A biopic about Hoàng Thị Thế is one of the upcoming film projects coming from Vietnam for which Tôn Thất An will compose the score, this time an animated film directed by Nguyễn Hồng Quân about the remarkable destiny of a woman, the eldest daughter of an important figure of the Yên Thế Insurrection against the French in North Vietnam (he was known as the ‘Sacred Tiger of Yên Thế’), who was then ‘adopted’ by the French, sent to France where she later became a glamorous socialite and a film actress – she starred in La lettre (1930) a French adapation by Louis Mercanton of the 1929 film starring Jeanne Eagles based on Somerset W. Maughan’s play The Letter. The Letter would have another film adaptation a decade later with Bette Davis.
But Hoàng Thị Thế’s rich life was also a sad one, the sparkles and glitter were short-lived and followed by loss and hardship.
Tôn Thất An has just composed the music for a 2:30 minute teaser which will help get financing to get the film off the ground.
The film, which was initially intended to be a documentary with animation segments will now be a full-on animated biopic based on her life. Naturally, such a project will take a few long years of hard work.
The visual style will take its inspiriation from Vietnamese silk painting of the early 20th century, as well as Art-déco, for the chapters taking place in France.

Here is a first look at the visuals, taken from an early teaser.