Pyramide International has acquired world sales (excluding France), to the upcoming Cannes Un Certain Regard title “Việt and Nam” by Vietnamese auteur Trương Minh Quý. Shot on 16mm stock, the film is a drama about two young miners who must complete a mission before fate pulls them apart.
“In the depths of the underground coal mines, where danger awaits and darkness prevails, Nam and Việt, both young miners, cherish fleeting moments, knowing that one of them will soon leave for a new life across the sea. But the departure cannot happen as, lying somewhere deep within the earth, in the far-off forest is Nam’s father, a soldier, whose remains they’re compelled to find. Together, following the mysteries of memories and dreams, they retrace the path to the past,” reads a synopsis supplied by lead producer Epicmedia of The Philippines.
Trương Minh Quý made a splash by taking part in the 2012 edition of the Busan festival’s Asian Film Academy and followed up with his second feature “The Tree House” appearing in the Locarno festival’s Filmmakers of The Present competition. His French-language short film “Les Attendants” competed for the Berlinale Golden Bear in 2021. He remains based in a the town of his birth in Central Highlands of Vietnam and has experimented with combining abstract concepts-images with realistic improvisations during shooting.
“Trương Minh Quý is an incredible director. We have a gem in our hands!” said Eric Lagesse, president of Pyramide International. The film is the director’s third feature.
“Making this film was a combination of belief in the material, along with over a decade of friendship with the director. ‘Việt and Nam’ explores the love, dreams and trauma of multiple generations of a country’s children, but always through the lens of hope,” said lead producer Bradley Liew.
Having done the rounds of international project markets – including IFFR Cinemart, Cannes Cinéfondation L’Atelier and The Gotham Week – the film is structured as an eight-country co-production. In addition to Liew and partner Bianca Balbuena, co-producers on the film include Marie Dubas (Deuxième Ligne Films, France), Lai Weijie (E&W Films, Singapore), Lorna Tee and Joost de Vries (An Original Picture, Netherlands), Stefano Centini (Volos Films Italia, Italy), Christian Jilka (Scarlet Visions, Germany), Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang (Lagi Limited, Vietnam) with Alex Lo (Cinema Inutile, U.S.) as executive producer.
“Việt and Nam” is funded by the Hubert Bals Script and Project Development Voices Fund, Purin Pictures Production Fund, MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, Talents Tokyo Next Masters Support Program Development Fund, Visions Sud Est Production Support, World Cinema Fund, IMDA Southeast Asian Co-Production Fund, Normandy Company Support & International Co-production Development Funding, Organisation International de la Francophonie (OIF), CNC World Cinema Support, NFF + HBF Co-Production Scheme, FDCP Asean Co-Production Fund (ACOF) and the TFL Co-Production Fund.
Post-production took place in The Netherlands, Singapore, France and Cambodia with Kodak filmstock processing at Romania’s Cinelab Bucharest.