Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Despite his tightschedule with new film projects in the US, the director of Hollywood blockbuster “Kong: Skull Island”, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, hasstill managed to contribute to Vietnam’s film industry.

Most recently, he was among three judges of Vietnam’s‘The 48 Hour Film Project’, together with Vietnamese director Phan Gia NhatLinh, cameraman Bao Nguyen and producer Jenni Trang Le.

Though the American director was absent from theawards ceremony on August 5, Vogt-Roberts sent a video of himself announcingthe top prize, which was awarded to a short film entitled DuongMat (Imaginary Friends).

According to him, Imaginary Friends,which evolves around a mission of a gang, is a harmonious work of both contentand technique that showcases features typical of Vietnamese cinema.

The film will represent Vietnam to compete inthe International 48 Hour Film Festival that will be held in the US at the endof this month.

Vogt-Roberts recalled, in the early years of hiscareer, he made several short films in difficult conditions, lacking both moneyand time. However, such experience rewarded him with excitement and a sense offreedom. The Kong director added that he still treasures suchmoments of enthusiasm.

Earlier, Vogt-Roberts returned to Vietnam to launch a scholarship fund forVietnamese students in the arts and cinematography. The fund will offer two full scholarships worth 90,000USD each for four years of study at a university in the US.

Last year, he was named Vietnam’sTourism Ambassador for 2017-2020 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourismin March. He is the firstfilm director to take on the position, which aims to promote Vietnam to theworld.

Not long after being named tourism ambassador,Vogt-Roberts was brutally assaulted in a bar in Ho Chi Minh City, an incidenthe and GQ journalist Max Marshall had been perpetrated byVietnamese-Canadian gangsters, one of whom has been arrested in India onunrelated charges.

Vogt-Roberts said he was working with theministry to make music videos about tourist destinations in Vietnam tointroduce the sites to international audiences.

 “I have also invited American directorsand actors to visit famous tourist destinations, including Sa Pa of Lao Cai province,Son Doong Cave of Quang Binh, and Da Nang,” he added. 

Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island wasthe biggest Hollywood movie ever to be filmed in Vietnam. The blockbuster,whose backdrop was mostly shot in Vietnam’s landscapes in Quang Binh, Ninh Binh, and Quang Ninh provinces, earnedmore than 142 million USD in ticket sales globally and 6.6 million USD in Vietnamonly, after just two weeks of release.-VNS/VNA