Nha San Collective - Film No.2 - Day by day

​​FILM No.2 - Tạ Minh Đức

“Film No. 2” is the latest volume in Tạ Minh Đức’s series of five experimental films. While the first one depicts the lives of all members of a typical Hanoian family, this second delves into the mind of the son, who is its main protagonist. The film is set in a narrow and cramped house shared by generations of the same family. In this mise-en-scène, hidden corners hold haunting memories and suppressed emotions and even the most mundane occurrence and subtle details reflect the wider context of urban North Việt Nam, where a society with conflicts is caught in a constant flux of modernisation and capitalization.

​“Day by Day” explores issues of identitylessness and rootlessness experienced by people who are Vietnamese by birth or ancestry, but presently live or have lived on Cambodian territory. During several research trips to the border areas between Việt Nam and Cambodia throughout 2014, Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai listened and recorded people sharing their intimate memories and speaking of their lives – lives that are ephemeral and uncertain. Their stories are personal yet intersect with universal questions of citizenship and migration.
Day by Day is the result of Thanh Mai’s two-month Pisaot residency with Sa Sa Art Projects in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in early 2014. The project is supported by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Danish Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) and SA SA BASSAC Gallery.