Vietnamese film Memoryland being screened at Berlinale

Hanoi (VNA) – “Mien Ky Uc” (Memoryland), a film by director Bui Kim Quy, is being screened at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) taking place from February 10 – 20.

Charge d’affaires of the Embassy of Vietnam in Germany Dang Chung Thuy was among the audience at its premiere at the Berlinale on February 14.

Memoryland opens with the death of a mother. Although her heartbeat stops, her consciousness continues worrying about her son and blessing him. Her neighbour digs a grave near the house in the field for her, but the son insists on cremation. Because he does not receive much in the way of inheritance, he must be careful budgeting the funeral.

At the centre of the episodically linked stories in “Memoryland” stands death and all the rituals that accompany the end of life, according to the festival’s official website. “Such rituals are intended for the peace of both the dead and the living, but even they are not left untouched by changes in society.”

“Change is also made perceptible through the juxtaposition of rural and urban life: on the one hand Hanoi, with its countless construction sites and constant stream of cars; on the other the almost abandoned, run-down village. The old life still exists, but only in the land of memories.”

Mai Nguyen, Director of Munich-based Scarlet Visions, one of the Memoryland producer, said the movie highlights the differences between urban and rural life. It reminds those leaving villages to pursue their dreams, study, work or a better life in the cities of the customs and traditions of where they were born and grew up, she said.

In this year’s Berlinale, the 99-minute film is vying in the “Forum” category. There will be five screenings of the film at five different movie theatres in Berlin from February 14 – 19.

After Berlinale, “Memoryland” will compete at Doc Fortnight, an annual international festival for nonfiction films, in New York, the US at the end of this month, Mai added.

Quy is a writer and director who studied screenwriting at the Hanoi Academy of Theater and Cinema. She writes scripts for films as well as television. Quy is the director of some short films including Mattress (2002), Why Is There No Moon While The Daytime (2006), and The New Year's Eve (2006).

Founded in 1951, Berlinale is one of the three oldest and most prestigious international film festivals in the world, along with France's Cannes Film Festival and Italy's Venice Film Festival. It is attended by more than 250 films by 69 countries and territories this year./.