Duoc Moi, an artistic cooperative comprised of young Vietnamese dedicated to honoring the country’s past by producing animated historical films titled Viet Su Kieu Hung (Heroic Vietnamese History) illustrating the legendary heroes and events which made Vietnam what it is today.

Viet Su Kieu Hung is Vietnam’s first animated production depicting the historic battles, revered heroes, and mysteries tales from the country’s storied past.

The team first started production on Vo Tanh, the project’s pilot episode, in mid-2017 and released it to the public in December that year. 

Positive feedback from audiences fueled the group’s passion as they released the first episode of a three-part mini-series titled Tu Chien Thanh Da Bang (Battle of Da Bang).

Duoc Moi once again was a hot topic in local media when they released Huyet Mach Tran Gia (The Tran Linage), a side story related to the first episode of Battle of Da Bang.

The screening of ‘Viet su kieu hung’ takes place in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Lost battles mean lost history

Released in early 2018, Paper, the first episode in the Battle of Da Bang series, sparked a sense of pride in Vietnamese youth previously unaware of their country’s heroic past. 

But the Battle of Da Bang doesn’t feature a heroic victory. 

On the contrary, it highlights the tragic defeat the Vietnamese suffered at the hands of China’s Ming Dynasty.  

But Duoc Moi’s goal was to shed light on a relatively unknown period in Vietnamese history with few records left in history books.

An image from ‘Viet su kieu hung’

“When China’s Ming Dynasty defeated our Ho Dynasty they burned books and destroyed then rewrote our historical documents,” said Tran Minh Tuan, the project’s initiator.

“It’s safe to say that not much of our historical cultural values before the time of the Ho have been saved because all of our documents related to the time before the Ho Dynasty are just myths, legends, and folklore,” Tuan said.

“Our production team views the Ho Dynasty as an important turning point in Vietnamese history.   

“When the Ho Dynasty lost the Battle of Da Bang, they lost the country!” he underscored.

Paper immediately attracted nearly 90,000 views and tens of thousands of praising comments on YouTube in just two weeks.

A frame of a scene from ‘Viet su kieu hung’

Change in style

Six months after the first episode was aired, Duoc Moi released Huyet Mach Tran Gia (The Tran Lineage), a 15-minute side story to the series.

After focusing on bright, reddish colors in the first episode, the producers decided to create Huyet Mach Tran Gia in a totally different style.

“Our team received both compliments and recommendations after we aired the first episode about the details of our drawing and the differences between the characters,” Tuan said.

The designs of the characters in ‘Huyet mach Tran Gia’

In response to the feedback, the team decided to take a shot at a different animation style in the hope of making the typical Vietnamese costume patterns come alive.

While Tu Chien Thanh Da Bang reenacts a harrowing heroic war between Vietnam’s Ho Dynasty and China’s Ming Dynasty, Huyet Mach Tran Gia takes audiences 100 years further back to the end of Vietnam’s Tran Dynasty and the events that led to its decline.

“When it comes to the Tran Dynasty, we often praise its glorious triumphs as a small nation over the Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty invasions,” Tuan said, “but the 200-year-long dynasty wasn’t just splendor and glory.”

A scene from ‘Huyet mach Tran Gia’

Strange bond

The Duoc Moi team clearly has a great passion for Vietnamese history.

“Our purpose is to make animated films that are not only a historically accurate but also highly interesting and attractive so that they kindle a love of history in Vietnamese youth,” said Tuan, the team leader and oldest member of the young group, most of whom were born after 1990.

It all began more than one year ago, when the team had a chance to meet the famous voice actor Dat Phi, Tuan recalled.

Phi runs a YouTube channel where he uploads recordings of written pieces on Vietnamese history by Pham Vinh Loc, known for the historical accounts he published on social media.

The production team Duoc Moi is seen in this photo provided to Tuoi Tre.

“Thanks to his significant voice, Phi always attracts a number of listeners to his YouTube channel, but we believed it is a waste to limit Vietnamese history to audio,” Tuan said.

That’s when Duoc Moi shared their idea with Phi who immediately agreed to lend his voice to their movies.

The team now includes director Ky The Vinh, painter Diep Xuan Vi, screenwriter Phan Thanh Dat, and costume advisor Phan Thanh Nam.

Long way to go

One year into their project, Duoc Moi is turning to crowdfunding to raise the VND300 million (US$12,900) needed to complete the second and third episodes of the series.

They have received support from college students who "skipped breakfasts for a week to donate", as well as overseas compatriots.

The team knows that they have a long way to go, and their success relies on the community's support and reception.

A sketch of ‘Viet su kieu hung’

Duoc Moi hopes that after Huyet Mach Tran Gia is aired, there will be more investors interested in the project and who can fuel their support for Vietnamese history.

In recent years, many historical projects such as “Hoa Van Dai Viet” (Dai Viet Patterns), “Ngan nam ao mu” (Thousand Year of Dresses and Caps), “Ve ve hat boi” (Drawings of Vietnamese classical opera), “Det nen trieu dai” (Weaving of Dynasty), and “Loa thanh ruc lua” (Flaming Co Loa Citadel) have begun to receive more and more attention.

This is good news for Vietnamese who hope to attract others to their country’s history through new, creative and attractive forms of communication.

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