Pa Va Hêng, The Dust Of Modern Life

2021, 82' 16mm, color, 5.1

Short Synopsis
Vietnam’s deep jungles set the scene for three men’s ritualistic journey in a magical film that wraps itself around you like a fever dream. Out of the darkness grows an unusual relationship between the travellers.

Synopsis
The Dust of Modern Life is a film about the universal human desire to retreat from society. Once a year, Liem a young man from the Sedang ethnic minority, retreats to a jungle in the mid-highland mountains of Vietnam with his friends. Leaving his normal life behind– his family, his smart phone, motorbike, domestic duties and hard work in the fields–, he goes into a primeval forest to live like his ancestors once did: hunting and gathering. This is a time from his daily responsibilities, during which he regains energy and health, purifying himself from the dust of modern life.

Festivals
FID Marseille Wettbewerb (World premiere), DOK Leipzig Wettbewerb (German Premiere), CPH DOX (International Premiere), IFFF Dortmund & Köln, Achtung Berlin, Frames of Representation ICA (UK Premiere); Perso Film Festival Perugia, Italy; Dokfest Kassel, Kassel; Biberacher Filmfestspiele; Provinziale Eberswalde