“Sun in the Dark”: Film Week by Director Bui Thac Chuyen
The “Sun in the Dark” Film Week takes place from August 15 to 24, 2025 at Ngoc Khanh Cinema, Hanoi. This is an event organized by the Center for Supporting and Developing Cinema Talents (TPD) to look back on more than 20 years of director Bui Thac Chuyen’s career, focusing on his latest film – “Tunnel: Sun in the Dark”.
Film week introduces 8 works by director Bui Thac Chuyen, including 5 feature films: Living in fear (2005), Floating (2009), Blood Curse (2012), The ashes are glowing (2022), Tunnel: Sun in the Dark (2025); 2 documentaries: The Digger (2002), Fearless (2022) and the short film Night Ride (2000). Screenings take place at Ngoc Khanh Theater, Vietnam Film Institute.
The week is an opportunity for the audience to look back on more than two decades of director Bui Thac Chuyen’s career. From his first video feature films to celluloid and later digital – this journey goes hand in hand with the transformation of domestic cinema. The director has made his own mark in contemporary Vietnamese cinema through his rich and flexible filmmaking practice across many genres. Inspired by life and literature, Bui Thac Chuyen’s works not only explore the depth of human psychology but also take the audience through diverse geographical and cultural contexts across three regions of the country.water.
After the first international success with the short film Night Ride (Third Prize – Cinéfondation category, Cannes Film Festival 2000), Bui Thac Chuyen released the feature film: Living in Fear (2005) – Telling the story of a former soldier of the Republic of Vietnam who made a living by clearing bombs and mines, based on a true story previously recorded by the director in the documentary Hands of the Earth. Exactly 20 years later, the theme of war and human destiny continues to be exploited in Tunnels: Sun in the Dark. The film premiered on the occasion of April 30, 2025, after 10 years of incubation, conquered audiences nationwide with a personal and authentic perspective on history.
Besides the theme of war, people in daily life are also the focus in some of Bui Thac Chuyen’s works. Choi Voi is the director’s first digital film to win the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. In 2012, Loi nguon huyet nga, an experiment with the mystical thriller genre, attracted a large audience and created a box office effect during the Tet season. Exactly 10 years since Loi nguon huyet nga, Bui Thac Chuyen returned to the cinema with Tro tan loc sang, a film adapted from a short story by Nguyen Ngoc Tu and won the Golden Balloon Award at the International Film Festival of Three Continents in France (2022).
The two films Tay dao dat (2002) and Khong bo do (2022) will be introduced within the framework of a thematic talk on documentary practice, a separate creative field that Bui Thac Chuyen has persistently pursued and is closely associated with the way he develops special feature film projects using a long-term fieldwork approach.
Along with the screenings, there will be meetings with the director, actors and crew, along with a series of expert talks that promise to provide insight into the creative journey behind each film.
The film week is organized by TPD Center for Supporting and Developing Movie Talents, in collaboration with Vietnam Film Institute and Tunnel Films.
About the director Bui Thac Chuyen
Director Bui Thac Chuyen was born in 1968, studied Acting and Film Directing at the Hanoi University of Theatre and Cinema. After the success of his first short films such as: Eternal Sorrow – Gold Prize at the Vietnam Short Film Festival 1991; Night Ride – Third Prize at the Cinéfondation category, Cannes Film Festival 2000, he was sponsored by NHK Japan to make the documentary Hand Digger (2002), the direct inspiration for his first feature film Living in Fear (2005).
Director Bui Thac Chuyen (Photo: Organizing Committee)
His feature films have been recognized by international critics, notably The Lost, which received the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Award at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, and The Radiant Ashes, which won the Golden Balloon Award – the highest award at the 2022 French International Film Festival of the Three Continents. Bui Thac Chuyen’s latest film, The Tunnel: The Sun in the Dark, was released in Vietnam in April 2025.
Bui Thac Chuyen is also known as the founder and director of the TPD Center for Supporting and Developing Cinema Talents (under the Vietnam Cinema Association) in 2002.
Screenings will take place at Ngoc Khanh Theater, Vietnam Film Institute. (The schedule for the 2 documentaries will be announced later.)
MOVIE SHOWING SCHEDULE
15.08 – LIVING IN FEAR | Interaction with director, cinematographer Hoang Tan Phat, producer Dang Tat Binh and the film crew. Registration link: bit.ly/STSH-MTTBT
16.08 – TUNNEL | Exchange with director and businessman Nguyen Thanh Nam. Registration link: bit.ly/DIADAO
17.08 – NIGHT BUS + BLOOD CURSE | Talk with director, People’s Artist – cinematographer Ly Thai Dung and the cast. Registration link: bit.ly/CXD-LNHN
20.08 – BRIGHT ASHES | Interview with director and producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc. Registration link: https://bit.ly/TTRR-MTTBT
22.08 – TUNNEL | Exchange with director and businessman Nguyen Thanh Nam. Registration link: bit.ly/DIADAO
23.08 – DRIFTING | Exchange with director, People’s Artist Ly Thai Dung and the film crew. Registration link: https://bit.ly/CV-MTTBT
(Non-profit screenings, audience support events for TPD Center to support young filmmakers)
The film week is organized by TPD Center for Supporting and Developing Cinema Talents, in collaboration with Vietnam Film Institute and Tunnel Films, with support from An Nam Film, Galaxy Studio, Cinepost.
Event information:
Time: 15/08 – 22.08
Location: Ngoc Khanh Cinema – 523 Kim Ma, Hanoi
This film is not intended for audiences under 16 years of age.