Bui Thac Chuyen Film Week: From Cannes Film Festival Award to 'Tunnel' Fever

From August 15-24, Hanoi will host the film week "Sun in the Darkness: Bui Thac Chuyen's Film Week," featuring eight of his representative works.

The event took place at Ngoc Khanh Cinema (523 Kim Ma Street), organized by the TPD Center for Supporting and Developing Cinematic Talent (under the Vietnam Film Association), in collaboration with the Vietnam Film Institute and Tunnel Films.

This is an opportunity for audiences to look back on more than two decades of cinematic creativity from one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Vietnamese cinema. Especially after the success of "Tunnels: The Sun in the Darkness" (2025) - A rare war film in Vietnam that did not use state funding - grossed 172 billion VND in revenue.

Director Bui Thac Chuyen on the set of the film "Underground Tunnel." (Photo: Provided by the film crew)

The program will screen 8 films, including 6 feature films: "Night Ride" (2000), "Living in Fear" (2005), "Drifting" (2009), "The Curse of the Blood Orchid" (2012), "Brilliant Ashes" (2022), and "Underground Tunnel" (2025); and two documentaries: " Earth Digger" (2002) and "Fearless" (2022).

His works all reflect the depth of Vietnamese people, history, culture, and society through his personal perspective.

"Night Ride," a film about the fate of migrant workers seeking a livelihood in the city, is often cited as director Bui Thac Chuyen's first major achievement when he won third prize in the Cinéfondation category (for short films, graduation films) at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2000.

Between 2002 and 2005, the director made the feature film "Living in Fear" about a former South Vietnamese soldier who made a living by defusing landmines – a true story that he reflected in the documentary "The Digger."

In 2009, "Drifting" won the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award at the Venice Film Festival. In 2022, the film "Brilliant Ashes" (2022), adapted from a short story by Nguyen Ngoc Tu, received the Golden Balloon Award (Montgolfière d'or) at the Festival des 3 Continents (France) for Asian, African, and Latin American cinema.

Most recently in the documentary genre, director Bui Thac Chuyen made the film "Fearless" about the arduous journey of fighting COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City - one of the peak periods of the pandemic in Vietnam.

Along with numerous domestic awards such as the Golden Kite Award and the Vietnam Film Festival Award, director Bui Thac Chuyen has not only made his mark with domestic audiences but has also contributed to bringing Vietnamese cinema closer to the world .

In addition to the feature films, two documentaries will be presented in a separate thematic session, discussing documentary filmmaking practices – a field closely linked to the on-location filmmaking methodology that the director consistently pursues.

Following the film screenings, there will be several professional discussions and Q&A sessions with the director and film crew. These screenings are non-profit, with audience members making voluntary contributions to a fund supporting young filmmakers.

Movie screening schedule (updated on the TPD Center's fanpage):

August 15th – "Living in Fear" | Meet and greet with the director and film crew

August 16th – "Underground Tunnels: The Sun in the Darkness" | Interview with the Director

August 17th – "Night Ride" and "The Curse of the Blood Orchid" | Meet and Greet with the Director and Film Crew

August 20th – "Brilliant Ashes" | Interview with the director

August 21st – "Night Ride" and "The Curse of the Blood Herb"

August 22nd – "Underground Tunnels: The Sun in the Darkness" | Interview with the Director

August 23rd – "Drifting" | Meet and greet with the director and film crew

August 24th – "Underground tunnels: The sun in the darkness."

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tuan-phim-bui-thac-chuyen-tu-giai-thuong-lhp-cannes-den-con-sot-dia-dao-post1053509.vnp