Recently, world-renowned Vietnamese-born French film director and screenwriter, Tran Anh Hung, recently graced Fulbright University Vietnam with his presence as a guest lecturer. Within the Art and Media Studies curriculum, his major talk, titled “Thinking about Cinema”, drew a significant crowd of approximately 200 students and faculty lecturers, all eager to gain insights from his decades of experience in the global film industry.
Director Tran Anh Hung introduced some basic filmmaking concepts to the Fulbright community. He notably discussed the element of Contrast, a feature easily identifiable in his films. He often utilizes close-up shots interspersed with wide shots, mixes warm color footage with cold, and alternates between noisy settings and quiet corners.
Director Tran Anh Hung introduced some basic filmmaking concepts to the Fulbright community.
Tran Anh Hung also emphasized the importance of language in film. “Anything you can put in words will stay with you forever,” he stressed.
Significantly, he instructed the Fulbright community on storytelling through framing. He cited two classic films as examples: “Kapo” (1960) by Gillo Pontecorvo and “Ikiru” (1952) by Akira Kurosawa.
Following the world-renowned director’s lecture, Fulbright faculty and students engaged in multiple thought-provoking questions, demonstrating our community’s deep engagement and research in films. The lecture was enjoyed not only by students studying Art and Media, but also by those from a variety of other disciplines.
Born in Vietnam and residing in France since 1975, Trần Anh Hùng studied filmmaking at the renowned l’École Nationale Louis Lumière in Paris from 1985 to 1987. His illustrious career took off with his directorial debut, “The Scent of Green Papaya” (1992), which won the Camera d’Or and the Prix de la Jeunesse at the 46th Cannes Film Festival and the Best First Film Award at the 19th Cesar Awards. The film also earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
His subsequent films, including “Cyclo” (1995), “The Vertical Ray of the Sun” (2000), “I Come With The Rain” (2009), “Norwegian Wood” (2010), and “Eternity” (2016), have continued to achieve critical acclaim and international recognition. His most recent film, “La Passion de Dodin Bouffant”, won him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival 2023.
Following the world-renowned director’s lecture, Fulbright faculty and students engaged in multiple thought-provoking questions, demonstrating our community’s deep engagement and research in films.
