Vietnamese goalkeeper biopic enters final of int'l film festival

"Tan Truong: Toi La Ai?" (Tan Truong: Who Am I?) is the Vietnamese entry at the Sports Movies & TV – Milano International FICTS Fest being held in Milan, Italy, from Nov. 7 to 11.

Each year 15-20 World FICTS Challenge events take place globally and their winners make it to the World Final in Milan. But the organizers also select non-winners that they think are worthy of competing in the final. "Tan Truong: Toi La Ai?" has been selected in that fashion.

The film competed in three World FICTS Challenge events in Slovenia, Kosovo and Portugal.

Vietnam’s first sports biopic is based on the life and career of Truong, a talented goalkeeper but also one of the most controversial figures in Vietnamese football due to his mistakes during crucial games in the past.

Truong, 37, who is from the southern province of Dong Thap, currently plays for Hanoi FC.

He first played for the national team in 2008 when he was 21.

Truong was the number one goalkeeper of the U23 squad at the 2009 SEA Games in Laos. Truong played quite well before sustaining a shoulder injury, leading to a mistake that caused the 0-1 defeat in the final against Malaysia. In 2010, he made a mistake in the team's 0-2 loss to Malaysia in the first leg of the AFF Cup semifinal.

After the 2019 V-League 2019 he decided to hang up his boots.

But a year later he came out of retirement to play for Hanoi FC.

He put up a good show and his team remained unbeaten for 14 matches, and he was recalled to the national team.

The annual Sports Movies & TV – Milano International FICTS Fest is the most prestigious event for sports cinema and television, and is considered the World Cup of sports cinema.

It is organized by the International Federation of Sports Televisons and Cinema (FICTS). Established in 1983 in Milan, it has 129 members, including Vietnam.