Skin of Youth Ồn ào tuổi trẻ
2025 Vietnam – 121 min

Directed by Ash Mayfair
Cast | Trần Quân, Võ Điền Gia Huy, Hajime Inoue, Phạm Thị Kim Ngân, Lê Công Hoàng,
Kayo Yoshida
Screenplay | Ash Mayfair
Cinematography | Chananun Chotrungroj
Editing | Julie Béziau
Music | Tôn Thất An
Art department | Đỗ Trọng An
Sound | Roman Dymny & Edouard Morin
Colorist | Yov Moor
Producers | Trần Thị Bích Ngọc, Fran Borgia, Yuji Sadai, Kayo Yoshida
Songs written by Tôn Thất An & Long Đinh, produced & performed by Tôn Thất An

Premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival 2025
Asian premiere at the Bangkok International Film Festival 2025
Special Jury Award at the New York Asian Film Festival
Best Movie at the 56th International Film Festival of India

“… Notably, several montages juxtaposing San and Nam’s parallel struggles are among the film’s most memorable moments, thanks in part to Julie Beziau’s excellent editing. The fight choreography is raw and intense, and this gritty aesthetic continues into the next segment. The soundtrack by Tôn Thât An, the colour grading by Yov Moor, and the striking costume and production design elevate the audiovisual experience into something truly immersive.“
Panos Kotzathanasis, Asian Movie Pulse

“… it’s during San’s swooning nightclub performances that Mayfair most fully channels that same sense of aching yearning found in Wong’s filmography. The original songs, written by Tôn Thất An, evoke Asian pop music of the 1990s, with an acknowledged nod to the songs and ballads of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui.” 
Andrew Truong, Buttered Popcorn

Excerpts from An’s Hyperbody Diaries:

“… I wrote four songs for this film. Lyrics were penned by Long Đinh and the writing sessions, often with actress Trần Quân in attendance, were a joyful riot. Long is a young drummer / percussionist with a genuine and explosive passion for whatever he does, and he did wonderfully given the short time we had before the shooting. (The fourth song was an ‘extra’ request from director Ash (Mayfair) which was supposed to be a nice little song the characters listen on the radio, and which turned out to be an energetic and joyful number.

[…]

“Met music producer Tsugihiko Sasaki, who has been organising and conducting the recording sessions at the Red Bull Studios Tokyo.
I’m aware my way of working may have been unusual and disconcerting to him, but he was a great person to lean on and he made sure I had everything I needed. A kind and gentle man who shows a firm grip when it comes to music. When I came to his office, I found out he was the music producer for Japanese contemporary classics such as Kore-eda’s Air Doll, Yojiro Takita’s Departure, or Kitano’s Blood and Bones. What a blessing and what an honour!”
[…]
“The string players are members of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. On top of being great musicians who would immediately understand my intentions, they were great to work with, friendly and enthusiastic. The year is starting on such a tremendously positive note!
[…]
Recording session at the Red Bull Studios Tokyo with percussionist Hitomi Aikawa. We spent five hours playing and recording a wealth a percussion ranging from taigu drums, gongs and bells, cymbals and chimes, temple blocks, woodblocks, a whole set of various objects that ring and make sound. We were drunk with sounds and worked on seven pieces. Aika-san was imaginative, responsive with top-notch musicality and brought rich colours and layers to the music. Such a pleasure to work with her.
After the session with the string players, I’m truly in heaven!”
[…]
“Spent the whole day with Ryu Kawashima, going through all the tracks we’ve recorded, selecting the best takes, playing with sounds and plug-ins, doing rough mixes of the songs that are featured in the film (they sound so good now with the strings!)
My ears have to remain awake during those long hours but it’s so elating to see all this music slowly shaping up.And I was told that Ryuichi Sakamoto worked at the Red Bull Studios when he was composing his album async and the score for The Revenant.
His spirit is there still. And now I also understand that incident that occurred at my flat a few days before I left for Tokyo, when my stereo my stereo suddenly started to play one of his records in the middle of the night after electricity was returned, as if Sakamoto was calling me from the otherworld…”
[…]

The sessions are over. We’ve spent long hours going through all the takes and playing a little with sounds and plug-ins. The songs written for the film sound fantastic.
I think 90% of the music is there. Lots of editing to do on my side once I’m back in Taipei, and more magic to happen during final sound mixing in April.
I’m so thankful and grateful to have worked with producer Tsugihiko Sasaki and sound engineer Ryu Kawashima. Ryu-san would often be puzzled by some of my requests but little smile would appear when he’d hear the result. I could really feel the spirit of Sakamoto-san guiding me through the process.
Blessed time, those days have been!”
[…]
“Working conditions during shooting were barely decent: for instance I had to record my vocals in the ladies’ toilets of the club where the scenes were to be filmed – the furthest away from the rumble of the shooting preparations. I had to turn off the lights of the a.c., so my recordings were often interrupted by someone suddenly appearing in the dark like a ghost and complaining about not seeing anything! It was as fun as it was taxing!
The polish came when I did the recordings in Tokyo. The string players from the NHK symphony and Akitsugu Fukushima’s cool guitars brought all the scope and colours that the songs needed. I said often enough how those sessions were a gift from heaven for me.”



Listen to the soundtrack (click image to open)