Hull filmmaker Esther Johnson's film Dust & Metal explores little known stories of Vietnam

“Much of my work is concerned with uncovering alternative social histories and this project is all about stories connected to Vietnam’s unique relationship with the motorbike,” says the Hull-born artist and filmmaker, who is professor of film and media arts at Sheffield Hallam University.

“I really wanted to make a film that presented a different view of Vietnam, so even though motorbikes, and bicycles, played an important part during the war in the transportation of supplies, this film, while touching on the war, is not about the war. It is more about the freedom that motorcyle culture has given the country and its people.”

Johnson says that she has always been fascinated by Vietnam and its film heritage so she was delighted when the opportunity arose in 2019 to take part in a research and development visit funded by the British Council.

“It was brilliant – we were taken to various cultural organisations and I requested a trip to the Vietnam Film Institute in Hanoi. I wanted to tell stories in my film using archive footage – and to digitise material so that it is more widely available.” Johnson was allowed unprecedented access and a very special partnership was formed. “It is the first time that they have ever allowed an artist filmmaker to look through the archive and to use footage in a feature film,” she says. “There are usually so many restrictions. It’s been amazing – we have used clips from more than eighty films.”

After her initial visit Johnson returned to Vietnam later in 2019 to shoot new footage recording contemporary motorcycle culture and to film oral history interviews, which included one particularly memorable meeting.

“I was lucky enough to speak to eminent filmmaker Tran Van Thuy whose work I really admire. He is now in his 70s and he started out as a cameraman for the Viet Cong. I was fascinated by his life story and his films – he made quite edgy films that were sometimes banned. We spoke for about four hours – it was quite an emotional discussion about what it means to be an artist in Vietnam, the struggles he has had and the freedoms.” Johnson also tracked down portrait artist Dang Ai Viet. “She is in her 70s too and she has travelled thousands of miles all over the country on her small Honda scooter to paint portraits of ‘heroic mothers’ of Vietnam – women who lost husbands, sons or daughters during the war.”

Johnson had further trips planned for 2020 but when the pandemic struck, she and her team had to rethink. With the help of an award from the British Council’s Digital Collaboration Fund, they found creative ways to complete the project. Co-produced with Live Cinema UK, Dust & Metal will screen as a ‘cine-concert’ with the specially commissioned electronic score performed live by Vietnamese composer Xo Xinh. “The film explores Vietnam’s history but it is very firmly rooted in now,” says Johnson. “I can’t wait to share it with audiences and I hope they are inspired by the magic of Vietnam as much as I have been.”

At Sheffield DocFest on June 27. sheffdocfest.com