Vietnamese director Truong Minh Quy’s Viet And Nam, which is set to world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, has been banned in Vietnam due to its “negative view” about the country and its people.
It is understood the queer characters are not a deciding factor for the ban as Vietnam has been more relaxed with LGBTQ+ characters and themes on screen in recent years.
Instead, the issues are the Vietnamese version of the film’s title (which means In The Heart Of The Earth) content, and theme, which portray “a gloomy, deadlocked, and negative view” about the country and people, according to an official letter from Vietnam’s Cinema Department.
Due to the official ban, Vietnam-based production company Lagi will no longer be credited as a co-producer so the film can premiere in Cannes (on May 22) as a foreign production without passing censorship in Vietnam. Local productions must be submitted to the Cinema Department for approval before they can be released locally or internationally.
“I would like to focus more on the artistic side of the film rather than the ban taking centre stage,” director Quy told Screen. “I hope someday that people can see that the film is a tender and emotional expression of what is happening in the country from a Vietnamese filmmaker.”
The Vietnamese-language drama revolves around the relationship of two young miners. One of them is determined to find the remains of his soldier father in the forest before boarding a shipping container for Europe, while his male lover wants him to stay back.
Bianca Balbuena and Bradley Liew from Philippines-based Epicmedia Productions developed the project with Quy and are the lead producers. The other co-production partners are Deuxieme Ligne Films, E&W Films, An Original Picture, Volos Films Italia, Scarlet Visions and Cinema Inutile. Pyramide International handles international sales.
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