Film screening marks journalist Wilfred Burchett’s 108th birthday anniversary
A film screening in celebration of the 108th birthday anniversary of Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett, one of the world’s leading war correspondents and a close friend of Vietnamese people, will take place at the Center for Development of Movie Talent in Hanoi on September 16, starting at 7 pm.
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| Journalist Wilfred Burchett (L) in an interview with President Ho Chi Minh - Photo: Courtesy of organizer |
The event will introduce two films about the life, career, and journey of Wilfred Burchett in Vietnam during the war time.
The first film to be screened is “Public Enemy Number One” directed by David Bradbury in 1981, a stunning documentary on the life and work of Wilfred Burchett.
His unorthodox views and activities caused him to be labeled a traitor by many, and to be barred from returning to his native Australia. During the Vietnam War he was a friend and admirer of President Ho Chi Minh.
“Public Enemy Number One” is a portrait of the man who served as a war correspondent in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The film has received a number of awards such as Best Film at the Sydney Film Festival and Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival.
The second film is “Journalist Wilfred Burchett visits the liberated zones of South Vietnam”, a documentary produced in 1964 by the Liberation Studios of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam.
In late 1963, Wilfred Burchett embarked on his “greatest journalistic enterprise since Hiroshima”, as he himself described it his memoirs. He spent almost six months, from October 1963 to late March 1964, travelling through the National Liberation Front controlled zones of South Vietnam.
His journey began in the Central Highlands and took him on foot, bicycle, horseback and by boat to Cu Chi and to the very outskirts of Saigon, and all the way down to the Mekong Delta.
The event will also include a talk with George Burchett, who is Wilfred Burchett’s son. Tickets cost VND150,000 per person.