Khương Mễ

Biography

Merited Artist Khương Mễ (15th July 1916 - 15th June 2004) was a Vietnamese cinematographer and documentarist. Hailed as “the Lumière of Đồng Tháp Mười”, he is one of the greatest and most influential figures in early Vietnamese cinema as well as the person who laid the foundation for filmmaking in post-war South Vietnam. During the 60s and 70s, he successfully developed a series of low-budget manual film printers, camera gadgets, film projectors along with editing and special effects techniques that allow feature and animated films to be made under the difficult financial condition of war-ridden Vietnam. After moving to North Vietnam in 1951, he became the chief cinematographer for his long-time collaborator Mai Lộc, with his most notable work being Vợ chồng A Phủ (1972), a classic of Vietnamese revolutionary cinema and widely considered one of the greatest Vietnamese film ever made. Following the liberation of Saigon, Khương Mễ moved back to the South where he worked at Giải Phóng studio as a producer and director; he also occasionally took some small roles in commercial films. In 1976, he directed “Cô Nhíp” for Ho Chi Minh City Television - the first film to broadcast on the channel. He retired in 1985, though he continued to write essays , give lectures and filmmaking consultancy until 2002. He passed away in 2004 at the age of 89.