Rated C16 (for viewers aged 16 and above), the Vietnamese film will vie for the New Currents Award against 10 others from countries like Iran, Japan, the Republic of Korea and India. It will have three public screenings and fan meetings during the festival.
According to the festival’s official website, Memoryland opens with the death of a mother. Although her heartbeat stops, her consciousness continues worrying about her son and blessing him. Her neighbour digs a grave near the house in the field for her, but the son insists on cremation. Because he does not receive much in the way of inheritance, he must be careful budgeting the funeral.
Another man is killed by an accident at a construction site. His wife suddenly becomes widowed, but decides to go to her husband’s hometown to bury him and comfort his soul. His relatives, however, doubt her sincerity, as she is still young and beautiful. In the end, attitudes toward death are determined by how the living receive it. It cannot be forced for anyone to miss someone and to live with a debt of memory. Ultimately, the film settles on revealing the truth that no one can escape it.
Kim Quy Bui is a screenwriter and director who majored in Screenwriting at Hanoi Academy of Theater and Cinema. Before her directorial debut, she wrote several screenplays for feature films.
Her first feature film, The Inseminator (2014), was invited to A Window on Asian Cinema at the Busan International Film Festival 2014.
Memoryland, her second feature, was supported by the Script Development Fund at ASEAN Cinema Fund Busan 2016.
The 26th Busan International Film Festival will be held from October 6 – 15./.
VNA/VNP
