Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh came into the scene some twenty years ago with a beautiful debut feature, Mùa len trâu (Buffalo Boy), which attracted notice and a few awards at Locarno, Toronto or Chicago.
It took him eight years for Chớp Bóng PictureHouse, his third film to finally take shape. Starring a handful of young up-and-coming cast, including Trần Thế Mạnh, who was the revelation of Leon Lê’s Quáng Kỳ Nam (Ky Nam Inn) last year, as well as Lê Công Hoàng (Big Father, small father and other stories, Glorious Ashes) the film, based on the director’s personal memories, tells the tale of Quang, a young boy who grows up in Vũng Tàu in the 60’s, when the country is plagued by war. His mother reopens an old movie theatre that belongs to the family, a sacred haven where he discovers a world of imagination and the power of moving images.
When asked to compose the music for the film, Tôn Thất An immediately accepted, although it was quite a challenge to come after his father Tôn Thất Tiết, who wrote the score of Buffalo Boy!
The composition process took months, as he was also working on other films. He was again joined by his posse of musicians, namely Trần Thiên Lâm (bamboo flute), Emily Chang (cello), Allen Wu (percussion), Goh Nakamura (guitar), Vanessa Sanfilippo (prepared piano) with iconic Vietnamese songstress Khánh Ly who won’t be singing any song in the film, but agreed to go experimental and lend her voice to create a haunting vocal tapestry that plays during some pivotal scenes.
PictureHouse was shot in the Spring of 2025, and postproduction followed, soon afterwards. Music editing and sound mixing are currently taking place in Paris.