Vietnamese producer Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, whose Viet And Nam is set to premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, is preparing a new horror feature about a man who can transform sinister thoughts into reality.
The Heirloom was introduced during an open pitch at the inaugural Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF) on Thursday.
Marking the directorial feature debut of Le Hoang, the story follows a poor museum guard who unwittingly inherits from his ancestors a special power to turn sinister thoughts into reality. To avoid putting the woman he secretly loves in harm’s way, he must confront the past and return to his ancestral village, hoping to break the curse.
Filmmaker Hoang has previously won acclaim for the six short films he has directed, including the best short film prize at Vietnam’s Golden Kite Awards for Under One Sky in 2015.
The Heirloom marks the first mainstream project by Trang who has previously produced experimental documentary The Tree House, which premiered at Locarno in 2019, and now Cannes-bound Viet And Nam, directed by Truong Minh Quy. Trang also served as line producer for Le Bao’s Taste and Cu Culi Never Cries, both of which premiered at the Berlinale.
“Local horror films are very popular in Vietnam, their box office is always remarkable,” Trang told Screen, who added that the production budget for The Heirloom has been kept below $300,000. About 45% of the budget has been secured through in-kind equity from an equipment rental house and post-production house.
US-based Thanh Tran is producing along with Trang and a third producer is being sought to raise financial support for special makeup and VFX, which will be critical elements for the film.
After attending two days of workshops – receiving feedback and training from mentors – Trang and director Hoang presented The Heirloom in an open pitch organised by Autumn Meeting during HIFF.
Through her Vietnam-based company Lagi, Trang is also working on two projects as director, including documentary Land Of The Evanescence about Vietnam War survivors who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, including 95-year-old Nguyen Thi Xuan Phuong who was a doctor-turned-wartime documentarian; and satirical comedy feature What The Hell, with producers Ivy Shen and Charlotte Lelong.
Following the collaborations with director Quy on The Tree House and Viet And Nam, Trang is producing Quy’s upcoming documentary Underground Water, which is expected to start filming towards the end of this year during the flooding season in central Vietnam.
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