Vietnamese artist Nguyễn Trinh Thi is one of the most important contemporary essay filmmakers. Her practice spans film, installation, and performance, often combining documentary techniques with poetic forms. At the heart of her work lies an ongoing engagement with issues of cultural erasure, specifically concerning minority groups in Vietnam whose histories and identities are often suppressed in official political narratives.
We present two of Nguyễn’s most significant essay films: Letters from Panduranga (2015) and How to Improve the World (2020–2021). Both works reflect her sustained interest in resisting dominant ways of seeing, and her approach to sound as a political and epistemological phenomenon.
This leff In Focus block includes an introduction and a discussion with the festival’s main guest, Laura Rascaroli.