Children of the Mist
Description
In the misty mountains of Vietnam, insulated from the modern world, live the ethnic minority Hmong. Among them is feisty, 13-year-old Di, who delights in her friendship with filmmaker Diễm Hà Lệ, a rare ally and mentor. As the Lunar New Year approaches, Di faces the Hmong tradition of “bride kidnapping,” where young girls are forced into marriage. She has witnessed the results of these matches in her parents’ toxic relationship and her sister’s fate as a wife and mother at 14. Foolishly, Di plays with fire and is ill-prepared for the consequences of her actions. Patiently filmed over three years, this bold and curious documentary is a rare window into a remote community on the cusp of global change and an emotionally vulnerable girl on the precipice of her destiny.
Trained as a journalist, Diễm Hà Lệ later took filmmaking courses at Hanoi’s Center for Assistance & Development of Movie Talents and with independent documentary filmmaking group Varan Vietnam. Among her short films are Going to School (2013), made while she was still a student, and Beautiful Bed (2016). Children of the Mist (2021), her first feature, won the International Documentary Film Festival’s Best Directing award.
Trailer
Film Details
Language Vietnamese, Hmong
Year 2021
Premiere California
Runtime 93
Country Vietnam
Director Diễm Hà Lệ
Producer Swann Dubus
Editor Swann Dubus
Cinematographer Diễm Hà Lệ
Print Source CAT&Docsmaelle@catndocs.com http://www.catndocs.com
Closed Captions Closed captions are not available for this screening.
Audio Description Audio description is not available for this screening.
American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is not currently scheduled for this event. For more information about ASL interpretation at our events, e-mail ADA@SFFilm.org.
