Director plans major crime movie featuring cast of 600

Director Luong Dinh Dung is planning to adapt one of his novels, 578, about paedophile gangs into a VND60bn (USD2.6m) film with 600 actors.

Director Luong Dinh Dung

578 is the story of a truck driver trying to find the man responsible for an attack on his daughter and a confrontation with a criminal gang. The director of Father and Son, which won Best Feature Film award at Canadian Diversity Film Festival, said he would need nearly 40 container trucks, a helicopter, American and South Korean experts as well as a cast of 600 actors.

Dung said the estimated numbers looked huge for the local film business but wasn’t that large in international terms. He has raised VND30bn (USD1.3m) to fund the film.

When being asked whether he was pressured to make a big film after the success of Father and Son, Dung said he had no pressure. "I completely believe that 578 will success. If I'm not sure, I won't take too much risk on that subject," he said.

Dung is raising fund for the movie

He revealed that the number 578 had important meaning in the story. It is also easy to impress and remember. He hoped to make a humanitarian tale and raise public awareness about child abuse.

"I heard the cries of the children and saw the tears of their parents. The emotional scars stay with the children and their families. Their lives can't be brought back. That's why I've been wanting to make this film," he said.

Father and Son is the film he made for his son, and 578 is about a father and daughter. He went on to say that a father often worried more about daughters since they were more vulnerable and often the scars were more difficult to heal.

Dung said 578 would feature poetic images and beautiful shots along with action scenes. "I like what is beautiful so my films need beautiful cinematography," he said.