Director Phan Dang Di's first movie Bi, Don't Be Afraid! won Best First Feature and Best Cinematography prizes at the Stockholm International Film Festival 2010. Those awards were added to an already impressive haul of accolades, including the New Talent Award at the 54th Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes International Critic's Week and the special mention in Dragons & Tigers Young Cinema Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival. What can you say about your first film being awarded with two prizes at the Stockholm International Film Festival 2010?
It's the biggest film festival in northern Europe. The organising board sent an invitation to me two months before the festival opened. About 18 movies were selected for the Best First Feature prize. Only my film was from Asia. There were also many films nominated for other film festival prizes that had entered.
The Romanian movie If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle won the Grand Prize at the Berlin Film International Festival.
The nomination was a great honour for me. I met Swedish journalists and attended a question and answer session before the awards ceremony. They are very interested in the movie and I don't know why.
I attended the three scheduled days of the festival. But I was asked to cancel my return flight without reason. Before the closing night, I was informed that Bi, Don't Be Afraid! would be awarded the Best Cinematography prize. I was very happy because the cameraman is my classmate.
How did you feel when your name was announced as the winner of the prize?
I was very surprised. I thought it was a mistake. I hadn't prepared a speech. I was only prepared to represent the cameraman. So I don't know what to say at the time.
After the awards ceremony, I met with the head of the jury board, American actress Holly Hunter. She talked a lot about the movie because she really liked it. She highly appreciated the actors' talents, especially the little boy who played Bi. She said the movie was poetic and its story was very touching. So as head of judging panel she decided to award the prize for Best First Feature to my film.
Could you tell us more about the character of Bi in the movie?
The actor that played Bi was filmed by a nephew of my friend. I met him by chance and I thought that he had to play Bi in the movie. At that time he was four years old in 2007. When the movie began he was six.
I'm satisfied by his performance because he acted very naturally. All the actors in the movie were professionals excluding except for the actor playing Bi. Bi strikes a balance in the world of older and adult people who are stressed and lonely.
In your opinion, why did your movie win award? What did you get from the prize?
There were many good movies at the festival. I think my movie is gentle and has conviction. Additionally, it was won due to its poetic and dignified simplicity and subtle technical work. All the festivals have focused on the film's imagery and cinematography.
The prize Best First Feature wasn't a cash award. I was given a certificate and a festival trophy. The organisers thought that the prize alone would help improve my profile as a film-maker. But the other prizes were awarded money.
The movie hasn't been shown in Viet Nam. What is the movie about?
In my depiction of a Vietnamese family, before and after a death, I capture glimpses of people who are revealed through their behaviour rather than conventional plot.
The movie tells the story of a family living in Ha Noi's Old Quarter through the eyes of a six-year-old boy called Bi who is living with his parents, his aunt and their cook. His favourite playgrounds are an ice factory and the wild grass along the river. After being absent for years, his grandfather, seriously ill, reappears and settles at their house.
The script was inspired by the time spent drinking beer with my friends. Since 2000, my friends and I have always met for beer every afternoon. Time went by and we still maintained our meet-ups despite all of us now being married. I thought there was something wrong. I felt that everybody in my group had no targets in life.
What's the message of the film?
The story is about a life of man. Through the four male characters in the movie. Beginning with Bi, an innocent boy; a high school boy who is the silent love of Bi's aunt; Bi's father and Bi's grandfather.
Besides the men in the movie are women who are strong enough to understand and accept their men. Life becomes a balance with these women. Only the women in the film remain intact. Take for example Bi's aunt falling in love with her pupil, but she doesn't want to go further. She keeps her feelings to herself, and she doesn't get married.
I think that Vietnamese women know that they don't need to fight with men who they regard as little boys. The women are intelligent and big-hearted. Their suffering helps them become great. It creates distinction. — VNS