Othello Khanh [p.4]

“I discovered Sai Gon during the eclipse. It was really amazing. As I was passing customs, I looked outside and the atmosphere was amazing. I was in my taxi looking out, and everything looked like it was moving in slow-motion with this indirect lighting,” explains Othello.

When Othello sat down to write the script, he thought of the things that were so memorable to him. The eclipse, his struggle to get the film industry started in Vieät Nam, and the national poem Tale of Kieu.

“When I read Kieu, I found this story really encapsulated all the things I wanted to talk about. The curse of beauty and loyalty,” says Othello.

In Othello’s take, the heroine Kieu is a modern movie actress who is controlled by her mother and is conflicted when she meets a Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) director who comes back to Viet Nam to develop the film industry.

Othello’s good friend and one of Viet Nam’s most famous actresses, Truong Ngoc Anh, stars as Kieu. French-Vietnamese beauty Marjolaine Bui will also star in the film as “Vanessa,” Othello’s modern spin on Kieu’s younger sister Van. Bui became famous for being one of the final contestants in the French version of Joe Millionaire called Greg le Millionnaire. Vietnamese American actor Dustin Nguyen is the male lead in the film. He will be taking on the role of Kim, the Viet Kieu director who returns to Viet Nam and falls for Kieu.

The film started principal photography in April. It will be released under Easternlight Films, a division of Arclight Films, the company that brought us Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage and Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino. Easternlight specializes in the distribution of Asian films.

“My message to Vietnamese people overseas who have never been to Viet Nam but dream about making films is, come to Viet Nam. There are more and more talented people here. The industry is joining together to make films happen. We can create our own Bac Ho-llywood.”

Not missing a beat, Othello already has the slogan for Sai Gon’s new burgeoning film industry.

what is in a name?

Try this one on for size. Othello Isaac Karl Vladimir Leon Nguyen Quoc Khanh. That is the name on Othello’s birth certificate. His highly educated parents were not only talented, they had a sense of humor too.

Othello of course is inspired by the hero in Shakespeare’s play.

“My father liked Shakespeare and Orson Welles. He loved to read,” says Othello.

Isaac is for Sir Isaac Newton, the inventor, much like Othello’s dad. Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky were all Russian intellects and revolutionaries. Quoc Khanh is a national holiday in Viet Nam, and Khanh is also the name of Othello’s paternal grandmother.

 

To find out more about the wonderful world of Othello Khanh’s production company, check out www.crea-tv.com. Go to www.saigoneclipse.com to learn more about Othello’s movie.