Saigon Love Story is Vietnam's first movie musical filmed entirely on location in Vietnam including Saigon and Phan Thiet. One of the first films independently produced outside of the Communist controlled film industry, overseas Vietnamese director Ringo Le decided to return to his birthplace to shoot his first feature film project. "Saigon Love Story" had a screening at VC FilmFest 2006. The film was an official selection into the Panorama selection at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2006 and was nominated for the "Winds of Asia-Best New Film Award" at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2006. The film traveled throughout the United States in sold-out roadshow tours to help bring attention to Vietnamese films and artists, but which also created political controversy. It was released on Valentine's Day in 2008 across Vietnam.