead or missing.
The VTV Special - Mua Ban documentary chronicles the journey of rebuilding Nu Village, captured over three relentless months of filming. The production team documented events from the immediate aftermath of the disaster to the establishment of a new village on fresh ground. The film presents an unfiltered look at the overwhelming anguish of a man who lost his entire family, the devastation of three households completely erased, and the lingering pain of families still searching for the remains of their loved ones.
Despite the overwhelming grief, a remarkable strength in unity emerged—a testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Vietnamese people as the entire nation rallied behind Lang Nu Village. For the first time, Vietnam's most cutting-edge construction technologies were applied in rebuilding the village, turning it into a proud representation of the country's construction industry.
Reporter Vu Thanh Huyen – Documentary Center, Vietnam Television (VTV)
Reporter Vu Thanh Huyen from the Vietnam Television Documentary Center explained that Mua Ban translates to Returning to the Village in the Tay language. To document the reconstruction of Nu Village, the production team made more than ten trips to the site, some lasting over a week. It was a journey of deep understanding and empathy with the people to capture the most authentic footage.
"Typhoon Yagi left an unbearable shock for the villagers. But they had to how to go on and start over," said reporter Thanh Huyen "By coincidence, we arrived in the village when a funeral was taking place. We knew this was a crucial moment for the film, but we faced intense opposition from the grieving family. The first and biggest challenge we encountered was dealing with emotions".
"This documentary features characters who carries immense sorrow. We met with four or five individuals and ultimately filmed three of them. The common thread among them is profound loss", she added.
Alongside the stories of residents overcoming their pain to rebuild their community, the documentary Mua Ban also follows the workers on the construction site. They are working tirelessly, day and night, to build a new Nu village.
"The documentary Mua Ban falls under the genre of narration-free documentaries, which is a challenging format as it relies solely on visuals and the voices of the characters to convey the story to the audience. The challenge for the team was to ensure that, within the 50-minute runtime, viewers could fully grasp the stories of both character lines", reporter Thanh Huyen added.
Through painstaking storytelling and in-depth character engagement, Mua Ban delivers a powerful message of solidarity and national unity in the face of disaster. "The strength conveyed in this film is that no matter how tough things get, with support and collective effort, we can always rise above it", said journalist Thanh Huyen.
The VTV Special - Mua Ban documentary will air at 8:10 PM on March 1 on VTV1. Tune in to witness this moving story of resilience, compassion, and the unyielding spirit of the Vietnamese people.
