Reuniting with Kieu Anh and Ha Huong of 'The Sky Ahead' after 24 years

More than two decades after its premiere, the TV seriesAhead is the skycontinues to touch the hearts of audiences across generations. In the programVTV Memories, the three main actresses Kieu Anh (as Nhung), Ha Huong (as Nguyet) and Thu Nga (as Thuong) shared unforgettable memories of the film that marked their youth and that of millions of Vietnamese audiences.

"Ahead is the skyis the brilliant youth of me and many others. It is always the first time, always like my first love coming to cinema", Meritorious Artist Kieu Anh emotionally shared.

Most of the actors in the film are amateurs, except for Kieu Thanh - the only one who has received formal training in theater and cinema. Thu Nga admitted: "We don't know how to act, so we just put it on screen. It is this naturalness and authenticity that creates the special appeal of the film.

To get into character, the entire film crew spent more than 3 months living in a boarding house in Nhan Chinh area (now Trung Hoa - Nhan Chinh). We truly felt like those characters and I was able to live in that moment," Thu Nga recalled.

Real life became the inspiration for the film. Meritorious Artist Kieu Anh told about an interesting situation when a real person came to scold the film crew for making noise and then this scene was recreated by Meritorious Artist Xuan Thuc (as Mrs. Hac) in the film, making everyone find it funny because it was like real life brought into the film.

"Filming conditions at that time were very difficult with only one camera. After filming one character, the camera would switch to another, and the other character would have to wait for the lighting, wait for the lights to change. Compared to now, it was very lacking," Thu Nga shared. However, these limitations contributed to creating the naturalness and closeness to real life that audiences love.

When on air,Ahead is the skycreated a real social phenomenon. The film was shown only one episode a week on Saturdays, causing the entire Dai Tu market in Meritorious Artist Kieu Anh's hometown of Thai Nguyen to almost stop watching the film.

Thu Nga said that after the film aired, she lost her name because people only called her by her character's name: "When I went out, people called me 'Oh, Ms. Thuong, there's Ms. Thuong'. The audience's love for the character went beyond the screen when a couple flew from Germany to my house to meet me because they loved this character so much and wanted to help her financially."

Most surprisingly, after more than 20 years, the film is still enthusiastically received by the younger generation. "Even now, people seem to be going viral again. Sayings like 'I don't have a boyfriend yet, I'm still afraid of being single' is repeated over and over again", Ha Huong shared.

Thu Nga emotionally said: "It's a gift, like the sky ahead still has a future. I didn't think that 18-20 years later, the film would be received by young people, a new generation like that."

Ahead is the skyReleased in 2001, directed by Do Thanh Hai, consisting of 12 episodes, broadcast on VTV3. Set in a student dormitory in Hanoi, the film depicts the lives, dreams and difficulties of a group of young people who have just graduated from university and are preparing to enter adulthood.

With characters like Nguyet, Thuong, Nhung, the film truly reflects the thoughts, feelings and choices of the young generation in the transition period. Loved for its close-knit plot, natural acting and profound message, the film has become a classic, leaving a strong impression on Vietnamese audiences.