Exclusive: Pov has acquired the Oscar-shortlisted feature documentary Children of the Mist, a film that explores a disturbing tradition among Vietnam’s Hmong minority that involves kidnapping girls and forcing them into marriages.
The vérité film from first-time feature director Hà Lệ Diễm will premiere on the PBS series as part of Pov’s 36th season, which launches in the summer. The central character in the film is Di, a 12-year-old Hmong girl living in rural Northern Vietnam who casually flirts with a boy, then finds herself the target of a kidnapping which could determine the rest of life.
The Guardian called the documentary “shattering,” and awarded it four stars. In a review for the New York Times, critic Beatrice Loayza wrote, “‘Bride-napping’ is a Hmong custom that permits boys, often with the help of their families, to nab girls and detain them for three days. Throughout this time, the...
The vérité film from first-time feature director Hà Lệ Diễm will premiere on the PBS series as part of Pov’s 36th season, which launches in the summer. The central character in the film is Di, a 12-year-old Hmong girl living in rural Northern Vietnam who casually flirts with a boy, then finds herself the target of a kidnapping which could determine the rest of life.
The Guardian called the documentary “shattering,” and awarded it four stars. In a review for the New York Times, critic Beatrice Loayza wrote, “‘Bride-napping’ is a Hmong custom that permits boys, often with the help of their families, to nab girls and detain them for three days. Throughout this time, the...
- 2/2/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Although Vietnamese law requires men to be at least 20 years old and women to be at least 18 before marrying, and the little known but rather inhuman custom of Hai Pu is illegal, the practice of a boy kidnapping a girl without her of her family’s consent is still regularly practiced in some Hmong communities, to the point that there are even rules established: Once the girl is at the hopeful husband’s home, his parents are obliged to contact the girl’s family, who can either demand her release or accept the marriage. A bride price, to be paid by the boy’s family, is then negotiated, while both spouses must also give free consent. Ha Le Diem, in her feature debut (made with a grant from Sundance Institute doc program), spent three years in a Hmong community in the mountains of North Vietnam, documenting 12-year-old Di, who finds...
- 11/16/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Although Vietnamese law requires men to be at least 20 years old and women to be at least 18 before marrying, and the little known but rather inhuman custom of Hai Pu is illegal, the practice of a boy kidnapping a girl without her of her family’s consent is still regularly practiced in some Hmong communities, to the point that there are even rules established: Once the girl is at the hopeful husband’s home, his parents are obliged to contact the girl’s family, who can either demand her release or accept the marriage. A bride price, to be paid by the boy’s family, is then negotiated, while both spouses must also give free consent. Ha Le Diem, in her feature debut (made with a grant from Sundance Institute doc program), spent three years in a Hmong community in the mountains of North Vietnam, documenting 12-year-old Di, who finds...
- 3/15/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Set in the north of her homeland, Vietnam, Ha Le Diem’s IDFA competition entry “Children of the Mist” follows 12-year-old Di from the Hmong ethnic minority, living in the mountains and isolated from the rest of the population. Although she would like to study, the widespread custom of “bride kidnapping” on the Lunar New Year celebration could alter her future forever. The film, produced by Swann Dubus for Varan Vietnam and Trần Phương Thảo, is sold internationally by Cat&Docs.
“When I was a child, I was friends with these three girls. One of them got married off very young, which upset me a lot,” says the helmer, born in 1991. Coming from the Tay community herself, Diễm was introduced to Hmong traditions at the university, deciding to follow her protagonist despite not knowing the language.
“I saw her play with her friends in the mountains and it reminded me of my own childhood.
“When I was a child, I was friends with these three girls. One of them got married off very young, which upset me a lot,” says the helmer, born in 1991. Coming from the Tay community herself, Diễm was introduced to Hmong traditions at the university, deciding to follow her protagonist despite not knowing the language.
“I saw her play with her friends in the mountains and it reminded me of my own childhood.
- 11/25/2021
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Documentarians from Ecuador, Argentina, Kenya, Vietnam and France are among projects from 19 countries to receive support totalling $520,000 from Sundance Institute.
Documentarians from Ecuador, Argentina, Kenya, Vietnam and France are among projects from 19 countries to receive support totalling $520,000 from Sundance Institute.
Documentary Fund recipients encompass projects in development, production, and post-production stages and their work spans subject matter from a deeply personal family project in Ecuador, to a mission to save libraries in Kenya, to a musical involving female and trans prisoners in Buenos Aires.
Frederick Wiseman’s Boston City Hall project, City Hall, is among post-production grant recipients.
A little...
Documentarians from Ecuador, Argentina, Kenya, Vietnam and France are among projects from 19 countries to receive support totalling $520,000 from Sundance Institute.
Documentary Fund recipients encompass projects in development, production, and post-production stages and their work spans subject matter from a deeply personal family project in Ecuador, to a mission to save libraries in Kenya, to a musical involving female and trans prisoners in Buenos Aires.
Frederick Wiseman’s Boston City Hall project, City Hall, is among post-production grant recipients.
A little...
- 5/20/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
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