Latest news with #Quy
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Truong Minh Quy And Nicolas Graux On The Story Behind Their Locarno Title ‘Hair, Paper, Water…' & How Technological Shifts Are Affecting Filmmaking: 'The Language Of Cinema Has Changed'
Vietnamese filmmaker Truong Minh Quy became an instant arthouse favorite at Cannes in 2024 with his impressive third feature Viet and Nam. Just over a year later, Quy is back with a new project, co-directed with his frequent collaborator Nicolas Graux (Century of Smoke). Hair, Paper, Water…, or Tóc, giấy và nước…, in the original Vietnamese, debuts this evening in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente Competition at Locarno. More from Deadline Locarno Open Doors: Nigerian, Zimbabwean & Ivorian Projects Among Winners Mohammad Rasoulof On Why He Isn't In A Rush To Follow Up 'The Seed Of The Sacred Fig' & His Plans To Return To Iran - Locarno Locarno Pro Awards: 'Nina Roza' By Canadian Filmmaker Geneviève Dulude-De Celles Leads Winners Shot over three years on a vintage Bolex camera, the film is a rich portrait of an elderly, unnamed woman who, born in a cave more than 60 years ago, now lives in a village caring for her children and grandchildren. The film captures her daily life and the transmission of her fragile native language, Rục, to the younger generations, as she dreams of her deceased mother calling her home to her mountain cave. The film was produced by Thomas Hakim and Julien Graff of Petit Chaos, the company behind Payal Kapadia's groundbreaking feature debut All We Imagine As Light, alongside Julie Freres. Italian-based sales company Lights On is handling the project, which has been a significant point of intrigue at Locarno. Graux and Truong previously co-directed the short Porcupine (2023), which premiered at Rotterdam and won the jury prize for best artistic contribution at Pink Screens Film Festival. Speaking to us ahead of today's premiere, the pair discusses how their professional collaboration began, why they decided to shoot Hair, Paper, Water... using a vintage Bolex camera, and how what they described as cinema's rapidly changing relationship to techonology shaped their film. 'This discussion about technology is not purely aesthetic; it's not about which film looks digital or filmic. The language of cinema has changed,' Quy explains. Read the interview below. Locarno ends on August 16. DEADLINE: How did you two meet? NICOLAS GRAUX: We met in Brussels just before COVID. Quy was studying in France. We lived together throughout the pandemic and began showing each other our previous works and exchanging ideas. I saw The Tree House, Quy's previous documentary. He made that before Viet and Nam. The main character of that film is also the main character in Hair, Paper, Water. Quy told me that during the production of The Tree House, she had once told him that if her valley gets flooded, she would go back to her cave by boat. That image stuck in our heads, and we thought it could be another film. That's how we built the idea of this movie. TRUONG MINH QUY: At the beginning of this process, we accidentally found a Bolex camera in our room under a bed. It belonged to Nicolas's friend and had been there for a few years. We'd both shot on film before, but never on a Bolex, which is very small and limited in its capabilities. It's a very vintage camera. So when we discovered that camera and the idea of the woman traveling back to her home on water, we knew we would use the Bolex. DEADLINE: Wow, did you shoot with just one Bolex? They're quite temprimental aren't they? GRAUX: We had two Bolex cameras. With a Bolex, you only have three-minute rolls. And each time you use the crank, you can shoot for about 30 seconds maximum. QUY: It's like TikTok. GRAUX: It's primitive TikTok. On one side, you have to be careful about what you shoot because you can't redo it several times. Conversely, it also frees you because you know that the camera itself is shaping the film's language. For example, during production, I was able to react to what I was seeing around me, like filming a dog sitting next to me for 15 seconds or a hibiscus flower under the rain. These moments may not have narrative functions, but they give shape to the film. DEADLINE: The Bolex can't record sound right? How did you get around that? The film has such a vivid soundscape. QUY: We worked with three different sound recordists. There is no synchronized sound on the Bolex. And it's impossible to use a clapperboard because you only have 30 seconds to shoot, so all the sound in the film was pre-created sound on a set. DEADLINE: And when did you shoot this? How long did it take? Can you talk me through the production. Was it before Viet and Nam?GRAUX: We had two main shooting periods with a two-year gap in between. That's why, in the film, you see that suddenly the boy had grown. That's not something we planned, but we came back to the village two years later because we knew we wanted to shoot more. QUY: The first shoot was just before Viet and Nam in 2022. And we finished shooting in December 2024. DEADLINE: Did you find it easier to build the production and raise funds during the second shoot because of the success?QUY: When we started financing the film, we decided, with Thomas, Julien, and the other producers, that we didn't want it to be big. We just wanted to find enough money so we can have time. And the crew in Vietnam was very small. We had four or five people. For me, it was lucky that I decided to shoot this film before Viet and Nam. If I had to start now, I don't think I would have enough energy to do During the first shoot, we knew that we would like to do something with the language, but we weren't so sure how. It became clearer during the editing process between the first and second shoot. That's when we went back and built the film around the language. The construction of the film is actually super basic. You see something on screen, and then you hear a word to describe that thing. It's like a visual dictionary. And we like that, the relationship between image and sound. I actually spoke with the main character from our film yesterday, and she had a visitor, an archivist who had come to record the language. It's great that people are also interested in archiving her Yes, this film calls back to previous cinema traditions like silent movies, family movies, and filmmakers like Jonas Mekas. We didn't intend to create a home movie. However, one thing we noticed that had changed during the three years of production is the rapid change of technology in relation to filmmaking. People have already stopped talking to each other and now talk to computers. This discussion about technology is not purely aesthetic; it's not about which film looks digital or filmic. The language of cinema has changed. I don't care if this film is good or not. This film is instead about making a project that has something to say or holds qualities that stay with you. And there's something human in that. DEADLINE: How would you like this film to be seen by audiences. I could see it in the gallery space, for instance. GRAUX: For us, it's quite clear that it's for cinema, especially because this film brings our main character back to her cave. There is darkness in the cave, and that is a feeling that you only get in cinemas when you face the big screen. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Emmys, Oscars, Grammys & More Everything We Know About Prime Video's 'Legally Blonde' Prequel Series 'Elle' Solve the daily Crossword
The Star
01-06-2025
- The Star
Exploring Trang An, also known as the 'dry Halong Bay' in Vietnam
Step into a shaky rowboat to explore the dramatic limestone features of Vietnam's 'dry' Halong Bay. Guides row the boats, traditional sampans, at a leisurely pace through a landscape of towering karst cliffs, lush rainforests and a labyrinthine system of caves. The bay's nickname refers to its big sister, the famous Halong Bay, one of Vietnam's biggest tourist attractions. However, the dry Halong Bay, also known as Trang An, is not a seascape but is in the centre of the country, some 100km south of the capital Hanoi. The region is criss-crossed by the wide delta of the Ngo Dong River, which has shaped this extraordinary landscape over the course of time. You can easily compare dry Halong Bay with its famous namesake, with the same limestone cliffs and emerald green Gulf of Tonkin. And there are further advantages to its land-locked location. The Trang An landscape is less crowded, says our guide, Quy Vu. 'And there are no cruise ships here either,' adds Quy, 34, who comes from Ninh Binh and brings guests from Hanoi to his home town several times a week. The bus ride takes around two and a half hours. As soon as we leave behind the last suburbs of the capital, bustling with honking motorbikes, we are in a landscape of rice paddies. Water buffaloes doze in the sun and in villages, people sit in front of their stores and workshops. The pace is leisurely, a lifestyle adapted to the hot and humid temperatures. Entering the caves But there is hectic movement at the Trang An jetty, just a few kilometres from the provincial capital of Ninh Binh. Here, in the south of the delta, boat tours set off into the extensive karst landscape of Trang An, which was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2014. Rows of sampans are bobbing up and down on the water. Boats come and go as they pick up and return guests from their tours. It is a quick turnaround as tours are tightly scheduled to prevent jams of boats forming at the entrances to the caves. But it is silent, aside from a collective 'aah' of the passengers as the boat goes around what appears to be a pagoda built directly in the water. 'Keep your head down,' says Quy Vu as the boatman heads for a barely recognisable crevice. You can also take these smaller boats to check out the Hang Thanh Truot cave in Trang An. Then, the flat-bottomed boat glides silently into the 320m-long Hang Thanh Truot cave. This is the longest of the nine stalactite caves that the boat traverses during the three-hour tour. We step out of the boat and head to the Suoi Tien temple during a stopover on land. A few steps lead to the palatial wooden building with a pagoda roof, inside which visitors can kneel and pray in front of ornate golden statues. A short walk further on, Dia Linh comes into view, a mountain bulging vertically upward out of the water. It is one of the most famous photo motifs in the region. That this landscape is ideal for the big screen was swiftly seen by Hollywood director Jordan Vogt-Roberts who chose Trang An as the location for his 2017 film Kong: Skull Island. Although you won't meet the famous giant ape King Kong, you can still visit the village with its thatched huts that was built especially for the fantasy film. Attractions like these, the Unesco recognition, and the landscape have made the area famous, with images shared countless times on social media. Now, the region is bracing for an increase in visitors. Quy Vu would also like to open a B&B in the near future, perhaps even with a small restaurant. At the same time, the UN title has raised awareness. 'We are focussing on gentle tourism. We don't want uncontrolled construction or littering,' he says. Bicycle tour Those exploring Trang An can switch from boat to bike. Narrow side roads lead through settlements with small farms, past vegetable gardens and rice fields, framed by tropical wooded mountains. The destination of our tour is the old royal city of Hoa Lu, which was built in 968 CE as a military fortress and experienced its heyday under the Dinh, Le and Ly dynasties in the 11th century. Two temples were rebuilt in the 17th century on the remains of old foundations. Today, they are the venues for spiritual and cultural events. Of these, the annual Hoa Lu Festival in April is the largest and, with a tradition of around 1,000 years, the best known. Whether you're travelling by boat or by bicycle, you can see wild mountain goats scrambling up the steep rock faces. They are the unofficial heraldic animal of Ninh Binh, but also a culinary speciality. 'You haven't really been here if you haven't tried goat,' says Nguyen Van Quyet, chef of the restaurant Thang Long. Here, large groups of guests are dining at long tables, sampling goat dishes. The restaurant's small souvenir shop has a thematically appropriate eye-catcher: Homemade rice wine with pickled ginger, apples and goat penis. According to the chef, this guarantees 'a strength and potency booster for men'. Visitors at the Suoi Tien temple are welcome to pray inside, or take tons of pictures outside. Sweaty ascent Strength and energy are required by all for the subsequent hike to Hang Mua, around 10km away. The highlight is not the cave, but the viewing platform on the 65m-tall mountain above. It's a sweat-inducing climb up 500 steep steps leading to the top. With the high humidity, regular drinking breaks are must. But the spectacular 360° panoramic view of the seemingly endless karst mountains, the bright green rice fields and the meandering river more than reward your effort. With the depth of a baroque stage set, the landscape is one of the most beautiful in Vietnam. And, as the view from above makes clear, one thing it certainly isn't: Dry. – BETTINA HAGEN/dpa
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
The dramatic scenery of Vietnam's Halong Bay by boat, bike or on foot
Step into a shaky rowboat to explore the dramatic limestone features of Vietnam's "dry" Halong Bay. Guides row the boats, traditional sampans, at a leisurely pace through a landscape of towering karst cliffs, lush rainforests and a labyrinthine system of caves. The bay's nickname refers to its big sister, the famous Halong Bay, one of Vietnam's biggest tourist attractions. However, the dry Halong Bay, also known as Tràng An, is not a seascape but is in the centre of the country, some 100 kilometres south of the capital Hanoi. The region is criss-crossed by the wide delta of the Ngo Dong River, which has shaped this extraordinary landscape over the course of time. You can easily compare dry Halong Bay with its famous namesake, with the same limestone cliffs and emerald green Gulf of Tonkin. And there are further advantages to its land-locked location. The Tràng An landscape is less crowded, says our guide, Quy Vu. "And there are no cruise ships here either," adds Quy, 34, who comes from Ninh Bình and brings guests from Hanoi to his home town several times a week. The bus ride takes around two and a half hours. As soon as we leave behind the last suburbs of the capital, bustling with honking mopeds, we are in a landscape of rice paddies. Water buffaloes doze in the sun and in villages, people sit in front of their stores and workshops. The pace is leisurely, a lifestyle adapted to the hot and humid temperatures. Duck your head - we're entering the caves But there is hectic movement at the Tràng An jetty, just a few kilometres from the provincial capital of Ninh Bình. Here, in the south of the delta, boat tours set off into the extensive karst landscape of Tràng An, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2014. Rows of sampans are bobbing up and down on the water. Boats come and go as they pick up and return guests from their tours. It is a quick turnaround as tours are tightly scheduled to prevent jams of boats forming at the entrances to the caves. But it is silent, aside from a collective "aah" of the passengers as the boat rounds what appears to be a pagoda built directly in the water. "Keep your head down," says Quy Vu as the boatman heads for a barely recognisable crevice. Then, the flat-bottomed boat glides silently into the 320-metre Hang Thánh Trượt cave. This is the longest of the nine stalactite caves that the boat traverses during the three-hour tour. We step out of the boat and head to the Suối Tiên temple during a stopover on land. A few steps lead to the palatial wooden building with a pagoda roof, inside which visitors can kneel and pray in front of ornate golden statues. A short walk further on, Địa Linh comes into view, a mountain bulging vertically upward out of the water. It is one of the most famous photo motifs in the region. That this landscape is ideal for the big screen was swiftly seen by Hollywood director Jordan Vogt-Roberts who chose Tràng An as the location for his 2017 film "Kong: Skull Island." Although you won't meet the famous giant ape King Kong, you can still visit the village with its thatched huts that was built especially for the fantasy film. Attractions like these, the UNESCO recognition, and the landscape have made the area famous, with images shared countless times on social media. Now, the region is bracing for an increase in visitors. Quy Vu would also like to open a B&B in the near future, perhaps even with a small restaurant. At the same time, the UN title has raised awareness. "We are focussing on gentle tourism. We don't want uncontrolled construction or littering," he says. Bicycle tour to the ancient royal city Those exploring Tràng An can switch from boat to bike. Narrow side roads lead through settlements with small farms, past vegetable gardens and rice fields, framed by tropical wooded mountains. The destination of our tour is the old royal city of Hoa Lư, which was built in 968 AD as a military fortress and experienced its heyday under the Đinh, Lê and Lý dynasties in the 11th century. Two temples were rebuilt in the 17th century on the remains of old foundations. Today, they are the venue for spiritual and cultural events. Of these, the annual Hoa Lư Festival in April is the largest and, with a tradition of around 1,000 years, the best known. Whether you're travelling by boat or by bicycle, you can see wild mountain goats scrambling up the steep rock faces. They are the unofficial heraldic animal of Ninh Bình, but also a culinary speciality. "You haven't really been here if you haven't tried goat," says Nguyễn Văn Quyết, chef of the restaurant Thăng Long, where large groups of guests are dining at long tables, sampling goat dishes. The restaurant's small souvenir shop has a thematically appropriate eye-catcher: Homemade rice wine with pickled ginger, apples and goat penis. According to the chef, this guarantees "a strength and potency booster for men." Sweaty ascent Strength and energy are required by all for the subsequent hike to Hang Múa, around 10 kilometres away. The highlight is not the cave, but the viewing platform on the 65-metre mountain above. It's a sweat-inducing climb up 500 steep steps leading to the top. With the high humidity, regular drinking breaks are must. But the spectacular 360-degree panoramic view of the seemingly endless karst mountains, the bright green rice fields and the meandering river more than reward your effort. With the depth of a baroque stage set, the landscape is one of the most beautiful in Vietnam. And, as the view from above makes clear, one thing it certainly isn't: Dry.
