3,000 brave the rain to watch the legend of the seven warriors guarding Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang's coffin

The premiere of Guardians of the Spirit: The Mystery of King Dinh's Tomb took place at the Bai Dinh International Convention Center (Ninh Binh) with the participation of director Nguyen Phan Quang Binh and actors People's Artist Tu Long, Le Vu Long, Johnny Tri Nguyen, Do Thi Hai Yen, Hua Vi Van, Tran Thien Tu, and Tuan Tran.

This was the first time Guardians of the Spirit: The Mystery of King Dinh's Tomb was screened for an audience. Ninh Binh was also the filming location for many of the movie's scenes. The film is inspired by the legend of seven warriors tasked with transporting the 99 coffins of Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang in seven different directions to distract the enemy. The story revolves around the journey to protect the secret of the King's burial site and the spiritual essence of Dai Co Viet.

Director Nguyen Phan Quang Binh and his technical team transported projection and sound equipment for two screening rooms from Ho Chi Minh City to Ninh Binh. The system was installed overnight and calibrated at the Bai Dinh International Convention Center to meet commercial cinema standards.

The corridor area around the convention center was used to display dozens of costumes, weapons, and props featured in the film. Despite the heavy rain throughout the event, viewers still gathered around the red carpet area waiting for the cast to appear. According to the organizers, the screening drew nearly 3,000 attendees, including local residents who had assisted the crew during filming in Ninh Binh. The action sequences received enthusiastic real-time reactions from the audience. During the screening, the audience applauded and cheered multiple times during combat scenes featuring Johnny Tri Nguyen, Tran Thien Tu, and Tuan Tran.

The film features 12 fight sequences. According to the production team, the final battle scene lasts over 10 minutes on screen and was filmed over 15 consecutive nights in winter weather.

Johnny Tri Nguyen served as the action director. He noted that one of the challenges was that lead actors Tran Thien Tu, Tuan Tran, and Dang Tran had no martial arts background. They underwent over half a year of training, with a schedule of 5 sessions per week, each lasting about 5 hours.

Tuan Tran paid special attention to the audience's reaction to a scene that caused him an injury during production. "When I delivered the kick, everyone applauded, and I felt overjoyed because that was the exact scene where I got injured. All the effort and passion of the crew received a worthy reward," said Tuan Tran.

At the end of the screening, nearly 3,000 people sang the chorus of the "Warrior's Song" along with the characters on screen. This is the theme song composed by musician Quoc Trung and arranged by musician Luu Quang Minh. The event on August 22 was attended by Chairman of the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh, Director of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the Department of Performing Arts - People's Artist Xuan Bac, and Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Cinema Promotion and Development Association.

After the screening, People's Artist Xuan Bac shared: "I think we are all here sharing the same emotion, the same sense of being moved and proud, because we have a heroic history and have made many sacrifices to protect every inch of land, just as the character Shaman, played by People's Artist Tu Long, said: 'Sacred land is not just soil, but also what is passed down to future generations.' I truly admire the studio and the production team for creating a film that blends history with fictional elements. Everything merges to create a story we can be proud of."

Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan addressed the difficulties of the historical fantasy genre and the potential for bringing historical stories closer to modern audiences.

"Making historical fantasy films is not easy; the challenge is how to make a story from a thousand years ago still touch the hearts of today's audience. Thank you to the director and actors of the film. I believe that Guardians of the Spirit: The Mystery of King Dinh's Tomb will open a trend for historical films that Vietnamese audiences are waiting for and looking forward to. From this film, I believe many domestic and international production crews will come to Ninh Binh, taking the image of this land further through cinema," said Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan.