November 13, 2012 - 7:00 P.M.
Luce Hall Auditorium, 34 Hillhouse Avenue
>click here for directions / link to campus map

PREMIERE SCREENINGS

Short Films from Vietnam
Q & A with filmmakers Nguyen Anh Thu, Le My Cuong,
Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, and Nguyen Thi Tham

Synopses and information on filmmakers provided by The Institute for Vietnamese Culture & Education (IVCE),* organizer of this film screening tour tour.

Film #1
Nguyen Anh Thu, graduated BA in Business Law from the Hanoi Foreign Trade University in 2011, directed "When We Were Twenty" (Khi ta 20) in 2010 and "The Earth" (Ðat) in 2011. She is a member of Center for the Advancement of Movie Talents of the Vietnam Cinema Association, Hanoi.

"When We Were Twenty" is a documentary about three girls facing their gut-wrenching choices in life at the age of 20. One gets married and has a kid, one follows her dream of becoming a model and the other goes to study abroad. (15 minutes)

Fillm #2
Lê My Cuong, graduated BA in International Business from the Hanoi Foreign Trade University in 2011, currently senior year at the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema. He directed "Hard Time of The Coal Miners" (Nhoc nhan than) in 2010 and "The Leprosy Oasis of the Winds" (Oc Dao gió) in 2012. He is member of Center for the Advancement of Movie Talents of the Vietnam Cinema Association, Hanoi. He received the Award of Merit in "Hard Time of The Coal Miners" for documentary, the Kite Film Festival, Viet Nam Cinematography Association, 2011.

"Hard Time of The Coal Miners" is a documentary about the life of the coal miners by the northern-most harbor. They came from many areas of the country, and crowded into dust filled ghettos, living and cleaning themselves among strip-mined mountains of coal. There the documentary found intimate stories of the coal miners. (10 minutes)

Film #3
Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, currently a senior student at Tran Phú High School, Ha Noi, directed "Give Me a Ticket to My Childhood" (Cho tôi mot vé ve tuoi tho) in 2012. She is member of Center for the Advancement of Movie Talents of the Vietnam Cinema Association, Hanoi.

"Give Me a Ticket to My Childhood" tells the story of a family of two children. Like any parents, they love their children but are constantly facing problems. Some of them seem as trivial as school work, balancing between loving and spoiling the children, and sibling rivalry. The documentary reveals a different side to this family problem. (15 minutes)

Film #4
Huynh Thanh Sy, a student at the Cinema and Theater Academy of Ho Chi Minh City. He produced "Flickering" (Le lói) and got a Golden Kite Encouragement Award in 2007 for the short film. He then produced "Love of the Banana Vendor" (Tình anh bán chuoi) in 2011.

"Love of the Banana Vendor" is a bright story of love between the poor in a messy, crowded, noisy streets of Saigon. It is a story of a young man from the city of Trà Vinh who came to Ho Chi Minh City and found a job of banana street vendor. He criss-crosses the crowded streets. At one of his familiar street intersection, he found a disabled girl selling lotto tickets. (15 minutes)

Film #5
Nguyen Thi Tham, graduated from the film directorship program at the University of Film and Theater of Ho Chi Minh City. She directs her own genre of Vietnamese films in life documentaries. She used all she learned from the projects of the Varan Documentary Courses and applied in real life. Her films include "Hello Child! Hello Baby!" (Chào con! Chào baby!), "Grandpa and Grandchild" (Hai ông cháu), "Hugging Honda" (Xe ôm) in 2011 and received a The Judges Encouragement Prize of the Vietnam Motion Picture Union.

"Hugging Honda" is a true story of Võ Thi Nguyet, who drove a hugging honda at the East City bus station of Ho Chi Minh City for more than 20 years. She was an unusual driver of a one-seat passenger Honda motorbike, a job to feed her two grandchildren. She takes care of and raises them single-handedly. She is a "Fairy Mother Âu Co?" for countless students. Every year, she drives the students to the city to take the college entrance exams for free. Hardship does not daunt this resilient woman. (25 minutes)

*IVCE is a New York 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is a leader in promoting Vietnamese culture and assisting Vietnamese students study abroad in American universities.