A scene of Rainbow Without Colour directed by Nguyen Quang Tuyen. — Photo courtesy of movie crew

HA NOI — Film-maker Nguyen Quang Tuyen's first film, Cau Vong Khong Sac (Rainbow Without Colour), will compete in the First Films World category at the Montreal Film Festival 2015.

The film tells a moving story about the romance between the son and adopted son of Mrs Yen. The two men live together, and one day, they announce their love to their family.

Mrs Yen cannot accept it and tries to stop her sons from following a homosexual lifestyle. But her blind motherly love drives her son to his death.

The film focuses on the relationship between parents and their children in Viet Nam, where parents always think they have done the best for their offspring.

"It is a big surprise that Rainbow Without Colour was selected by the festival organisers," director Tuyen said.

He wrote the script after watching a documentary about homosexuals on Viet Nam Television's Channel 6.

"It took all night to finish the draft script because I was emotional," said Tuyen. He tried to understand more about homosexuality over the course of a year to develop the draft further. Following that, he took another year to brainstorm over the script before deciding to make the film.

The film was shot in 40 days in HCM City with a professional crew. "The most difficult part was casting. It took four months to cast actors Thanh Tu and Vu Tuan Viet for the lead roles in the film," Tuyen said. "Many actors refused to act in the film because they were afraid their reputation would be destroyed by the homosexual roles," he said.

"I'm generally satisfied with their acting in the film. They feel sympathy for the main characters."

Thanh Tu is a graduate of the HCM Stage and Cinema School, while Tuan Viet is a model. The two actors lived together in the production unit's office for two weeks before shooting began.

The film was screened last March in Viet Nam and received positive feedback from audiences and film critics.

Rainbow Without Colour was selected from amongst 2,000 films from all over the world to be screened at the 39th Montreal Film Festival. It is one of 18 shortlisted contenders for the First Films World Competition.

Tuyen made his name with a Golden prize at the National Television Festival last year for the television series Dau Chan Du Muc (Nomadic Footprint).

He began his career as a film director with Rainbow Without Colour in 2014. The film became a blockbuster, attracting reviews and thousands of comments from audiences on social media every day while it was being screened. — VNS