Two newly-acquired rare documentaries about Vietnam announced

The Vietnam State Archives and Records Department on April 19 made an announcement in relation to two recently acquired documentary films abroad, namely "Ho Chi Minh in the Land of Lenin", and "Vietnam: 30 Days in Saigon", which comes as a result of the project collecting precious and rare archives about Vietnam.

The documentary "Ho Chi Minh in the Land of Lenin" (black and white film) has been preserved at the Russian State Archive of Documentary Films, produced in 1976 by the Soviet Central Documentary Studios with a total duration of 30 minutes 20 seconds.

A scene from "Ho Chi Minh in the Land of Lenin."

The film is about the activities of President Ho Chi Minh during the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh's activities aimed at developing the friendship between the people of Vietnam and the Soviet Union; and President Ho Chi Minh with children, workers, farmers, soldiers in the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, the documentary "Vietnam: 30 Days in Saigon" (colour film) was produced in 1975 with a total duration of 60 minutes 44 seconds by French director Jean-Pierre Moscardo.

The film depicts the last days of the Vietnam War (from April 27-28, 1975); images of migrants fleeing the scene and the first days of Saigon under the new leadership of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam.

Nguyen Thi Ha, director of the Centre for Science and Technology under the State Archives and Records Department said that, during the search for precious and rare archives related to Vietnam in Russia and France, more than 100 films in France and nearly 200 films in Russia were discovered.

Based on the summary of the films provided by partners, the department selected a number of films with distinctive content related to important historical events and typical individuals of Vietnam, which were then purchased by the department.

Hoang Truong, Deputy Director General of the department said that these documentary films would be of value, especially to the younger generations in learning about President Ho Chi Minh’s mission to find a way to salvage the nation, the deepening ties between Vietnam-the former Soviet Union and the years of heroic struggle against US invaders.

According to the projected plan, the film "Vietnam: 30 Days in Saigon" will be broadcast by Vietnam Television on the occasion of the upcoming 42nd anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Unification (Aril 30), while the "Ho Chi Minh In the Land of Lenin" will be shown in May.

(Source: NDO)