OUR NEWS
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OUR NEWS ·
Ici Vietnam Cinéma — 6th Edition
Our 6th Edtion took place on October 21 and 22 at Le Grand Action Cinéma in Paris. This year, we brought together a melting pot of gazes looking upon family and home. In French, English, German, Vietnamese, Czech, a blend of emotions were waiting for us. We are thankful to everyone who came to meet the filmmakers and their work, and to support a festival that explores every year the many faces of a culture without borders.
Camera... Action !
Stéphane Ly Cuong’s short films Spring Leaves and Jasmine Lane were screened in past editions of the Festival. He is now working on his first feature film, a musical entitled Dans la cuisine des Nguyen. Yvonne Nguyen, is an aspiring actress of Vietnamese origin who dreams of a career on stage acting in musicals, against her mother’s wishes that she pursue a more stable and financially secure profession. It is in the intimacy of the kitchen, between family dishes and traditional recipes, that mother and daughter will learn to communicate, understand and accept each other.
Open Call 2023
Be part of a film festival that showcases the gaze of authors of Vietnamese origin from across the globe and get screened in the heart of Paris! Entries are open until July 28, 2023.
Entries are now closed, thank you!
A place to belong
The Third Wife, Ash Mayfair’s first feature film, was screened at the Festival in 2019. Ash is working on her second feature, tentatively titled Skin of Youth, about an all-consuming love story between a transgender singer and a dog-cage fighter set in 1990s Saigon, Vietnam. Ash says : “it tells the story of two people clinging to each other to survive in a world that does not allow them a place to belong. It is a message of hope, for myself and other young people still living in these oppressive circumstances, to right the wrong that has been done to them.” We can’t wait.
Something's cooking...
After Saigon-sur-Marne screened at Ici Vietnam Festival Cinéma 2nd Edition, Aude Ha Leplège has been working on a new animated short : Du Nước Mắm dans le Cassoulet. When Hoai, a Vietnamese who immigrated to France as a child, learns that his daughter has decided to take a break from her studies to go to Vietnam, he tries to talk her out of it during a family meal. Aude will give an intimate take on what it means to be French of Vietnamese origin — trying to find the balance growing in a French cassoulet pot but with Vietnamese roots dipping in nước mắm. Patience and we’ll get a taste!
On the way
Phạm Ngọc Lân, whom we know at the Festival through Blessed Land and The Unseen River, is developing his first feature film Cu Li Never Cries, a satirical comedy-drama. Lady M., a blue collar Vietnamese retiree, travels between two different worlds to scatter the ashes of her estranged Western husband. While her niece’s wedding happens in the middle of the tropical jungle of Vietnam and a massive fire engulfs them all, M. proceeds to embark upon a journey retracing her memories, evoking Vietnam’s storied past. The film was selected for numerous grants, awards and workshops over the world, and is co-produced by DNY Vietnam Productions of Vietnam, Epicmedia Productions in the Philippines, and Acrobates Films of France. Stay tuned!
Varan Vietnam adventure at Le Cinéma du Réel
In June 2019, Ici Vietnam Cinéma screened Pomelo by TRẦN Phương Thảo and Swann Dubus, and in October 2022, Children of the Mist by HÀ LỆ Diễm. These two feature-length documentaries will take center stage in a special program that the Festival du Réel dedicates to the adventure of Atelier Varan Vietnam from March 24 to April 2, 2023. Roundtables will take place with the exceptional presence of directors from Varan Vietnam: ĐOÀN Hồng Lê, PHẠM Thị Hảo, TRẦN Phương Thảo, HÀ LỆ Diễm and Swann Dubus.
More on ☞ the program and ☞ Ateliers Varan Vietnam.
In the making
What has Truong Minh Quy been up to? How Green the Calabash Garden was and The City of Mirrors were two of his short films selected for Ici Vietnam Cinéma 3rd Edition. In 2023, Truong Minh Quy is working with Nicolas Graux on a new short, Nhím / Porcupine. It tells the story of an encounter between a lonely sex streamer and a grieving old lady in an abandoned hospital, that unleashes a flood of memories and virtual data. To be continued!