Summer School, 2001 will be released by Spring Auteurs in collaboration with Galaxy Studio and Galaxy Cinema. Photo babylonberlin.eu

HÀ NỘI — Summer School, 2001, a film by Vietnamese – Czech director Duzan Duong, will be released in theatres nationwide starting June 19.

The movie follows Kiên, a 17-year-old boy who returns from Việt Nam to reunite with his family in Cheb, Czech Republic, after many years apart.

This return marks the beginning of a story about family, understanding and gaps that seem impossible to fill.

Through an everyday story and an intimate storytelling style, Summer School, 2001 offers an authentic look at the journey of finding identity, generational differences and the feeling of isolation for those growing up far from their homeland.

The work is expected to bring an emotional cinematic experience to audiences this summer.

Dương was born in Hà Nội, but has lived in the Czech Republic since age four. He got into filmmaking after recording his own dance performances.

He previously shot the short docufiction Mất Gốc (Loss of Roots) about his relationship to his native Việt Nam, and also worked on Lukáš Kokeš’s VIP/Vietnamese Important People.

His 2017 film Bố Hải (Hai's Father), made through crowdfunding, was screened at Ji.hlava IDFF, one of the key European festivals and the largest festival of auteur documentary cinema in central and Eastern Europe.

It won the Golden Kingfisher Award for the best student film at Finále Plzeň Film Festival and was nominated for the Czech Lion Award in the student film category as well as for the Czech Film Critics Award.

Summer School, 2001 will be released by Spring Auteurs in collaboration with Galaxy Studio and Galaxy Cinema. — VNS