My first trip to Vietnam, to this land which is a part of me.
Places visited: Halong Bay, Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Saigon, the Mekong delta, Phan Tiet.

" We’re on the 24th of December, here it is, I’m finally in Vietnam. We just landed in Hanoi, capital of the country. It’s a first for me, I’m with my family, with my father who left this country at the age of 18. Since I was a little boy, I dream about making this trip with them, with him. After several hours on a local bus on his way to the East, we are boarding on a junk, heading for the bay of Halong. I’m in the middle of this bay and the sight of these hills tearing open the sea through this mist fascinates me. It’s Christmas Eve, but my mind is elsewhere, being here is my gift.

The next day we are back on the road to the South, and will succeed to each other Huế and its Imperial city, the astonishing and preserved village of Hoi Han and finaly Hồ Chí Minh, said Saigon. This last, megalopolis with its constant stream of mopeds moving around through this absolute anarchy, looks fluid though. The perpetual motion of these streets did not stop me from feeling a bit like home, at ease in these neighborhoods where my father grew up.

That’s why I filmed “This Land”, trying to share the emotion I felt discovering these cities and villages, this country, this land which is mine in some ways. "

Directed by Arnaud Ly Van Manh


Music: Helios "Coast off"