Mr. Phat — The Man Who Lit the Festival

Late afternoon, and the Ngo Quyen schoolyard is being turned into a stage for the “Trang Yeu Thuong” night. A middle-aged man in black, his long hair tied back, works away connecting cables and testing the sound. This is Mr. Phat.

“I am forty-five this year”

“My name is Phat. I studied at Nguyen Trai school back then, and later went on to university at Nong Lam. This is the first time I have had the chance to come to your school,” he says, his hands never pausing among the cables.

He has worked in sound and lighting since 1996, when he was still in high school, learning from his older brother. Nearly three decades on, he has passed through hundreds of events — from festivals of hundreds of thousands at the Nui Cui Marian Center, to performance nights of major artists at schools across Thu Duc and Bien Hoa.

The secret of joy

Asked whether the constant rush of the work tires him, he laughs:

“In any work, you have to enjoy it to do it well. It is like studying — if you study and feel joy, feel driven, then you grow to love it and you improve.”

A schoolboy time not yet forgotten

“I remember my own school days, when I too carried so many longings and dreams. Now, when I get the chance to build a stage for you all, I always try to make everything as complete and polished as I can.”

The sky turns to rain. He looks up, hurrying: “Well, I must get back to it, or the rain will make things hard. Study hard, all right!”