HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese fantasy film Maika - Cô bé đến từ hành tinh khác directed by Hàm Trần will represent the country at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Maika – Cô bé đến từ hành tinh khác (Maika – The Girl From Another Planet) is a co-production between the Cinema Department (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) and BHD Company and other production partners.

Official poster of the film. — Photo courtesy of the producer

The cinematographic work tells the story of Hùng, a boy whose mother passes away from a serious illness. The loneliness of losing his mother causes Hùng to become withdrawn until he met Maika – a girl from another planet who wants to find friends on Earth. Maika helps Hùng find the joy he should have at his age.

According to director Hàm Trần, this meaningful story is the reason why he decided to participate in the film project.

The director also shared that he himself had lost his mother more than three years ago. At that time, he accepted an invitation to direct the film from BHD after feeling his connection with the character Hùng.

The little girl Maika in the film is inspired by the main character of the same name in the television series "The girl who fell from the sky", a 1978 Czechoslovak children's film.

This series aired in Việt Nam in the 1980s and created a great resonance, making “Maika” a special name in the memory of many Vietnamese generation.

Hàm Trần, 47, is Vietnamese-American. He entered the film industry as a director, film producer, screenwriter and film editor. When he returned to Việt Nam, he has attracted the public's attention with many works such as Âm mưu giày gót nhọn (How to fight in six inch heels), Siêu trộm (Super Thief), and Bạn gái tôi là sếp (My Girlfriend is the Boss).

Director Hàm Trần is highly appreciated by the audience for his talent through his meticulousness in each film. — Photo courtesy of the director

The Sundance Film Festival was first held back in 1978 and has since grown to become one of the largest film festivals in the world.

The upcoming Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 20 to 30, 2022. This year, the festival received nearly 15,000 projects globally, of which only about 4,000 were movies, half of which came from countries outside the US.

After many rounds of selection, 82 films from 28 countries were officially selected. This year, the representatives of Southeast Asia appearing at this event are only Việt Nam and Philippines. — VNS