Co Gai Xau Xi (The Ugly Girl) Filming starts for Vietnam’s longest TV soap

Vietnam Television (VTV) and private film companies BHD and Viet Film have begun shooting what will be the country’s longest-running serial.

The 169-episode Co Gai Xau Xi (The Ugly Girl) is adapted from Yo soy Betty, la fea (I am Betty, the ugly one), also known simply as "Betty la fea", a popular 1999 Colombian soap opera.

Co Gai Xau Xi is about the life of Huyen Dieu, a young, smart but unattractive girl working for a fashion design company. Due to her appearance, she encounters many problems not only in personal life but also in her career.

Director Nguyen Minh Chung says Dieu’s life, with familiar issues that the young can easily identify with and funny and down-to-earth dialogues, will be popular.

Actress Ngoc Hiep, famous for her role as a disadvantaged young woman in the feature Dau An Cua Quy (The Devil’s Stamp) by well-known director Viet Linh, will play Dieu.

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The cast also includes other popular artists like Chi Bao, Duc Hai, Trinh Kim Chi, Binh Minh, Ly Anh Tan, and Phi Thanh Van.

The film will feature four new songs by Quoc Bao which will be performed by pop stars Lam Truong, Phuong Thanh, Minh Thuan, and Hong Ngoc.

The series will be broadcast during prime time on VTV1 from the beginning of 2008, VTV advertising manager Nguyen Thanh Luong says.

It is for the first time that the state-owned VTV joins hands with private studios.

VTV vice president Tran Dang Tuan told a function to introduce the filmmaking crew last Friday: "We are trying to bring many new programs that have interesting content as well as form.”

Co Gai Xau Xi will be filmed at Viet Film’s studio in HCMC and not at rented studios unlike most TV films.

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Source: VnExpress, VietNamNet – Compiled by Thu Thuy