And a Vietnamese Movie Star is Born...

I got a call last week about being an extra in a film shoot here in Hanoi. An MCC colleague's husband teaches film here, and his colleague called me. They were looking for foreigners to be in the film shoot. She asked me to bring along any foreign friends I had. The film shoot was on Wednesday from 1:30pm to around 4:00pm. That day and ex-SALTer visited The Gioi.  He had nothing to do in the afternoon so I invited him to come along to the film shoot.

I later learned that what was being filmed was a scene for an upcoming TV show. The show is about a girl who is gifted at playing shuttlecock. She wants to drop out of school and pursue shuttlecock despite her parent's wishes. The shoot was at a gym at the Hanoi Medical University. Equipment included lights and a camera on a tripod and another on a crane. The director gave directions through a megaphone. Hanoi film students were used as extras, acting as Vietnamese fans. Carl (the ex-SALTer) and I were French shuttlecock players along with two other foreigners. Luckily, I didn't have to play shuttlecock. All I did was sit on the bench and watch my teammate play and then react when he scored a point or lost a point.

All in all, it was a fairly easy and interesting gig. I talked with the lady who had contacted me for a bit. I told her that I also used to be a film student and had studied sound design. She said that she would keep me in mind for other projects. Later, she texted me and said that the director had liked my acting and would be interested in having me in a more important acting role in the future. We will see what happens with that.

"Trái tim kiêu hãnh" or "Proud Heart" premieres next year. If you happen to catch the one episode I am in (amidst the 40+ episodes in the series) I am the French shuttlecock player on the left. Sometimes I pull my hair in anticipation, sometimes I thud my fellow teammate on the back. It is definitely a "Golden Lotus" (Vietnam's equivalent of an Oscar) worthy performance.