LETNÍ ŠKOLA, 2001

Audiences in the Czech Republic had long been waiting for this feature film, one which finally provides insights into the life of the Vietnamese community, the country’s third-largest minority. The film draws inspiration from the director's own childhood in Cheb, in northern Bohemia, near the Czech-German border, where the huge Vietnamese Dragoun Market is located.

It is here that family man Zung runs a stall selling goods of questionable legality; his wife and young son Tai also help out. The market not only provides them with an income but also a place where their entire social life plays out. After ten years in Vietnam, the eldest son Kien is confronted not only by his family's closely guarded secrets but also by conservative moral values. He finds himself caught in the midst of conflicts in the microcosm of the market which, while offering the community economic support, also creates dangerous dependencies through its mafia-like structures.

The film is particularly interesting due to its multi-perspective narrative: the events are told, sequentially, from the perspectives of father Zungkein and youngest son Tai. Both experience the events surrounding Kien's arrival very differently, engaging the audience with their respective perspectives and repeatedly revealing surprising insights. Director Duong, who made his feature film debut with SUMMER SCHOOL in 2001, was awarded the Cottbus Discovery Script Doctoring Award at the 27th Cottbus Film Festival for his short film BO HAI.

Text: Christina Frankenberg

Fri 07.11. I 19:00 I WELTSPIEGEL SAAL 3 I original version with English and German subtitles

Sat 08.11. I 16:00 I WELTSPIEGEL GROSSER SAAL I original version with English and German subtitles