Vietnamese director Duong Dieu Linh’s debut feature to compete at Venice Film Festival

According to the festival organizers, Linh’s film will compete for the best debut feature award alongside six other projects. Singaporean film producer Tan Si En commented: “I look forward to the audience experiencing Duong Dieu Linh’s film.”

“Don’t Cry Butterfly” is a collaborative production between companies in Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. It is set in Hanoi and tells the story of a middle-aged woman, played by Vietnamese actress Tu Oanh, who discovers her husband’s infidelity. She decides to resort to witchcraft in hopes of making him love her again, but inadvertently awakens a mysterious supernatural force in their home.

The poster of the film “Don’t Cry Butterfly.” Photo courtesy of Momo Film Co

This marks the return to the screen as a leading role for actress Tu Oanh, who previously appeared in 1988 film “Tuong Ve Huu” (The Retired General). The cast also includes Vietnamese actors Le Vu Long, Nguyen Nam Linh, and Bui Thac Phong—son of actress Tu Oanh and director Bui Thac Chuyen.

The project was developed from several of Linh’s short films, including “Me, Con Gai, Nhung Giac Mo” (Mother, Daughter, Dreams), “Ngot, Man” (Sweet, Salty), and “Thien Duong Goi Ten” (Heaven Calls Your Name), all of which focus on female characters, through which the director explores themes of femininity, family relationships, and cultural traditions.

“‘Don’t Cry Butterfly’ is my effort to break away from the image of women as sad and powerless,” said Linh. “Instead, I want to show that they are lively and humorous. I hope the film captivates the audience.”

Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Vietnam Cinema Department, said that “Don’t Cry Butterfly” has not yet been licensed for distribution and has undergone an initial review, but it is currently being edited to meet further requirements of the department.

Vietnamese director Duong Dieu Linh. Photo courtesy of Linh

The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film event in Europe, first organized in 1932. This year’s event marks the 81st edition of the event and is set to take place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7, with French actress Isabelle Huppert presiding over the jury.

The International Critics’ Week, established in 1984, is a parallel section of the festival, with seven debut films to compete in the section. It is organized by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Critics (SNCCI) in collaboration with the Venice Biennale.

This category has discovered many global talents, such as American filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan and French filmmaker Olivier Assayas. Prior to “Don’t Cry Butterfly,” Vietnamese filmmaker Nguyen Hoang Diep’s film “Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung” (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere) was selected to compete in this section in 2014.

Linh, 34, was born in Hanoi and currently resides in Singapore. Her short film “Me, Con Gai, Nhung Giac Mo” previously competed in a short film contest at South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival in 2018.