The nine-minute animated piece is a graduation project created by Mai Vu, a student of the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in England. It was one of 16 outstanding works to be selected from a total of 1,528 submissions.

The best three short films shown in the La Cinef category will receive awards. The Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to run until May 28.

The stop-motion short tells the story of a Vietnamese family residing in the United States. The main character - a single mother named Linh – tries to build a stable life for her son Alan, although the balance is disrupted when her father Sang visits from Vietnam.

During a meal, he insists on making Vietnamese spring rolls for his grandson, but Linh prefers to eat American cuisine such as mac and cheese instead. From here, conflicts arose between Sang and Linh. At this point, Linh is confronted with the past and culture she left behind and the question of where it belongs in her family's new life.

The character of Sang was inspired by a lonely old father who wants to connect with his children and grandchildren, but only knows how to express his love by cooking for them.

NFTS provided a total of £9,000, equal to US$11,300, for the film, and this fund was mainly used to buy materials, pay for studio expenses, voiceovers, and collaborators.

Mai Vy was originally born in Ho Chi Minh City and has been working in animation since 2011. Between 2012 and 2015 she directed more than 70 episodes of “Xin Chao But Chi”, also known as “Hello Pencil”, the first stop motion animated series produced in Vietnam. In 2020, she went to the UK to study animation at the NFTS before graduating in March this year.

Source: VOV