On June 20, the MAAC held an event on sound design at its headquarters in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
The event’s keynote speaker was sound designer Hau Nguyen while a person introduced as “Christopher Wong” was a guest speaker who appeared in the second part of the event.
In a press release published on July 2, MAAC said they would like to correct a mistake regarding the name of the guest speaker.
“We have just learned the name of the guest speaker who took part in the second part of the event is Huynh Hong Giang,” read the press release.
“This person is not the real Christopher Wong, who is renowned for composing many film scores in Vietnam but rarely appears in public,” the announcement continued.
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| Huynh Hong Giang, an alleged impostor of the American film music composer Christopher Wong, speaks at an event held at the Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC)’s headquarters on June 6, 2020 in a supplied photo. |
Wong is known in Vietnam for composing the scores for Vietnamese-American director Victor Vu’s blockbuster films such as Mat biec (Dreamy Eyes) and Toi thay hoa vang tren co xanh (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass).
According to MAAC, during the event, when asked about the process of composing the film scores, Giang neither confirmed nor denied that he was indeed the composer behind such works.
In fact, his way of communication gave the impression that he was apparently the celebrated American composer Christopher Wong.
The situation confused the event’s participants at the time.
MAAC’s director Dinh Tri Dung has officially apologized to Christopher Wong following the company’s embarrassing mistake, the press release continued, adding Dung has talked privately with Wong to express his sincere regret to the musician.
MAAC also extended an official invitation for Wong — who lives in the U.S. — to visit Ho Chi Minh City in the near future to share his knowledge and passion for film scoring.
Follow MAAC’s announcement and apology, Christopher Wong said he had felt rather shocked to know the alleged impostor could have some film directors deceived.
The composer advised his colleagues in Vietnam to be more alert for such scams in the future.
Christopher Wong, a self-claimed “secret film composer from Los Angeles,” has been known for his many works in the Vietnamese film industry, mostly with director Victor Vu, for over the past ten years.
He composed the scores for several celebrated Vietnamese films as Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass, Dreamy Eyes, and Passport to Love.
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