Vietnam’s 2006 bestseller Nhat Ky Dang Thuy Tram (Dang Thuy Tram’s Diary) has been made into a film to be screened on National Reunification Day (April 30) this year.

Dung Dot (Don’t Burn), directed and written by Dang Nhat Minh, is about the life of the heroic army doctor and her love for her country and people.

Filming started in late 2007, and the VND11 billion production officially premiered in Hanoi on April 8, receiving critical acclaims for its stirring plot with scenes shot in both the US and Vietnam.

The film opens with a battle in Quang Ngai province’s Duc Pho district, where Thuy Tram worked and died in 1970 after a US army attack. The director, however, insists that the film is aimed at reminding people of the importance of loving others, and cherishing each moment of life.

After Thuy Tram’s last battle, American army officer Fred Whitehurst chanced upon her two diaries, which haunted him for the next 35 years until he returned them to her family three years ago.

The private memoirs, once popularly sought by readers both in Vietnam and around the world, are now preserved at the Vietnam Centre and Archive in Lubbock, Texas. The English version was released under the title “Last Night I Dreamed of Peace”.

The film starred young Vietnamese starlet Minh Huong (who plays Tram) and seven American actors and actresses. Its soundtrack was composed by Hungarian musicians Benedicfi Zoltan and Benedicfi Istvan.

Before being fully released on April 30, the film will be shown on April 25 to locals in Duc Pho district where Tram was killed.