Short Films from Vietnam

1. “When We Were Twenty” is a documentary about three girls facing heart-wrenching life choices at the age of 20. One gets married and has a child, one follows her dream of becoming a model, and the other goes to study abroad. [English subtitles, 15 minutes]

2. “Hard Times for Coal Miners” is a documentary about the life of the coal miners who work in the northern-most harbor region of Vietnam. The miners come from many areas of the country, and crowd into dust-filled ghettos, living and trying to stay clean among strip-mined mountains of coal. The documentary focuses on intimate stories of the coal miners. [English subtitles, 10 minutes]

3. “Give Me a Ticket to My Childhood” tells the story of a family of two children. The parents, like any parents, love their children but are constantly facing problems:  school work, finding a balance between loving and spoiling the children, and sibling rivalry. The documentary reveals a different side to these common family problems. [English subtitles, 15 minutes]

4. “The Banana Vendor’s Love” is a bright story of  love among the poor, set in the disorderly, crowded, noisy streets of Saigon. It is a story of a young man from the city of Trà Vinh who came to Ho Chi Minh City and found a job as a banana street vendor, crisscrossing the crowded streets as he sells his wares. One day, at an intersection on his regular route, he meets a disabled girl selling lotto tickets. [English subtitles, 15 minutes]

5. “Hugging Honda” is the true story of Võ Thị Nguyệt, who for more than 20 years drove a hugging Honda (a one-seat motorbike taxi), based at the East City bus station of Ho Chi Minh City. With the  job she fed her two grandchildren, taking care of them and raising them single-handedly. She has been a “Fairy Mother Âu Cơ” for countless students. Every year, she drives the students for free to the city to take the college entrance exams. Hardship does not daunt this resilient woman. [English subtitles, 25 minutes]