Bạch Diệp (白葉; 1929–2013), also known as Nguyễn Thanh Tâm (阮清心).Kelly, Gabrielle, and Cheryl Robson. “Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos: Women Directors of the Post-War Era.” In ''Celluloid Ceiling: Women Film Directors Breaking Through''. Aurora Metro Books, 2014. was one of North Vietnam's first prominent female film director during the

Post-War era A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, w ...

of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Her familial lineage has a strong association with photography and camera work. She is often heralded as "the most important woman director "Charlot, John. "Vietnamese Cinema: First Views." Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 22, no. 1 (1991): 33-62. . 41. by several film scholars and was awarded the

People's Artist People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the U ...

Award in 1997 among several other accomplishments

Early life and education

Bạch Diệp was born in 1929 in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. She and her family had a long history of photography and camera work. Later on in her childhood, she was sent to Saint Dominique Monastery in

Haiphong Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two o ...

. In 1944, her family moved to

Hải Dương Hải Dương () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Hải Dương Province, Hải Dương, an industrialized province in the Hanoi Capital Region and the Red River Delta in Northern Vietnam. The city is at the midpoint between the capita ...

. At the age of 16, she followed the Viet Minh, participated in the general uprising and "joined women in national salvation in Hải Dương and then worked in the Provincial Association and the inter-provincial affairs III". In 1955, she moved to work at Nhân Dân, head of the Hanoi team, responsible for information about the city.”

Career

Bạch Diệp took a film class in 1959 and attended the Movie School at the Ministry of Culture and Information. She was trained by Russian cinematographers and film experts, known as the East Bloc artists such as Ajdai Ibraghimov, an Azerbaijanian from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Bạch Diệp’s career went well into her 80s. She died in 2013. Although she formally retired in 1992, she continued to guide others as a film collaborator.NLD.COM.VN. “NSND Bạch Diệp: Một Đời Sống Cho Điện Ảnh.” https://nld.com.vn, August 18, 2013. https://nld.com.vn/c1020n20130818101640704.htm . She was still fascinated with filmmaking despite dealing with cancer. She was invited to make a TV Series for Vietnamese Television. Diep made films for the 7th Dimension Cinema and Sunday Arts. Bạch Diệp is credited for the creation of fifteen films, with two being very notable - ''Ngày Lễ Thánh (The Holy Day)'' (1976) and ''Huyền Thoại Về Người Mẹ (The'' ''Legend of a Mother)'' (1987).Sarker, Sonita, and Esha Niyogi De. “The Question of Women in Vietnamese Nationalism.” In ''Trans-Status Subjects: Gender in the Globalization of South and Southeast Asia'', 344. Duke University Press, 2002. 111.

Style and themes

Bạch Diệp was noted to explore the "innermost feelings of characters" in most of her films. Diệp tries to display emotional journeys through the narrative plots of her film and shows the emotional dilemmas that characters have to face. For example, in ''Trừng Phạt (Punishment)'' (1983), Diệp depicts the "remorse of US-backed Vietnamese Soldiers through the interactions that the Vietnamese soldiers have with the US. Film scholars refer to her work as "something meaningful and new to cinematic arts." She follows the turmoils of most female/women characters such as mothers in ''Huyền Thoại Về Người Mẹ (The Legend of a Mother) (''1987). In ''The Legend of a Mother'' (1987), the audience follows a revolutionary woman by the name of Hương and how Hương's husband dies in the war.John Charlot. “Vietnam, The Strangers Meet: The Vietnam Film Project,” “Films of the Pacific.” In Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, November 27–December 3, 1988, 44–49, 84–87. Honolulu: The East-West Center, 1988. The film also depicts Hương as midwife at a hospital and eventually as the adoptive mother to three children whose mother (also women soldiers) went missing or died in the war. ''The Legend of a Mother'' (1987) shows themes of how Vietnamese culture places significant importance to "folk devotion to the dead" meaning in Vietnamese culture, there are elaborate and traditions when remembering those who passed. In ''The Legend of a Mother'' (1987), Diệp shows the dual nature of the "revolutionary mother" and deconstructs the national concept of what it means to be "a mother". Diệp extends the concept of motherhood beyond "physical maternity and immediate kinship to the nurturance and protection of children." ''The Legend of a Mother'' (1987) challenges patriarchal family views by reasserting what it means to be parents to children. Post-war film typically will draw on historical legacy and historical events to try and create a sense of nationalized patriotic duty. Bạch Diệp follows this style heavily in ''The Legend of a Mother'' (1987).

Personal life

At the age of 27, Diệp married the Vietnamese poet

Xuân Diệu Ngô Xuân Diệu (; February 2, 1916 – December 18, 1985) was a Vietnamese poet, journalist, short-story writer, and literary critic, best known as one of the prominent figures of the twentieth-century Thơ mới (New Poetry) Movement. Herald ...

, who was 40 years old at the time, they lived for a few years but ultimately divorced without having children. She later lived with and married Nguyễn Đức Tường and the marriage lasted for 15 years. The two had no children either. In various news articles recording Bạch Diệp's live after her death at 85 in 2013, other artists are interviewed and state how much Diệp has impacted them critically with her films and her work with them. Diệp was diagnosed with cancer and struggled with it until she died in her hometown of

Hà Nội Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

Filmography

She made films from 1963 to 1992, her first film was ''Tran Quoc in Battle.'' * Films with the original Vietnamese title are followed by their rough Vietnamese to English translation in the parenthesis. There are many interpretations of how these titles are translated. ** ''Trần Quốc Toản ra Quân (Tran Quoc in Battle)'' (Adapted from Chèo) (Year Unknown) - Initial Film Debut ** ''Người Về Đồng Cói (The Sick Person)'' (1973) ** ''Ngày Lễ Thánh (The Holy Day)'' (1976) ** ''Câu Chuyện Làng Dừa'' (''The Coconut Story)''(1977) ** ''Người Chưa Biết Nói (The One Who Does Not Know How to Speak Yet)'' (1979) ** ''Ai Giận Ai Thương'' (''Who is Angry? And Who Loves?)'' (1982) ** ''Mảnh Trời Riêng (Private Sunshine)'' (1983) ** ''Trừng Phạt (Punishment)'' (1983) ** ''Y Hơ Nua (Them Again)'' (1985) ** ''Cuộc Chia Tay Không Hẹn Trước (The Farewell without an Appointment)'' (1986) ** ''Huyền Thoại Về Người Mẹ (The Legend of a Mother)'' (1987) ** ''Ngõ Hẹp (Alley)'' (1988) ** ''Hoa Ban Đỏ (Red Rash)'' (1994)

Awards and nominations

Bạch Diệp was awarded and noted several times by scholars of different nationalities as a very important women director of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Regardless of her political ideology, she remains one of the most documented Vietnamese woman filmmaker. Additionally, she among other

East Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

artists, is recorded in the Soviet Encyclopedia of Cinema. Here is a list of her notable achievements: * ''Trần Quốc Toản ra Quân (Tran Quoc in Battle, Unknown)'' - The film won a Bông Sen Bạc (Silver Lotus Award) at the Second

Vietnam Film Festival The Vietnam Film Festival (Vietnamese: Liên hoan phim Việt Nam), founded in 1970, is a domestic film festival of Vietnam. It is considered as the major event of Vietnamese cinema with awards for numerous categories ranging from feature film t ...

in 1988 * Diệp was awarded the Nghệ Sĩ Nhân Dân (People's Artist Award) in 1997 * Diệp won the State Prize for Literature and Art for ''The Holy Day'' (1976) & ''The Legend of a Mother (''1987) in 2007 * Diệp was established as one of the contemporary film artists celebrated at the 55th anniversary of the

in 2008

Bibliography

* Charlot, John. “Vietnam, The Strangers Meet: The Vietnam Film Project,” “Films of the Pacific.” In Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, November 27–December 3, 1988, 44–49, 84–87. Honolulu: The East-West Center, 1988. * Charlot, John. "Vietnamese Cinema: First Views." Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 22, no. 1 (1991): 33–62. . 41. * Hixson, Walter L. “Historical Memory and Representations of the Vietnam War.” In ''Historical Memory and Representations of the Vietnam War'', 41. Taylor & Francis, 2000. * Kelly, Gabrielle, and Cheryl Robson. “Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos: Women Directors of the Post-War Era.” In ''Celluloid Ceiling: Women Film Directors Breaking Through''. Aurora Metro Books, 2014. * Thuan, Le Xuan. “The First Director of Vietnam - Bạch Diệp - People’s Artist’s Death. The Thao Van Hoa. 2013. * NLD.COM.VN. “NSND Bạch Diệp: Một Đời Sống Cho Điện Ảnh.” https://nld.com.vn, August 18, 2013. https://nld.com.vn/c1020n20130818101640704.htm. * Sarker, Sonita, and Esha Niyogi De. “The Question of Women in Vietnamese Nationalism.” In ''Trans-Status Subjects: Gender in the Globalization of South and Southeast Asia'', 344. Duke University Press, 2002. 111.

References

External links

*
''Ngày Lễ Thánh (The Holy Day)'' (1976) IMDB Page
* ''Huyền Thoại Về Người Mẹ (The Legend of a Mother)'' (1987) ynopsis https://hanoigrapevine.com/2018/05/film-screening-legend-mother-director-bach-diep/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach Diep 1929 births 2013 deaths Vietnamese women film directors Vietnamese film directors Mass media people from Hanoi