Mozambican Student Starring in Vietnamese War Film Becomes Overnight Sensenation

Playing the role of a French soldier in the epic war drama movie Đào, Phở và Piano (Peach Blossom, Pho and Piano), 24-year-old, Oraiden Manuel Sabonete, a third-year student majoring in electrical engineering at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, suddenly became famous.

On February 20, the moment Oraiden Manuel Sabonete, whose Vietnamese name is Đức, participating in the movie "Peach, Pho and Piano" was widely shared and received much love from Vietnamese audiences on social networks.

Oraiden Manuel Sabonete pose beside a tank in a scene in Peach Blossom, Pho and Piano. Photo from Facebook page of Sabonete

Sharing with the press, Oraiden Manuel Sabonete said he participated in this movie around 2022-2023. Even though he only played a small role in the movie and didn't have many lines, he was impressed with his unique experience.

"After waking up one night, many people request to add friend, texted, and called me to congratulate me. Some said 'I can't book a ticket, it's sold out, how can I book one?', and when I come to class then they happily shouted, 'Black Đức, Black Đức is famous!'"

Receiving the attention and affection from many Vietnamese people makes him very happy and proud. Proud of his African heritage, a black Mozambican appeared in a Vietnamese historical film, thereby spreading the image of Mozambicans to friends around the world, Oraiden recalled.

Before coming to Vietnam, Oraiden was a second-year student majoring in Computer Science at Lurio University - Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences - a university of technical sciences and natural sciences, ranked top in Mozambique.

Oraiden's father is an engineer and his mother is a nurse. After their divorce, Oraiden was independent from a young age. He loves and cares for them very much, and also puts himself in charge of getting a job and making money in the future, helping them to develop better than him.

Oraiden actively participated in extracurricular activities. Photo from the Facebook page of Sabonete

His family did not have enough money to send him to school, yet Oraiden, still passionate about his education, did not give up and applied to several scholarship that promised opportunities around the world.

Knowing that there was a government scholarship to study abroad in Vietnam, Oraiden immediately registered and was one of 10 students selected to study exchange in Vietnam.

Coming to Vietnam, Oraiden studied Vietnamese for one year at the University of Education - Thai Nguyen University. Even though he was still confused by facets of the Vietnamese language, Oraiden still excitedly went to Hanoi University of Science and Technology to study.

Passing the language exam with 10 speaking points, Oraiden chose Electrical Engineering because the knowledge he learned here was essential to building the energy industry in Mozambique.

The first few days were really stressful for Oraiden.

The language limitation, which is only enough to communicate daily, makes him unable to understand what the teachers say. Therefore, for specialized subjects with many difficult words, Oraiden often has to ask teachers or classmates to help explain for him. He usually studies by himself 3-4 hours a day to be able to keep up with his friends.

“When I feel discouraged, I call my dad. My father simply said: 'Learning engineering is like that. Try your best.' Every time I feel like I'm about to give up, I log in to Facebook and see my friends in my hometown expressing their admiration for me and wanting to follow my example to get ahead. I'm determined to study for my future. I don't want myself, my relatives, and everyone to be disappointed," Oraiden said.

Besides the difficult subjects, Oraiden finds excitement in other subjects. Being exempted from studying foreign languages, he enthusiastically helps his friends learn English. Overcoming the language barrier, he also got perfect scores in some subjects, such as Marxist-Leninist Political Economy.

In the second year of study, Oraiden and a group of friends participated in scientific research with the topic "Vietnam - Mozambique economic relations from the international economic integration policy of the Communist Party of Vietnam", and won the first prize for university-level scientific research.

The project has two articles published in scientific journals. It has been confirmed for its applicability by the Department of Enterprise Development, Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Mozambique Embassy in Vietnam.

Also from that research, Oraiden actively participated in extracurricular activities of the Political Theory Department and the Young Theory Club.

According to Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, lecturer in the Department of Political Theory, Mozambican students have a high sense of responsibility and actively use digital tools to create good products.

In 2023, Oraiden and Dung produced two works in response to the political contest to protect the Party's ideological foundation, winning first prize in the magazine category and second prize in the video category of the Hanoi Party Committee. The article then won the promising award at the national final round.

Oraiden and two friends from Laos and Cambodia - international students of Hanoi University of Science and Technology - participated in a Vietnamese speech contest for foreign students studying in Vietnam. Photo: hust.edu.vn

In October 2023, Oraiden and two friends from Laos and Cambodia participated in the Vietnamese speech contest for foreign students studying in Vietnam, winning the Consolation prize.

After three years of studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Oraiden realized that his professional knowledge had improved greatly and he could confidently discuss with friends and teachers. He fell in love with Vietnam and loved the name his teachers gave him, Đức, and was more attached to the S-shaped country.

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