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SHORTS: ĐẸP NHƯ MA / AS PRETTY AS A GHOST

In this collection of Vietnamese short films, plots haunt the ephemeral: old crushes on scooters, reanimated memories, and tenderness found in between the past and present.

In this program


Grandma’s Four Colored Cards

Directed by Sally Phuong Tran

From a tiny house in Saigon’s slums, 101-year-old Ngoai lives her everyday life feeding the cat, cleaning the altar, and running an illegal card game. A day through her clouded radiant eyes, overflowing with community care.

We Used to Take the Long Way Home

Directed by An Nguyen

A teenage girl embarks on a summer road trip with old friends, racing against time through the Vietnam countryside to return to a place that can no longer exist.

These Yellow Stars of Ours

Directed by Vinh Nguyen

Inventive and experimental, a son chronicles his parents’ journey fleeing war-torn Vietnam and their love story in the States to reconcile with the family’s legacy of diaspora.

Gà Lavabo: Tết 1969

Directed by Duy Do

It’s 1968 San Diego, and amid a shifting political climate, a group of South Vietnamese exchange students attempt to celebrate their first Tết away from home.

Goodbye and Hello to my Dad

Directed by Kathleen Hoang

Between newspaper shapes and heavy brushstrokes, a recently passed Vietnamese father lingers with his daughter, as time, space, and videocam memories overlay a final quiet reckoning.

Long’s Long Lost & Mini Mart

Directed by Julian Doan

At a conspicuous quick mart, a young man pays for one last conversation with his dead father, an encounter filled with ashes, lotto tickets, grief, and spirals of “what ifs.”

Dates & Times