"Inventing SE.Asia with Dr.Farish Noor" started in Vietnam...

The production of the Channel News Asia's documentary "Inventing SE.Asia with Dr.Farish" started in Vietnam in June 2016. Producer Christopher John Hale is responsible for the production from A to Z. And the host of the show is Dr.Farish Noor who is political scientist, historian and professor of Singapore's NTU. Dr.Farish Noor is a famous and popular face on Channel News Asia channel, he was the host of the series "Inside Indonesia with Dr.Farish Noor".

With Mr.Christopher John Hale (middle) and Dr.Farish Noor in front of Hanoi Great Cathedral

The documentary describes the impact of French colonial period in terms of culture, education, architecture, politics... on SE.Asia nations incl. Vietnam and Cambodia.

The shooting locations are Hanoi, Hue in Vietnam and Phnompenh (Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, Killing Fields, Mekong river, Tonle Sap lake and Angkor site).

It was very honoured that www.fixerinvietnam.com was chosen to provide production assistance and fixer service in Vietnam and Cambodia for production team of Channel News Asia, International Production Unit.

In Hanoi, Vietnam, the production team has shot at almost all French style architecture and buildings e.g. University of Chemistry, Hanoi Opera House, Hanoi Great Cathedral, Vietnam National Museum of History, Hanoi Fine Arts...

In the French colonial period, French built three Opera Houses in Vietnam, one in Hanoi, one in Sai Gon and one in Hai Phong. Hanoi building is the biggest and the most spectacular.

Shooting in front of Hanoi Opera House

Hanoi Great Cathedral was built in 1886 and it was designed to resemble Notre Dame de Paris. The building was one of the first French style architectures in Indochina...

Doing PTC at Hanoi Great Cathedral

It was clear that the dominance of French rulers in Indochina caused many serious consequences. French colonialists suppressed the uprisings of Vietnamese people to defend national independence.

However, on the other hand, French colonialists brought into Vietnam society many positive factors in terms of economics, culture, education and architecture.

In the field of economics, French colonialists invested capital to develop banking system, industry, trade...and step buy step transform the old and feudal economics to colonial economics with the initial characteristics of capitalism.

In the field of education, French rule built the largest university in Indochina peninsula in Vietnam. It was Indochina University. The students at that time not only studied social sciences but also studied Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology...

Besides mentioned buildings, the crew also shot at Tonkin governor palace and Indochina governor palace and Hanoi fine arts museum...

With the assistance offered by reliable local film fixer in Vietnam, the production went on smoothly in Hanoi. Local film and TV fixer in Vietnam has provided the production crew all needed information from application for filming permit in Vietnam, drone permit in Vietnam, Vietnam visas to arrange specific permit to shoot at every locations.

After three days of production in Hanoi, the crew moved to Hue relics which was around 700km away from Hanoi to discover the pre - French  period in Vietnam. 

The crew would like to discover the civilization which was already exist in pre - French period in Vietnam, the country has 1,000 years of establishment and development and compared it  with French and  Western civilization which was brought into Vietnam...