(VOVWORLD) - “Victory Vietnam”, a documentary by Swedish director Bo Öhlén, reminds us that people around the world, including people in Sweden, supported Vietnam’s struggle for independence, said Johan Ndisi, Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam. What Öhlén wanted most to convey in his film was the powerful emotions and unity felt in Sweden at the time of the historical event that occurred on April 30, 1975.
 A scene in the documentary “Victory Vietnam” (Photo: Bao Tram) |
As soon as the news of the Vietnam war coming to an end was broadcast on the radio, at noon on April 30, 1975, Saigon (now HCMC) and its people erupted with joy.
That afternoon, a lively atmosphere overtook Sweden’s capital Stockholm as people expressed their joy and admiration for Vietnam’s resilient struggle. This ambience was recorded by filmmaker Bo Öhlén, at that time a cinematographer for Swedish television.
“April 30, 1975, was surely a very great day for Vietnam, but it was also a significant day for tens of thousands of young Swedish people who, for more than a decade, had been supporting Vietnam's struggle. On the victory day, I grabbed my camera and, with other filmmakers, documented how Vietnam's supporters in Stockholm spontaneously took to the street to express their joy,” he recalled.
 Filmmaker Bo Öhlén (Photo credit: Swedish Embassy in Hanoi) |
His 32-minute full-color documentary captures the Swedish people celebrating Vietnam’s victory, singing songs of peace, raising banners in support of the National Liberation Front, and expressing solidarity with the people of Vietnam.
A highlight of the documentary is the deeply emotional moment when peace-lovers in Sweden sang the “Marching Song” in Swedish.
 An image from “Victory Vietnam” captures Swedish citizens joyfully celebrating Vietnam’s victory. (Photo: Bao Tram) |
The flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam flew above roads and buildings in Stokholm, where people chanted loudly “A glorious victory!”, “Long live glorious Vietnam!”, and “Long live the glorious people of Vietnam!”. They sang "Liberation of the South" in Swedish to share the joy of victory with their Vietnamese friends.
Another highlight of “Victory Vietnam” is footage of a victory celebration held on May 3, 1975, at which Swedish citizens and Vietnamese representatives sang together the stirring Vietnamese national anthem in Swedish.
 Filmmaker Bo Öhlén joins the ceremony to hand over "Victory Vietnam" virtually. (Photo: Bao Tram) |
The singing was a testament to the support the Swedish had felt for Vietnam for a decade and the special relationship between two peoples who shared a love of peace and independence.
After recording the events, Öhlén and his team made a single copy, which was sent to Vietnam. After that he lost track of the film until last autumn, when a data file was found at the Swedish Royal Library.
After half a century, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification, “Victory Vietnam” was introduced to the Vietnamese public.
“I’m happy that, with the help of our Embassy in Hanoi and the Vietnamese Film Institute, I can show the film to Vietnamese audiences and spread a feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood between our countries,” Öhlén said.
Sweden was the first Western nation to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam – in 1969, while the war was still going on.
Sweden and Vietnam have a long history of cooperation in film sharing and preservation. In the 1980s, with support from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), archives were built in Hanoi to meet Vietnam’s urgent film preservation needs.
During the war, many films were transferred to the Swedish Film Institute for preservation and were later returned to Vietnam’s film archives during a visit by Swedish Culture Minister Marita Ulvskog in 2000.