APM - Asian Project Market

 

Back to list Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere

Director’s Profile

Nguyen Hoang Diep has an amazing passion for images, which naturally led her into a filmmaking career. As a director, she has proved her stable skills through a series of low-budget short films in which she was the writer, director, editor and sometimes cinematographer. In 2004, she began her first feature film The Fifth Season. With $800 and a semi-professional camera, this 26-minute movie shocked its audience not only with its strange story of a woman who loves the smell of her husband’s clothes more than himself, but also the feeling behind these scenes - the feeling of hidden emotion. It was also shown in many short films festival in Vietnam, France, and the U.S.A and joined the competition section of a short film festival in Brazil.
In 2005, she became a key person at the Vietnam.net, TV channel in Vietnam. Her documentary film series Life Changes touching on hot issues in daily life in Vietnam: transsexual operations, fallen actors and actresses, etc. gained a lot of attention thanks to its bold, sharp and deep vision into the mysterious truth of human beings. Such stories that she had experienced while making the series inspired her to write the script: Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere. Since 2007, she has started writing and directing the TV series: Chit & Pi - airing on the National Television Channel – which has caught the attention of young viewers. In 2009, she took on the role as producer for the feature film Bi, Don’t Be Afraid which won two prizes at International Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival (2010).

Synopsis

Tung is an 18-year-old boy, working as a worthless employee for an event-organizing agency. Huyen, a 17-year-old girl, is an average student in college. They are poor and living alone far from their families. Huyen has a gay friend who lives next door to her; he earns money by pretending to be a female
whore to cheat customers in the dark. Tung is cunning and his social circle is made up of those in the gambling and cock fighting community. He has a talent for spitting, always hitting the target. While Tung is happy standing in a crane to tighten a banner on a tree, Huyen calls to tell him that she’s pregnant.
They both want to abort it but they do not have money. The baby is growing and Huyen is always hungry; she spends quite a lot of money on rice soup. Tung earns money by betting and cock fighting. When the abortion date comes, Tung steals Huyen’s savings to pay for his loss.
Running out of money, Huyen and Tung have a fight. Huyen’s gay friend finds a special customer for her, Hoang, who is crazy about pregnant women. Huyen accepts and saves money for her abortion. Gradually, Huyen finds that the pregnancy brings about some benefits, especially by helping her to be close to Hoang. Huyen truly has feelings for Hoang. Tung gets jealous but they need money for the abortion so he cannot make trouble with Hoang. The baby is growing; Hoang loves every movement inside Huyen’s belly; Huyen feels that her boldness is fading while he is caressing her. Before the abortion day, Huyen has enough money. Tung wins his bet. He takes her to go around the city in his crane to make it up to her. Huyen tries to call Hoang but she can’t. Hoang disappears. Huyen almost cries because of the tight shoes she is wearing. Next morning, in her tiny kitchen, Huyen is making rice soup; the bubbles are swelling bigger and bigger.

Achievements

2014 Busan International Film Festival
2014 Venice International Film Festival
2014 Toronto International Film Festival
2014 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival
2015 Fribourg International Film Festival - Ecumenical Jury Award, Special Mention, Youth Jury Award
2015 Goteborg Film Festival
2015 San Francisco International Film Festival
2016 Osaka Asian Film Festival

Back to list