Telling stories of the great forest in cinematic language

QTO - A strong love for his people's culture has motivated Ho Van Ngoi (commonly known as Ho Tu Pong Ngoi, 33 years old, Pa Ko ethnic group) in Amor village, Lia commune to overcome many obstacles to "tell stories of the great forest" with creative cinematic language. Passionate about technology research, Ngoi has been researching and applying AI technology to create meaningful music videos and short films, bringing Pa Ko language and culture closer to the community.

Arousing awareness of preserving Pa Ko culture

“The criteria I set when using AI tools to create children's songs in the Pa Ko ethnic language are cheerful melodies and short, easy-to-remember lyrics, helping children sing and learn their mother tongue at the same time. This is a special feature that other children's songs do not have. Therefore, these songs are very suitable for preschool and primary school teachers and parents to use as background music for fun and social activities,” Ngoi confided.

On the Facebook page AKAY VEL - Children of the village built by Ngoi, he posted many songs for children created by AI in the form of familiar cartoon characters for children such as pandas, cats, monkeys, rabbits... He inserted children's songs about color recognition, counting numbers and lullabies in the ancient Pa Ko language into the animals.

One of the most viewed songs is the one about counting from 1-5. “A don nap ati, Ai pa soi nap, Mui bar pe, mui bar pe poan soong. Akay khoi chom nu, Akay khoi hoi nu…”. These are the lyrics of the song in which the mother rabbit guides her baby rabbit to learn to count. After only listening to it a few times, many three- and four-year-old children have learned by heart the lyrics of the counting song in Pa Ko language along with the two rabbits in the clip.

Ho Van Ngoi is passionate about researching and applying AI tools to create children's songs in Pa Ko language - Photo: TT

Concerned with the fact that young people are increasingly unfamiliar with their own language, Ngoi also sought out the elderly in the village to collect the ancient Pa Ko language and put it into lullabies, hoping that everyone would recognize the beauty and value of their mother tongue. Mrs. Ho Thi Hoa, from Amor village, excitedly said: “The songs for children are very pleasant and familiar, the children love them because the melodies are lively, easy to remember, and easy to learn. As for the lullabies, many elderly people in the village have gradually forgotten the ancient language, so they are very proud that Ngoi has preserved it for the younger generation.”

Not only creating children's songs, Ngoi also produces many short films with meaningful messages, easy to watch and easy to follow. He shared: "I make these songs and short films not only for children but also want adults to see the beauty and value of their mother tongue through melodies, thereby arousing awareness of preserving culture. It is great to receive many positive comments on social networks."

Propaganda with vivid images

After graduating from the pedagogical school, Ngoi returned to his hometown and opened a photo studio. He began his journey to record footage of the traditional culture of the Pa Ko and Van Kieu people. Believing that a close, intuitive approach would change the perception of the younger generation, he taught himself film editing and used his savings to buy a computer. Thanks to support from the Dutch-Vietnamese Medical Organization (MCNV), Ngoi had the opportunity to access professional equipment and attend 3D film editing courses.

He has produced many meaningful videos such as “Sandals for Children”, “Disabled People with Clean Water”, “Preventing Hookworms in Children”. Ngoi’s realistic and vivid films have been warmly received by the villagers, especially the youth. Not only stopping at production, Ngoi also brought the films to each village to show. This approach has touched the hearts of the people, especially the younger generation.

Faced with the risk of losing traditional culture when digital technology takes over, Ngoi is struggling to find a way to bring the young generation back to their roots. In 2015, Ngoi founded the Akay Vel (Children of the Village) community development group, gathering nearly 20 young people. The group has actively promoted and preserved the beauty of community culture. In 2021, Ngoi and the Akay Vel group made a big splash with the short film "Corona Virus War".

With the message that “every child of the village can become a warrior” against the pandemic, the film uses impressive 3D graphics, building the “Corona virus” into a scary monster, and the Pa Ko boy in traditional costume is the hero who destroys the monster. The film has created a “new wind” in the propaganda work of disease prevention in the mountainous area.

Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Lia Ho A Duoc commune shared: “Ngoi is very active in participating in youth and children's movements in the commune. He actively propagates the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws through short films. He established a club to restore the culture of the Pa Ko and Van Kieu ethnic groups, opened classes to teach musical instruments, folk songs and dances, collected, preserved and communicated on social networking platforms to preserve and conserve ethnic culture, worthy of being an outstanding son of the village”.

With his positive contributions to the community, Ho Van Ngoi has received many certificates of merit and awards, including the Certificate of Merit from the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and the Outstanding Young Face Award of Quang Tri province (2019), and the Certificate of Merit from the Minister and Chairman of the Ethnic Committee (2021).

Thanh Truc

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/van-hoa/202509/ke-chuyen-dai-ngan-bang-ngon-ngu-dien-anh-d1962d1/