Like a lot of 12-year-olds, Di spends her free time hanging out with friends or glued to her phone. But, as a Hmong girl from the mountains of northern Vietnam, marriage — or even the practice of “bride kidnapping” — is not uncommon. Will Di follow in the footsteps of her mother and sister or choose her own path?
Di lives in two worlds: teachers at her school promote one set of values while, at home, her family preaches more traditional customs. Di’s sister and mother were abducted and married on the Lunar New Year. And, when the Lunar New Year festival arrives and Di disappears on a scooter with a local boy, it seems that she, too, will see an abrupt end to her childhood. But Di’s story is not so straightforward. Acting as her own cinematographer, Vietnamese director Diem Ha Le often finds herself right in the middle of the debates and confrontations that could determine Di’s fate. But while Di’s future remains as cloudy as the ever-present mist that shrouds the mountains of her village, one theme emerges: Di should be the one to determine her own future. “Extraordinary.” –Guy Lodge, Variety
Director Biography
Born in 1991 in Vietnam, Diem Ha Le is the director of the short film Beautiful Bed (Giuong Xinh) (2016). Her debut feature documentary Children of the Mist (Nhung Dua Tre Trong Suong) (2021) won the highly prestigious Best Direction award at the 2021 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).