New Film ‘Picturehouse’ Explores Coming-of-Age Journey in a Vietnamese Cinema Amidst War, Directed by ‘Buffalo Boy’ Director Bao Nguyen
EXCLUSIVE: The team behind Nguyen-Vo Nghiem-Minh’s Picturehouse, a co-production involving Vietnam, Singapore, France, and the United States, has unveiled a trailer and the cast just ahead of the Cannes market.
Set against the backdrop of 1960s South Vietnam, this historical coming-of-age drama is inspired by the writer-director’s childhood. It portrays a family-run theater that serves as a refuge for an eight-year-old boy, who finds solace in cinema amid a war-torn environment.
As the conflict unfolds outside, the boy and his community draw inspiration from the cinematic narratives they experience through a mix of Japanese samurai films, Hollywood Westerns, French New Wave cinema, and Hong Kong martial arts flicks.
Executive producer Bao Nguyen, present at Cannes for his role in the Vietnamese short film The Dream Is A Snail, which is competing for the Short Film Palme d’Or, spoke about the film’s personal nature: “It is a fictional story inspired by the lives of the people that I not only knew but looked up to and loved growing up in my grandfather’s cinema. The physical movie house becomes the place that projects possible worlds beyond the war, so that the all-too-real violence can be turned back into fantasy on a bed-sheet screen made by my mother,” he explained, noting that Minh spent six years developing the project.
The cast features emerging Vietnamese talents Tran The Manh and Khazsak. Manh recently starred in the short film Before The Sea Forgets, which premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, and Ky Nam Inn, selected for Toronto’s Special Presentations. His role in Picturehouse marks his feature film debut.
Khazsak has appeared in Vietnamese films such as The Real Sister and B4S, as well as the award-winning Korean film The Land Of Morning Calm, recognized at Busan in 2024, including the New Currents prize.
Picturehouse is a collaboration between Singapore’s Add Oil Films, U.S. production companies Green Snapper Productions and East Films, France’s Girelle Production, and Vietnam’s HKFilm. The project is supported by the real estate management company Druce, the Singapore Film Commission, and the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
Bao Nguyen, who also collaborated with Minh on the director’s Nuoc 2030, which premiered at Berlinale in 2014, noted that the film captures the essence of childhood and love, all while set against a backdrop of upheaval. “The film feels both intimate and epic, capturing childhood, first love, imagination, and the transformative power of cinema. More than a war story, it’s a beautiful love letter to moviegoing itself and to the memories and people that shape us,” said Nguyen.
Picturehouse was filmed in Minh’s coastal hometown of Vung Tau, approximately 100 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. CJ CGV is set to manage the theatrical release in Vietnam.
The film features cinematography by Nguyen Phan Linh Dan, who is set to receive the Angénieux Special Encouragement Award during the Pierre Angénieux Tribute ceremony at Cannes, acknowledging her talent as an emerging cinematographer.
Nguyen-Vo Minh made his feature film debut with Buffalo Boy in 2004, earning multiple accolades, including the youth jury prize at the Locarno Film Festival. The film was also Vietnam’s submission for the 2006 Oscars in the Best Foreign-language Film category.
