A photographic journey along the Mekong River

      A pictorial collection of lives, people and natural landscapes along the Mekong River was introduced to the public yesterday to commemorate the second death anniversary of People’s Artist and Labour Hero Pham Khac.
Khac took the photographs in 2001 while shooting a renowned documentary on the river, Mekong Diaries.
He was the writer and general director of the serial which has been aired on many local TV channels.
During his travels through Viet Nam, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, Khac spent a considerable amount of time and energy to take photographs – a childhood hobby. He took more than 20,000 photographs of the river.
The book, Pham Khac – the Mekong Diaries – Film and Photos, aims to provide readers with a deeper sense of the beauty and mystery of the river.
The artist passed away before the book was finished. Family and friends got together to complete the task as he wished.
The book was released by the Viet Nam Cinematography Association, the Van Nghe Publishing House and his family to mark the filmmaker’s death anniversary on Sunday.
As a native of southern Ben Tre Province through which the Mekong flows, Khac was inspired by the annual flooding that happened downstream to discover and record what happened upstream.
After more than 10 trips along the river, the documentary was screened in 2002 and won the Canh Dieu Vang (the Golden Kite) Award in 2006.
The film captured the general public’s attention not only with its content, but also with its presentation.
It captures the diversity of life and culture that has developed and thrived on the banks of the historic river for centuries.