2030
Water holds a significant place in Vietnam, from directing the agricultural seasons to driving the refugee exodus out from the country following the war’s end. In Vietnamese, the word “nước” means both water and homeland. Director Minh Nguyen-Vo takes this element’s rich cultural symbolism to new heights in a science-fiction film of the same name. Set in the year 2030, this apocalyptic romance eco-thriller ponders the fate of people living in coastal places, like southern Vietnam, who are vulnerable to rising water levels due to global climate change. Because most of the land upon which they live has been submerged under water, Thi (Thạch Kim Long) and his wife Sao (Quỳnh Hoa) make a living fishing in areas devoid of people. When Thi’s naked body is found floating in the ocean, Sao suspects foul play from nearby industrial plants and multinational conglomerates that produce rare vegetables, which are then turned into expensive
commodities. Seeking to uncover the truth behind Thi’s death, Sao gets a job at a floating farm, the director of which turns out to be a former lover from her past. The film follows Sao as she is faced with two major decisions she must make about her past and her future. Should she expose the corporation’s secrets involving genetic engineering? Can she still have feelings for a man she had left behind—one she believes could be her husband’s killer?
From one of Vietnamese cinema’s visionary masters, 2030
pays tribute not only to the power of earth’s most abundant energy source, but also to the renewable resource that is human love. Combining flashbacks in time with speculations about our global future, 2030 speaks to a people’s enduring will to survive, while it also imagines a dark world that eerily resembles our present times.
Viet Film Fest is proud to open with this hauntingly beautiful film by acclaimed director Minh Nguyen-Vo.