The “slices” of Vietnamese society through the films of director Bùi Thạc Chuyên

Each frame in Bùi Thạc Chuyên’s films is a journey of listening to life—quiet, patient and truthful. From the Red River Delta to the wind-swept sands of central Vietnam, and to Saigon amid the pandemic, he chooses to place the camera in spaces that seem the most silent—allowing people to speak for themselves.

The Bùi Thạc Chuyên Documentary Film Night, held on 03 & 12 October 2025 in Hà Nội, presents three representative works spanning more than two decades of the director’s career: Xẩm (1998), Tay đào đất (2002) and Không sợ hãi (2022). Shot across three different decades, these films mark key moments reflecting Vietnamese society in distinct periods and regions, while also revealing shifts in the filmmaker’s storytelling approach.

In Xẩm, the camera follows music researcher Bùi Trọng Hiền in his search for street songs that are gradually disappearing, and his encounter with artisan Hà Thị Cầu, one of the last custodians of the traditional singing style. The film won Prize B – Documentary at the Vietnam Cinema Association Awards 1998.

In Tay đào đất, audiences meet farmer Ngô Đức Nhật in Bình Thuận, who spent more than ten years clearing landmines with rudimentary tools to reclaim farmland on land that once served as a military base. The film received the Silver Kite Award 2002 in the Video Documentary category and later became a source of inspiration for the director’s first feature film Sống trong sợ hãi (2005).

Twenty years later, Không sợ hãi documents the journey of doctors, volunteers and patients during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City and Bình Dương (2021). Comprising five episodes with a total runtime of 96 minutes, the film won the Silver Kite Award 2021.

For Bùi Thạc Chuyên, documentary is not merely a genre but a creative practice that runs parallel to his cinematic journey: travelling, observing, and living alongside his subjects to uncover stories. Each film is both an authentic slice of society and a step in the filmmaker’s own process of self-discovery.

The documentary film nights are part of the Bùi Thạc Chuyên Film Month, co-organised by the Center for Assistance and Development of Film Talents (TPD) and White Light Cinéhub, with the support of Tunnel Films, Cinepost Hanoi and COMPLEX 01.

The event is educational and non-profit. Audience members can register in advance at: https://bit.ly/PTL-BTC
Contribution: 80,000 VND/person – all proceeds will be used for organisational costs and to support emerging young filmmakers.