"Two intertwined bodies breathe heavily. Two young men caress each other. Both seem to be in free fall in the middle of space. But this vastness turns out to be the narrow tunnel of an underground coal mine that exploits both the land and those who work there. Love, trafficking, and the legacy of war are explored in this intimate yet epic drama set in Vietnam but banned in its homeland. Truong Minh Quy's third feature, VIÊT AND NAM, offers us a deeply cinematic panorama shot on 16mm. The jury found it to be a very carefully calibrated work and a visually beautiful and emotional exploration of being young, economically disadvantaged, and queer in postwar Vietnam. The title characters, Viêt (Duy Bao Dinh Dao) and Nam (Thanh Hai Pham), are young coal miners in love who dream of a different life and try to overcome the traumas of war within their families. This film follows a dreamlike logic and throws us into situations that we are always left to decipher, but never remains vague, instead delicately and intimately measuring a historical socioeconomic landscape in which two lovers must cling to each other in order not to be swept away by it. We congratulate Truong Minh Quy on this incredible and original work. We believe he and the film to be truly deserving recipients of this valuable prize."
