My Apartment Block (Chung Cư Của Tôi)

Vietnam/France 2009
56 min / color video
Vietnamese with English subtitles

PRODUCER: Andre Van In
DIRECTOR/WRITER/CINEMATOGRAPHER: Trinh Dinh Le Minh
SOUND: Phan Huynh Trang
EDITOR: Julie Beziau

The building where Le Minh lives was built by the Americans to accommodate the Vietnamese officials of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. In the early 90s, the state, in need of funds, sold the apartments to tenants at a preferential rate. Today, foreign investors interested in the area offer great deals to purchase the apartments. But in order to sell the building in its entirety, all the owners have to agree.

Le Minh took the opportunity to film his neighbors and their lifestyles, which are a bit unusual in a building governed by rules dating from another era. It is a nostalgia-tinged journey through a world that is disappearing. These stories show the evolution and transformation of Vietnam.