Little Heart

Somewhere far away in the heart of Central Vietnam, there stands a remote village dusting itself against the surrounding hundreds of sand dunes and the feelings of seclusion and hopelessness. Many of its teens find themselves dreaming of leaving this sad village, thirsting for an exciting city life with colors and opportunities.

Only a few of these dreamers actually make it to the city of Saigon. 17-year-old Mai considers herself "lucky", leaving behind all her struggles, all her memories, all her loved ones, including her dear teenage boyfriend, Den, who is a year older. She thought she had found a very promising career in embroidery work with some special arrangements from a broker. Unfortunately, life is not as simple as that. She soon realizes that she had fallen into a very subtle web of brothel operations. And in this chaotic, strange city with no one to turn to, she surrenders to prostitution and eventually the awful disease that comes with that life.

Meanwhile, Minh, Mai's 15-year-old sister, is completely unaware of what had been going on with her sister in Saigon and was dreaming about joining her sister there as well… As soon as Mai knows of Minh's intentions, she leaves the city immediately to go back her village to stop Minh… The drama eventually unfolds when Mai gets back to her home village. This is where the lovers, Mai and Den, meet again. This is where the woman broker, who has been seducing young girls with promises of exciting city work dwells. Has it been all worth the dream of glamorous city life?

A discussion with director Nguyen Thanh Van, leading actresss Hong Anh and cameraman Nguyen Huu Tuan will follow the screening

Yale Film Screening Theater, 212 York Street
(located behind the School of Drama theater -> click here for campus map

Sponsored by the Council on Southeast Asia Studies,
and the Vietnamese Student Association (ViSA), Yale University

Thanks to the Institute for Vietnamese Culture & Education (IVCE)*
contact seas@yale.edu for information or call 203-432-3431

* (Contact Thang Tran, President IVCE for additional information on this film tour):

Current Tour schedule - Little Heart/Trai Tim Be Bong

7:30pm-9:30pm. Thursday March 27th, 2008.
Haldeman 041.
Dartmouth College
Contact: Ha Linh, Ha.Linh.Vu@Dartmouth.edu

7.00pm-9.00pm. Saturday March 29th, 2008.
Yale Theater
212 York Street. New Haven, CT.
Yale University
Contact: Alyssa Nguyen, alyssa.nguyen-phuc@yale.edu

7:30pm–9:30pm. Tuesday April 1st, 2008.
MacMillan Hall 115.
(between George St and Waterman St)
Brown University
Contact: Tan, Tan_Nguyen@brown.edu

7.00pm-9.00pm. Thursday April 3rd, 2008.
Film Studies Center Screening Room 190
301 Washington Terrace
Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University
Contact: Vu Nguyen, mvnguyen@wesleyan.edu

7.00pm-9.00pm. Saturday April 5th, 2008.
Room 200. Cantor Film Center
(36 East 8th Street & 5th Ave, NYC)
New York University
Contact: Thang Tran, nhipsong@ivce.org

7pm-10:00pm. Tuesday April 8th, 2008.
(the screening and reception)
Cornell Cinema. Willard Straight Hall
Cornell University
Contact: Thuy Tran, tdtranviet@gmail.com

7:30pm–9:30pm. Wednesday April 9th, 2008.
Stiteler B6 Hall.
University of Pennsylvania
Contact: Ly Nguyen, lnguyen2@sas.upenn.edu

Washington D.C
Tentative schedule: Saturday April 12th, 2008.
Place: TBA

7pm-8:30pm. Friday April 11th, 2008.
4:30pm-6:00pm. Saturday April 12th, 2008.
Room #101. Jordan Hall of Science.
University of Notre Dame
Contact: Thanh Le, tle8@nd.edu

7:00pm–11.00pm. Tuesday April 15th, 2008.
(the screening and reception)
The Tidewater Building.
1440 Canal Street
School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Tulane University
Contact: Mark VanLandingham, mvanlan@tulane.edu

7:00pm-9:00pm, Wednesday April 16th, 2008.
Bessey Building, room 108
Michigan State University
Contact: Bao Hoa, nguye147@msu.edu

8pm-10pm, Saturday April 26th, 2008.
4pm-6pm, Saturday April 26th, 2008.
5pm - 7pm, Sunday April 27th, 2008.
McCormick Tribune Center
Northwestern University
Contact: Tram Huynh, tramhuynh2007@u.northwestern.edu

Tentative schedule: April 2008.
Place: TBA
University of Washington
Contact: Tikka Sears, tikka@u.washington.edu

Tentative schedule: 7pm-9pm. May 8th, 2008.
Place: TBA
University of California - Berkeley
Contact: Thuy Pham, cseas@berkeley.edu