Thien An Pham’s ‘Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell’ Official US Trailer
by Alex Billington
December 7, 2023
Source: YouTube
“The existence of faith is ambiguous.” Kino Lorber has revealed the official US trailer for an indie film from Vietnam titled Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, which won the Camera d’Or award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for Best First Film. Marking the feature directorial debut of Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham, this premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at Cannes & played at many prestigious festivals throughout the year. It already opened in Vietnam in August. A man returns to his hometown, where he’s haunted by past memories and desires. The film is three hours long and heralded by critics as a new voice in the “slow cinema” genre. “This enthralling debut from Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham is a reverie on faith, loss, and nature expressed with uncommon invention and depth.” As Thien battles with the existential question of what is worth living for, the film interrogates the persistence and complexity of faith, not only in the spiritual but in the delicate beauty of earthly existence. Starring Le Phong Vu, Nguyen Thinh, Vu Ngoc Manh, Nguyen Thi Truc Quynh, and Dylan Besseau. It’s really for cinephiles into slow cinema.
Here’s the main US trailer (+ poster) for Thien An Pham’s Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, on YouTube:
The sudden death of his sister-in-law brings unexpected responsibilities to Thien (Le Phong Vu), who is reluctantly tasked with bringing his 5-year-old nephew Dao to their countryside hometown. On the road, Thien is drawn into a search for his long-missing older brother, haunted and spurred forward by a series of sublime dreams that reignite suppressed memories, forbidden desires, and specters of his own youth. What began as a journey home becomes a pilgrimage marked by visual splendor and mystical overtones, a quest for understanding and certainty in a Vietnam that seems unable to provide any clear answers. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, also known as Bên trong vo kén vàng in Vietnamese, is both written and directed Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham, making his feature directorial debut after a few short films previously. Produced by Jeremy Chua and Tran Van Thi. This initially premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Camera d’Or award for Best Feature Debut. Kino Lorber debut Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell in select US theaters starting January 19th, 2024. Visit their official site.
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