Montreal to Cabramatta
Montreal-based director Khoa Le was in Sydney in 2013 to attend the Australian premiere of his first documentary feature Ba Noi at Antenna Documentary Film Festival. Ba Noi won the HOTDOCS Inspirit Foundation Pluralism Prize, Visions Du Reel.
The Consulate General of Canada, Sydney, proudly supported the young director’s visit.
Khoa visited Cabramatta, Sydney’s suburb to the west, which boasts the largest Vietnamese community in Australia. While visiting the thriving enclave , Khoa handed out flyers for his screening and chatted with the locals.
Bà Nôi (Grandma) is director Khoa Lê’s ethereal exploration of his past and unknown future. Lê’s 93 year-old bà nôi is still very much the matriarch. Funny, forgetful and forthright, she is continually telling Lê to “Marry before I die”. Vietnamese-born and Canadian-raised Lê returns to Vietnam, on a quest for identity. This audio-visual treasure, almost dreamlike at times, immerses us into the world of Vietnam’s New Year celebrations. Visualizing the rituals, superstitions and prophecies, this family portrait poetically conjures questions about belonging, cultural identity and the family ties that help to shape us all into who we are and what we become.
