Former French ambassador makes Hanoi documentary
Former French ambassador Jean-Noel Poirier shared about his documentary about Hanoi set to be screened on VTV1 at 8.40 pm on October 8.
I had the idea to make the documentary three years ago, to do something for Vietnam. I want to express my feelings and thoughts to the Vietnamese and Hanoians in particular. Hanoi is a very interesting subject. It is developing and changing rapidly. Hanoi is like a young, busy, messy but creative city. It reminds me of the old Paris.
I have explored the city's centre districts to the new urban areas in four years in Hanoi and discovered many beautiful and interesting places. I want to share my views and help promote lesser-known or forgotten places.
Many diplomats chose to write a book about the places they had lived after their terms ended. I chose to film. I was lucky to be born in a family with a comedian father and director brother. My brother was excited and enthusiastic when I shared the project with him.
Do you have any memorable moments while making the documentary?
There are many memorable moments. My brother and I travelled everywhere and were warmly welcomed when visiting the locals, the Old Quarter and other places. The residents seemed happy seeing foreigners filming.
Secondly, I'm an ambassador, not a director, but when making Mon Hanoi, I became a director’s assistant, a cameraman and did other jobs like driving which exhausted me. I see that making films is harder than being an ambassador.
Can you share your thoughts about shortcomings of Hanoi?
Hanoi is rapidly developing and meets difficulties that other cities in the world are also facing and dealing with. I also mentioned in the documentary many other problems like pollution.
Will you show the documentary in France and other European countries?
I wanted to make a documentary aimed at Vietnamese. This is also a documentary for foreigners who want to understand and explore Vietnam. But mostly it is for Hanoians.
Did you have a script beforehand or did you string up the scenes based on the emotions at the time?
We discussed the script and how to project our thoughts and emotions via the locations. However, there are many unexpected things while filming such as the meeting with four lovely children at an unexpected place.
I wanted to film in winter and summer because the weather in Hanoi is so drastically different. My brother and the crew arrived in Hanoi twice in last summer and winter. Our partner helped to film Bastille Day in Hanoi. I returned to France to film in winter and my brother, Henri went to Italy. I wanted to compare Hanoi with Paris and other places in Europe.
The post-production was carried out in France but the crew from VTV added the subtitles and consulted about the pronunciation and introduction in Vietnamese.
Former French ambassador Jean-Noel Poirier (second from the left)
I had the idea to make the documentary three years ago, to do something for Vietnam. I want to express my feelings and thoughts to the Vietnamese and Hanoians in particular. Hanoi is a very interesting subject. It is developing and changing rapidly. Hanoi is like a young, busy, messy but creative city. It reminds me of the old Paris.
I have explored the city's centre districts to the new urban areas in four years in Hanoi and discovered many beautiful and interesting places. I want to share my views and help promote lesser-known or forgotten places.
Many diplomats chose to write a book about the places they had lived after their terms ended. I chose to film. I was lucky to be born in a family with a comedian father and director brother. My brother was excited and enthusiastic when I shared the project with him.
Do you have any memorable moments while making the documentary?
There are many memorable moments. My brother and I travelled everywhere and were warmly welcomed when visiting the locals, the Old Quarter and other places. The residents seemed happy seeing foreigners filming.
Secondly, I'm an ambassador, not a director, but when making Mon Hanoi, I became a director’s assistant, a cameraman and did other jobs like driving which exhausted me. I see that making films is harder than being an ambassador.
Can you share your thoughts about shortcomings of Hanoi?
Hanoi is rapidly developing and meets difficulties that other cities in the world are also facing and dealing with. I also mentioned in the documentary many other problems like pollution.
Will you show the documentary in France and other European countries?
I wanted to make a documentary aimed at Vietnamese. This is also a documentary for foreigners who want to understand and explore Vietnam. But mostly it is for Hanoians.
Did you have a script beforehand or did you string up the scenes based on the emotions at the time?
We discussed the script and how to project our thoughts and emotions via the locations. However, there are many unexpected things while filming such as the meeting with four lovely children at an unexpected place.
I wanted to film in winter and summer because the weather in Hanoi is so drastically different. My brother and the crew arrived in Hanoi twice in last summer and winter. Our partner helped to film Bastille Day in Hanoi. I returned to France to film in winter and my brother, Henri went to Italy. I wanted to compare Hanoi with Paris and other places in Europe.
The post-production was carried out in France but the crew from VTV added the subtitles and consulted about the pronunciation and introduction in Vietnamese.
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