Vietnamese women's football and a 30-year fairy tale

The first story is a journey through 30 years of ups and downs of Vietnamese women's football, from barefoot girls to the glorious moment when the team won a ticket to the World Cup.

The film was filmed during the Vietnam women's team's training session in Cambodia in 2023, before the girls entered the World Cup - Photo: N. KHOI

Sharing with Tuoi Tre , director Nguyen Thi Tham said that the film is not only a documentary but also a gift she wants to give to her characters on Vietnamese Women's Day, October 20. True to its name, this is a film of many firsts, the first film about the Vietnamese women's football team, telling the story of the first time Vietnam won a ticket to the World Cup.

30 years of professional experience

The film takes the audience through three generations of Vietnamese women's football, starting from the time Mr. Tran Thanh Ngu founded the District 1 women's football team (HCMC). At that time, the players were still barefoot, playing street football. Gradually, the style of play of the Vietnamese women's team became more and more perfect and professional thanks to the efforts of the female players as well as the coaches. After 30 years of tireless efforts, the resilient team played the Vietnamese National Anthem at the most prestigious tournament on the planet. This is a historic moment for the nation and the film has contributed to making those moments resonate in the hearts of the audience. During the 80 minutes, the audience met and listened to stories from the players and coaches who were pillars of Vietnamese women's football through each period such as Luu Ngoc Mai, Kim Hong, My Oanh, Kieu Trinh... The training sessions in Germany, Poland and the journey to win tickets to the World Cup are the moments when Nguyen Thi Tham's filmmaking style is most effective. At this stage, the filmmakers get closer to the characters, exploring more deeply the emotions of the players who are dedicated to the game but are actually just innocent, happy girls in real life. Nguyen Thi Tham understands the players' thoughts, so her frames are full of emotions, quiet moments mixed with humorous, everyday moments so that the female players are not afraid to be themselves in front of the camera. Although Tham said that the time was still short, it was not enough to help her become close enough to the characters and fully exploit the depth of their personalities. It was not until after filming ended that the relationship between Tham and the characters became increasingly close, so that at the film's premiere, the female director was now like the big sister of the players. To the audience, the film is just a documentary on the big screen, but to the women's football team, it is a memory that thanks to Tham, they have the opportunity to relive the memory once again. They were the first to clap when the net shook on the screen, and they were also moved by the sharing of their teammates who had fought side by side. From the street-style "street football" of the first generation of women's football to the methodical tactics and top-notch techniques that Mr. Mai Duc Chung and his students demonstrated, it was a long journey of Vietnamese sports in general and football in particular. "The editing part was very heavy because of the large amount of material, the crew had to make detailed plans for each filming session, but there were times when it failed. Every night when I walked home from the company, I had to worry about what to film tomorrow and how to film it," Nguyen Thi Tham said.

And the regret

Tham and the film crew were not able to go to New Zealand to directly record the historic runs of the Vietnamese girls on the world-class football field, the moment the Vietnamese national anthem sounded at the World Cup or the spectacular penalty save by goalkeeper Kim Thanh when facing legendary US player Alex Morgan. The crew was forced to buy copyrighted FIFA videos to edit the film. That's why the end of the film lacked insider angles, so the emotions of the people involved in the historic moments at the World Cup arena were not fully shown on the film. Or to tell the story of the past, the crew watched footage of hundreds of matches of the Vietnamese women's team from the days when recording technology was still in its infancy. Rare sources of material, poor storage or difficult access made many of the historic matches that the film wanted to tell very vague, many ideas had to be abandoned due to lack of material. Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, film production director, informed that Vietnam Women's Football - The First Story is not only to honor the female players but also to help understand more about Vietnamese culture and people through football. After being released in theaters in Vietnam, the film will soon be released internationally.

Sharing with Tuoi Tre , director Nguyen Thi Tham said she had refused to make this film many times because she loved making independent films, free to follow her own ideas without being controlled or pressured by a schedule like a football documentary.

Director Nguyen Thi Tham (right) with Thanh Nha (middle) and Huynh Nhu at the premiere of the film Vietnamese Women's Football - The Story Told for the First Time - Photo: T.CUONG

But after attending the SEA Games 32 training camp in Cambodia, Tham was drawn into the fascinating story of the Vietnamese women's team, not only on the field. At that time, no one could have guessed that the Vietnamese women's football team would win a place at the World Cup!

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bong-da-nu-viet-nam-va-chuyen-co-tich-dai-30-nam-20241018232909746.htm