A Danish-Vietnamese affair with a porcelain vase in Holland

Online, December 7, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Porcelain (Mảnh Ghep Cuá»™c Äá»i in Vietnamese) is a mysterious three episode drama mini-series that challenges the notion of an "authentic truth". Set in present day Vietnam, the story revolves around the life of Khue, a confused but passionate writer, searching for her identity and her true love. Through a chance encounter in an antique shop, Khue becomes fascinated by a mystical vase, through which she establishes a connection with a girl from the past. At the same time, Khue finds herself caught in a love triangle and becomes faced with difficult decisions to make.
But it's not just a modern love story, entwined in this series are actual historic events surrounding a cursed shipment of porcelain from Asia to Europe in the 17th century.

Throughout 2009, the Zeeuws Museum in Middelburg, Netherlands has been exploring the significance of local identity, in a national and international context. Important themes within this project have included how a collection is formed, expanded and how it can serve as a source of inspiration. The museum presented these themes to Superflex, who undertook research into Middelburg's historical role in the Dutch East India Company (a trading company which created enormous wealth for Holland in the following centuries) and the public auction of a precious cargo of porcelain from a Portuguese ship, called the San Jago, which was captured in Italian waters in 1602 and taken to Middelburg.

From this research, the idea of Porcelain was born. As Executive Producers, Superflex contacted The Propeller Group in Vietnam to develop, write and produce the three episode TV drama series. The Propeller Group brought in three different producer/directors, Thien Do, Ngoc Tran and Tuan Andrew Nguyen (co-founder of The Propeller Group), each responsible for producing and directing one episode.

The series was shot in Vietnam with a Vietnamese cast, and antique objects from the museum's collection were flown to Vietnam to feature in the series. In particular, the series featured a porcelain vase that was actually traced back to having been part of the precious porcelain cargo on board the San Jago in 1602.

Superflex are currently presenting an installation of the antique objects, props from Porcelain and the actual TV series itself. This exhibition is being shown at the Zeeuws Museum through to February 2010.
"The response to the presentation of Porcelain has been very well received in Holland." said Rasmus Nielsen, Executive Producer of Porcelain and member of Superflex. "The story is very catchy amongst the audience and there has been a lot of curiosity that Dutch history has been included as part of a Vietnamese TV series."

Vortex, a Vietnamese media company responsible for the distribution and marketing of Porcelain, is currently negotiating broadcast time for the series in Vietnam. These details will be released at a later date.