In a cave, more than sixty years ago, she was born. Now she lives in a village, with many children and grandchildren to look after. Sometimes, she dreams of her dead mother calling her home —to the cave. The film captures fleeting moments of her daily life and the transmission of her fragile language, the Rục, to her grandchildren.
Nicolas Graux, Trương Minh Quý
Born in Buôn Ma Thuột, a city in Vietnam's central highlands, Trương Minh Quý often sets and finds inspiration for his films in this region. After making his debut with ‘The City of Mirrors: A Fictional Biography’ (2016), his second feature film, ‘The Tree House’ (2019), premiered at the Locarno Festival before participating in Seminci’s documentary section Tiempo de Historia. In 2021, his French-language short film ‘Les Attendants’ competed for the Golden Bear in Berlin, and in 2024, he premiered his third feature film, ‘Việt and Nam’, at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, before participating in Valladolid’s Punto de Encuentro. Nicolas Graux was born in Binche, a small town in Belgium’s former coal-mining region. His work, blending documentary and fiction, explores sociopolitical realities through immersive research and a poetic, sensitive gaze. His debut feature, ‘Century of Smoke’ (2019), premiered at Visions du Réel and screened widely at international festivals. Together, they co-directed the short film ‘Porcupine’ in 2023 and the feature film ‘Hair, Paper, Water...’ in 2025, which won the Golden Leopard in the Cineasti del Presente section at the Locarno Film Festival.
DIRECTOR
Nicolas Graux, Trương Minh Quý
SCREENPLAY
Nicolas Graux, Trương Minh Quý
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nicolas Graux
EDITOR
Trương Minh Quý
SOUND
Ngô Quốc Kiên, Nguyễn Ngọc Tân, Lê Hoàng Anh, Ernst Karel, Trương Minh Quý
PRODUCTION
Julie Freres, Thomas Hakim, Julien Graff
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Dérives, Petit Chaos, Lagi films, Wallonie Image Production (WIP)
FEATURING
Cao Thị Hậu, Cao Xuân Doanh, Cao Thị Hiệu, Cao Thị Bát
