A historical documentary series ten-years in the making is scheduled to be put on air on January 25, offering an extensive insight into the 1968 Tet Offensive.
Over the course of the 12 episodes, which will air on Vietnam Television (VTV), viewers will learn in detail about the campaign - usually known as Mau Than 1968 (which also gives the series its name) - waged by South Vietnamese liberation during the Lunar New Year that year. The event was considered a turning point in the Vietnamese battle against the Americans.
Nguyen Quang Phong, head of VTV's documentary department, has hailed the series as a vivid and truthful look into an important historical event.
"The documentary clearly explains what happened here in 1968, accounts of which have long remained cloudy and contradictory. Many points will be revealed for the first time," he promised.
Each episode will explore a different aspect of the campaign, from the roots of the plan through to its implementation. The developments of the operation in the central regions and the south will be reassessed, with particular focus put on the key battlefields of Sai Gon, Hue and Khe Sanh.
Extensive analysis by historians, researchers and insiders will offer an insight into the psychological warfare that went on between the two sides and the propaganda and distortion adopted by the US government and the Sai Gon regime. An entire episode has been dedicated to an account of the " Hue massacre", which director Le Phong Lan feels has never been accurately described.
"I visited the Vietnam Centre and Archive at Texas Tech University and saw reports about the ‘Hue massacre' that were inaccurate," she said.
Her visit to Texas was one of many research trips to the US during the film-making process. She interviewed expert witnesses including history professor Larry Berman, former Washington Post reporter Don Luce and journalist/ historian Stanley Karnow to hear their accounts of the Tet Offensive.
Lan has long enjoyed delving into the country's past. She is one of HCM City 's few female documentary makers and has devoted her life to capturing history and the workings of society on camera.
A skilled scriptwriter and director, Lan used to work for the State-owned Nguyen Dinh Chieu Film Studio and has collaborated with many private studios and television stations.
The first episode of Mau Than 1968 will start at 8.05pm on VTV1. - VNA
Over the course of the 12 episodes, which will air on Vietnam Television (VTV), viewers will learn in detail about the campaign - usually known as Mau Than 1968 (which also gives the series its name) - waged by South Vietnamese liberation during the Lunar New Year that year. The event was considered a turning point in the Vietnamese battle against the Americans.
Nguyen Quang Phong, head of VTV's documentary department, has hailed the series as a vivid and truthful look into an important historical event.
"The documentary clearly explains what happened here in 1968, accounts of which have long remained cloudy and contradictory. Many points will be revealed for the first time," he promised.
Each episode will explore a different aspect of the campaign, from the roots of the plan through to its implementation. The developments of the operation in the central regions and the south will be reassessed, with particular focus put on the key battlefields of Sai Gon, Hue and Khe Sanh.
Extensive analysis by historians, researchers and insiders will offer an insight into the psychological warfare that went on between the two sides and the propaganda and distortion adopted by the US government and the Sai Gon regime. An entire episode has been dedicated to an account of the " Hue massacre", which director Le Phong Lan feels has never been accurately described.
"I visited the Vietnam Centre and Archive at Texas Tech University and saw reports about the ‘Hue massacre' that were inaccurate," she said.
Her visit to Texas was one of many research trips to the US during the film-making process. She interviewed expert witnesses including history professor Larry Berman, former Washington Post reporter Don Luce and journalist/ historian Stanley Karnow to hear their accounts of the Tet Offensive.
Lan has long enjoyed delving into the country's past. She is one of HCM City 's few female documentary makers and has devoted her life to capturing history and the workings of society on camera.
A skilled scriptwriter and director, Lan used to work for the State-owned Nguyen Dinh Chieu Film Studio and has collaborated with many private studios and television stations.
The first episode of Mau Than 1968 will start at 8.05pm on VTV1. - VNA
