On-Site & Online
VDP: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University
Madame Lien's Factory
Screening INFO
- Date & Time
- 10/15(Sat) 13:00〜15:30
Online Screening
- Viewing Period
- 10/10(Mon)10:00〜16(Sun)23:59
Notes
Madame Lien is the head of the third generation of her family to take over a shipyard where traditional wooden boats are built. Existing along the banks of the Mekong River for almost a century, it has witnessed many drastic times of change. Today, sustainable development has become a goal along the river, yet parallel to this, as cities modernize, traditional values are gradually disappearing. This documentary focuses on Madame Lien and her efforts to keep the shipyard afloat. It dwells upon how it gives her life meaning as she remembers how she fought to preserve it in the past. This documentary poignantly presents a person with compassion toward her workers, her relationship with them, and how they have trusted and followed her their whole lives.
Story
The energetic main character is subtly overlaid with the many contradictions of life in Vietnamese society. While bold on the outside with her business dealings, she is tender inside while caring for those who helped sustain the vanishing craft of boat-making. The documentary, honed in cinema-direct style, is lush while sparsely directed, allowing the camera to fill the screen with the visual articulation of life. The disciplined observation the camera makes pays off as the documentary provides a candid peek into a personal life, where all histories have their beginnings.
Data
- Director
- Nguyen Thu Huong
- Country
- Vietnam
- Year
- 2021
