Film Screening and Panel Discussion: Flow On, Film: Rekindling Cinema from the Works of Nguyen Huy Thiep

[WEEK OF FILMS ADAPTATIONS OF NGUYEN HUY THIEP'S STORIES]

Nguyen Huy Thiep is one of the most outstanding writers of modern Vietnamese literature. Throughout his career, he was always obsessed with what he called "the search for the Way, the meaning of life, the search for enlightenment"; considering it the essential mission of his literary career. Perhaps that is why the characters in Nguyen Huy Thiep's stories are also tirelessly searching for something beyond the reality they live in, something vague yet powerfully haunting. These are people who live their lives like miners tirelessly "sifting sand for gold," a kind of gold without a specific form, but the mere thought of it gives life meaning. Nguyen Huy Thiep's journey is not limited to individual works or the realm of literature alone. This search has also created endless inspiration for many filmmakers and prompted them to use the language of cinema to reflect on these issues.

To commemorate writer Nguyen Huy Thiep, the Faculty of Literature and the Film Club are organizing a week of film adaptations of Nguyen Huy Thiep's stories, along with a panel discussion: "Flow On, Film: Rekindling Cinema from Nguyen Huy Thiep's Works." The week will feature three films: "The Woodcutters," "Mother's Soul," and "Nostalgia for the Countryside," to reflect on the unique connections Nguyen Huy Thiep's short stories made with cinema and to express gratitude for his contributions to Vietnamese literature.

These three films are set in different contexts: a mountainous region roaring in the face of human encroachment, a rural area undergoing social transformation, and a crowded, squalid Hanoi, oppressed by the frantic struggle for survival. Against this backdrop, the main characters appear small but always full of inner strength. They are diligent laborers, diligent in their work, diligent in their lives, diligent in facing difficulties, and diligent in dreaming of the good values ​​of life. Therefore, characters like Ngoc in "The Lumberjacks," like little Thu in "Mother's Soul," like Nham in "Nostalgia for the Countryside" are like small branches of a river, eventually merging into a common stream of Nguyen Huy Thiep's thought. And that river will flow forever, just as the writer's dreams of an angel will linger in the hearts of readers for a long time.