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Play, download and edit the free video MỘT KHU ĐẤT TỐT | BLESSED LAND - Excerpt 1.

Short Fiction Film, 19 min, 2019

A middle-aged woman and her son visit her late husband’s grave - situated in a former fishing village she hasn’t been to in decades. In the cemetery on the sandy dunes, they wander around for a long time without finding the headstone. Has her memory eroded, or has the grave been concealed somewhere underneath the green grass of the new golf courses? It’s true, for the nouveau riche, land for the living to play on is better than land for the dead to rest at.

Director and Screenwriter: Phạm Ngọc Lân
Producer: Ngô Đài Trang, Nghiêm Quỳnh Trang
Director of Photography: Trang Công Minh
Production Designer: Kelly Hoàng
Editor: Phạm Thị Hảo
Sound Designer and Mixer: Arnaud Soulier

Cast: Hà Hoàng, Minh Châu, Thùy Anh, Huy Tiến, Kelly Hoàng, Triệu Minh Hải

Selected Screenings and Awards:
– 69th Berlinale Shorts Competition, Berlin, Germany (world premiere), nominated for Golden Bear

– International Competition, 48th Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC), Canada – Best International Short Film

– International Competition, 38th Uppsala International Film Festival, Sweden – Uppsala Grand Prix

– International Competition, 16th VIS Vienna Short Film Festival, Austria – Vienna Short Film Award 2019 Best Film – International Competition Fiction & Documentary

– Short Film Competition, Kaohsiung Film Festival, Taiwan – International Grand Prize

– SeaShorts Competition, SeaShorts Film Festival 2019, Malaysia – Best Sound

– International Shorts Competition, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival, Canary islands (Spanish premiere) – Special Mention Award from the Jury

– International Competition, 35th Internationales KurzFilmFestival, Hamburg, Germany
– Short Film Competition, MOOOV Film Festival, Belgium

– 57th New York Film Festival, New York, USA (North America premiere)

– Short Film Competition, 55th Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, USA

– Special program, Short Waves Festival, Poland

Jury’s Statement (48th Festival du Nouveau Cinema): “This year, several films from the international competition have opened our eyes to local realities whose importance radiate beyond borders. The strength of the subjects treated by the filmmakers is undeniable, and their willingness to question the status quo in certain national contexts is courageous. This being said, there is a film that particularly touched us for being in perfect balance between the strength of it’s subject and the director’s cinematic approach. We loved the director’s use of natural landscapes to explore inner worlds of the characters but also larger themes about society. The film contrasts tradition and modernity in a subtle but powerful way, capturing how sacred Vietnamese traditions are being slowly erased in favor of Western materialism. I am pleased to present the prize of the international competition to Mot Khu Dat Tot (Blessed Land) by Phạm Ngọc Lân.”

Jury’s Statement (38th Uppsala International Short Film Festival): “Striking, both formally and aesthetically, and exhibiting a bold spirit of innovation, the jury were impressed by the shifting atmospheres and tonal registers the work constantly evokes. With imagery haunted by the dense layers of history and presence imbued in the landscape, and a subtle interrogation of points of tension between class, economics, progress and spirituality, this a rewarding, multi- faceted viewing experience. The jury are delighted to award the Uppsala Grand Prix to Pham Ngoc Lan’s Blessed Land.”

Jury’s Statement (VIS 2019): “The award goes to an original and wildly imaginative film that the jury found to be playful yet profound. It explores complex themes of history, place and memory in ways that are continually surprising, portraying characters who are rooted in a specific world yet somehow escape the usual rules of time and space. The award goes to the Vietnamese film Một Khu Đất Tốt (Blessed Land) by Pham Ngoc Lân.”

Jury’s Statement (SeaShorts Film Festival 2019): “Blessed Land puts poetry in motion, beautiful and mysterious as it builds its space with a delicate attention to sound and picture.”

Jury’s Statement (Kaohsiung Film Festival 2019): “The sound, image and editing are all in professional level. The image and the script is full of taste and highly artistic. The director uses precise camera design to express a sensitive concept of space and a deep reflection to the Vietnamese society.”

contact: [email protected]

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