Still from the film 'Memento Mori: Earth.' Photo courtesy of Memento Mori Việt Nam

HÀ NỘI — Memento Mori: Earth, a contender at this year's Busan Film Festival, follows a Vietnamese family as they deal with a dying member and the taboo subject of death.

This film by Mạnh Cường Vũ is the only Vietnamese entry in the New Currents category of the 2022 Busan Film Festival.

Official screenings of the film will take place on October 7 at both the festival and in Vietnamese theatres.

Inspired by a true story, Memento Mori: Earth follows the family of Vân, a young mother who has just months to live due to cancer.

The film's protagonist, Vân, has just months to live due to cancer. Photo courtesy of Memento Mori Việt Nam

Vân, caught between life and death, longs to say farewell to her two young daughters. She also hopes that her body can be used for medical research after she passes away.

Hoàng, her husband, must break the news to Vân's father, but he won't find it easy to accept. The girl's father, a staunchly traditional farmer, was unable to wrap his head around such an idea.

In this terrible situation, Hoàng's deadline to repay his creditors is rapidly approaching. In order to settle his debt, he must provide a kidney donation to the creditor's father.

Memento Mori: Earth, according to the producer, is based on Dr. Đặng Hoàng Giang's book Điểm đến của cuộc đời (Destination of Life).

The film is part of a trilogy called "Memento Mori," which is based on a Latin proverb that means "remember, you will die." The movie, like the customary phrase, is intended to remind people of the value of life.

The other two films include Memento Mori: Fire which is currently in script development, and Memento Mori: Water which has been selected for Busan Film Festival's Asian project market (APM) and is in pre-production.

Previously in the New Currents category of the Busan Film Festival, Việt Nam had two representatives: Ròm (Trần Thanh Huy), which won the 2019 prize, and Memoryland (Bùi Kim Quy), which contended for the prize in 2021. VNS