Fremantle, Beach House Pictures and Anh Teu Studio unveiled a film adaptation of Dumb Luck (SỐ ĐỎ) at the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), held in Singapore.
Dumb Luck is based on Vu Trọng Phụng’s 1936 novel of the same name, which many have regarded as one of the most popular Vietnamese novels of the 20th century.
Starring Vietnamese singer MONO, the adaptation will be directed and written by Phan Gia Nhat Linh (The Girl From Yesterday, Em Va Trinh).
Dumb Luck is set in 1930s Vietnam, a period marked by significant social transformations when the country experienced the final years of French colonial rule and the emergence of Vietnamese nationalist and reformist movements.
The film follows Red-Haired Xuan (played by MONO), an unscrupulous vagrant, as he rises from poverty to the top of society and becomes revered across the country.
Dumb Luck is a Vietnam-Korea-Singapore co-production, with the film set to be distributed by CJ CGV in Vietnam.
The Dumb Luck novel was banned from 1954 till 1986 in Vietnam. An excerpt from the novel, “The Happiness of a Family in Mourning,” is included in the official literature curriculum in all Vietnamese high schools. Dumb Luck has been published in translation in the US, China, Germany and the UK.
“I’m so happy to bring this wonderful Vietnamese story to international audiences and to make this film with our Anh Teu Studio in collaboration with international companies — Beach House Pictures and Fremantle — for the first time,” said writer-director-producer Phan.
Christian Vesper, CEO Global Drama & Film, Fremantle said: “I am excited about our first film collaboration with our colleagues at Beach House Pictures, along with the great team at Anh Teu Studio, and delighted that we are able to bring such an iconic novel to life. Linh is an outstanding director, and Dumb Luck underlines our commitment to supporting the finest talent in the global film industry.”
Conor Zorn, Head of Scripted, Beach House Pictures added: “Dumb Luck‘s sharp satire and poignant themes of class struggle and division by influential Vietnamese writer Vu Trong Phung still resonate profoundly in today’s world. We are thrilled to be partnering with one of Vietnam’s best storytellers, director Linh, to bring this remarkable story to the big screen.”
