Khương Mễ

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 postwar South Vietnam During the 60s and 70s he successfully developed a series of lowbudget 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 warridden Vietnam After moving to North Vietnam in 1951 he became the chief cinematographer for his longtime 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