Vietnamese director's film to attend Venice Film Festival

"Don't Cry Butterfly" - the debut work of director Duong Dieu Linh - will compete in the Critics' Week of the 2024 Venice Film Festival, in August.

On the afternoon of July 22 (Hanoi time), the organizers announced the films participating in the event's International Critics' Week. Among them, Don't Cry Butterfly Yang Diu Ling's film is competing for best debut film alongside six other projects. Singaporean producer Tan Si En said: "I can't wait for audiences to enjoy Yang Diu Ling's film."

The work is a joint production by companies in Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Set in Hanoi, the story is about a middle-aged woman (played by Tu Oanh) who discovers her husband is having an affair. She decides to seek out magic in the hope of making her husband love her again, but accidentally awakens a mysterious supernatural force in the house.

Poster of the movie "Don't Cry Butterfly" (Vietnamese title is "Rain on the butterfly wings"). Photo: Momo Film Co.

In the film, for the first time the artist Tu Oanh lead role. Previously, she participated in Retired General (1988). The cast also includes Le Vu Long, Nguyen Nam Linh, Bui Thac Phong - Tu Oanh's son and director Bui Thac Chuyen

The project was developed from a number of short films by Dieu Linh, including Mother, Daughter, Dreams (2018), Sweet, Salty (2019) , Heaven Calls (2020) - revolves around female characters. Through it, the director explores themes of femininity, family relationships and cultural traditions.

Director Duong Dieu Linh said: " Don't Cry Butterfly is my attempt to break the image of women as sad and helpless. Instead, I want to show them as lively and humorous. I hope the work appeals to the audience."

Director of the Cinema Department Vi Kien Thanh said the film has not been licensed for distribution, and has been approved once, but is editing some details for re-approval at the request of the Department.

Director Duong Dieu Linh. Photo: Character provided

Venice Film Festival is the oldest film event in Europe, first held in 1932. The 81st edition will take place from August 28 to September 7, featuring French stars Isabelle Huppert to be chairman of the jury.

The International Film Critics' Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica) is a parallel part of the Venice Film Festival, selecting seven first-time films to compete. The event has been taking place since 1984, and is organized by the National Federation of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) in collaboration with the Venice Biennale.

This category has discovered many talents around the world, such as Kenneth Lonergan (famous for the film You Can Count on Me , Manchester by the Sea ), Olivier Assayas ( Irma Vep , Clean , Personal Shopper ). In 2014, the movie Flapping in mid-air by director Nguyen Hoang Diep was selected to compete.

Duong Dieu Linh, 34 years old, born in Hanoi, currently living in Singapore. Short film Mother, Daughter, Dreams Her short film was entered into the Busan International Film Festival (Korea).

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