“Somewhere by the Hospital” by student Phương Thảo (Thảo Thảo – Varan Course 2024–2025) is the only documentary film among the selected shorts to be screened at the Vietnam Cinema Week in Paris (Vietnam Cinéma à Paris). The event will officially premiere at Le Grand Rex Theatre, Paris, on December 5th.

Let’s read Thảo’s reflections on the film and the topic she has long been interested in and connected with:

“At 18, I left my hometown – a small village in Central Vietnam – to study and work in Saigon. I lived in the city for over seven years, often feeling homesick. That experience helped me empathize and connect with the characters in ‘Somewhere by the Hospital’ – those who left the peaceful home and familiar rural life to live and seek treatment in Hanoi.

The topic of the “dialysis village” has often been covered in the press. But the more I witnessed, the more I wanted to tell the daily life and silent struggles of the patients through visual language.

The moment I decided to make the film was during a nighttime visit to the village. I saw Mr. Điều – later a main character in the film – standing quietly by the roadside, intently watching the neighbor’s TV.

That image moved me deeply. It compelled me to explore more about the spiritual world of the patients there.

About Thảo Thảo:

She was formerly a reporter and is currently a freelance writer and documentary filmmaker. She is interested in themes related to family, homeland, and rural Vietnamese communities within the flow of modern life.

The 2024-2025 Varan Hanoi course is supported by CFImedias and the European and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@France Diplomatie) as part of the project “Des médias Une santé” (Multi-Media One Health), by the French Embassy in Vietnam / Ambassade de France au Vietnam, along with support from Purin Film Fund for film activities and the Central Documentary and Scientific Film Studio.