Vietnamese film to premiere at Cannes film festival

Julien Rejl, Cannes artistic director, revealed the full line-up for 2023 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section during a press conference on Tuesday.

Rejl unveiled that he and the French Association of Directors had traveled to 20 countries to meet the production crews in person, before selecting 19 films from a list of 4,000.

The film is director Pham Thien An’s debut feature, which he has been working on since 2020. The feature originates from one of An’s previous short films, “Hay Thuc Tinh Va San Sang” (Stay Awake, Be Ready), which was awarded the top prize of the Directors’ Fortnight section in Cannes 2019.

“Ben Trong Vo Ken Vang” is a psychological adventure, revolving around a man trying to bring his sister-in-law’s dead body back to their hometown before he attempts to find his long-lost brother.

People take part in the casting of “Ben Trong Vo Ken Vang” in 2020. Photo by Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Facebook Fanpage

Other movies premiering in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section include “In Our Day” by veteran South Korean director Hong Sang Soo, “The Book of Solutions” by Michel Gondry, and “Abraham’s Valley” by Manoel de Oliveira.

Born in 1989, Pham Thien An’s achievements include a runner-up prize at the 2014 “48 Hour Film Project”. In 2019, his short movie “Cam Lang” (The Mute) premiered at Palm Spring Short Movies Festival and was selected to compete at nearly 15 international film festivals including Winterthur (Switzerland), Tampere (Finland), Hong Kong, Encounters (England), and Aspen (the U.S.).

Pham Thien An (left) and a member of his production crew at Cannes 2019. Photo courtesy of Pham Thien An

His seven-minute short movie “Stay Awake, Be Ready” was filmed in one long take. Following Cannes, it premiered at over 40 international film festivals including Busan (South Korea), Locarno (Switzerland), Singapore, and Stockholm (Sweden).

The 76th Cannes film festival will take place between May 16 and 27, with Iris Knobloch being the first-ever female president in the festival’s history. Director Ruben Östlund, winner of the Palm d’Or last year with his film “Triangle of Sadness,” will be the President of the Jury.