Phạm Ngọc Lân

A woman tries to cling onto dimming links to her past after inheriting a pygmy slow loris from her long-estranged husband; meanwhile, her niece prepares for marriage as the young couple ponders their gloomy future together. The present and the complex echoes of Vietnamese history are entwined before a contemplative and poetic perspective.

An alien arrives on Earth on a quest to find assistance to rebuild his home. Under dissociated instruction of his spaceship, he makes a stopover at a construction site in Vietnam, where the biggest temple of the world is being built. In disguise, the alien encounters a reverent worshipper, a cynical construction worker and a mysterious medium. As the group performs a spirit summoning ceremony, the alien observes these individuals exchanging their different ideas of home.

Produced by the Luang Prabang Film Festival, "MEKONG 2030" is a collection of short narrative films that envision the future of the Mekong River from five different national and cultural perspectives. Set in the year 2030, they aim to both entertain and inspire audiences to actively protect this critical life source.

Stories told along the river: a woman reunites with her ex-lover at a hydroelectric plant; meanwhile, a young man travels downstream to a temple in search of a cure for his insomnia.

Stories told along the river: a woman reunites with her ex-lover at a hydroelectric plant; meanwhile, a young man travels downstream to a temple in search of a cure for his insomnia.

Stories told along the river: a woman reunites with her ex-lover at a hydroelectric plant; meanwhile, a young man travels downstream to a temple in search of a cure for his insomnia.

In the dune landscape of a cemetery, or is it golf course? Past and present converge in the search for a grave.

In the dune landscape of a cemetery, or is it golf course? Past and present converge in the search for a grave.

In the dune landscape of a cemetery, or is it golf course? Past and present converge in the search for a grave.

In the dune landscape of a cemetery, or is it golf course? Past and present converge in the search for a grave.

When the urban landscape shapes the human relations: a mature woman, a bride and a group of young people seek proximity in the anonymity of the big city.

Utilizing the banality of Vietnamese state radio broadcasts, The Story of Ones gives a face and a sense of place to the unseen and offers a personal counterpoint to the officially sanctioned. Like entering a roomful of stories, the viewer steps into an unfamiliar space guided only by the sound of the radio tuning in to lifestyle programming, call-in shows and radio dramas. The portraits and settings layered atop the aural landscape create questions, provide humor, offer context and withdraw explanation of what once seemed clear before entering the room.

Utilizing the banality of Vietnamese state radio broadcasts, The Story of Ones gives a face and a sense of place to the unseen and offers a personal counterpoint to the officially sanctioned. Like entering a roomful of stories, the viewer steps into an unfamiliar space guided only by the sound of the radio tuning in to lifestyle programming, call-in shows and radio dramas. The portraits and settings layered atop the aural landscape create questions, provide humor, offer context and withdraw explanation of what once seemed clear before entering the room.

The video creates an odd story, in which the old monitor is dragged around the precinct of an old French building while screening some ‘breaking television’ footages from Youtube.