Mai (25) is a young Vietnamese woman living in Prague. Her parents came to Europe and have worked hard ever since. Thanks to them, Mai lives like her Czech friends and even finds love with a Czech boy, Šimon. Feeling detached from her roots and family, she is unexpectedly confronted with a proposal from her parents: to marry their friend’s son from Vietnam. The marriage comes with a tempting offer of 30,000 euros, a sum that could resolve their financial troubles. Mai finds herself in a dilemma – can she go on with her individualistic life when her family needs her help?
Diana Cam Van Nguyen is a Czech-Vietnamese director, artist and graduate of the animation department at FAMU. She specializes in animated documentaries (The Little One, Apart, Love, Dad) and in her films she deals with personal themes. Her short films have competed at festivals in Locarno, Rotterdam, Toronto and IDFA. Apart (2018) was awarded Best Czech Experimental Film at IDFF Jihlava 2018 and was among the three finalists of the BAFTA Student Awards 2019. Her latest short film Love, Dad (2021) won the Czech Lion and the Czech Film Critics Award 2022 for Best Short Film and the Magnesia Award for Best Student Film. The film has +65 awards from international festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Toronto, Clermont-Ferrand and Palm Spring. Love, Dad was among the five nominees for Best Short Film at the European Film Awards 2022.
She has currently been selected for the Résidence Festival de Cannes, where she is developing her first feature film, Inbetween Worlds .