International correspondent
#VENICE2024: Interview with DƯƠNG DIỆU LINH, for DON'T CRY, BUTTERFLY (prize winner)
Vietnamese director Duong Dieu Linh's horror comedy “Don't Cry, Butterfly” is the big winner at Venice Critics' Week, where it took home the top prize and the award for most innovative feature film.
Written and directed by Duong Dieu Linh, the Hanoi-set film follows a housewife who uses voodoo to make her cheating husband fall in love with her again. Instead, she invites a mysterious presence into the house.
Sold by Barunson E&A, “Don’t Cry, Butterfly” marks Duong Dieu Linh’s directorial debut. It also joins her award-winning series of short films about middle-aged women, which includes “A Trip to Heaven,” “Sweet, Salty,” and “Mother, Daughter, Dreams.” Like the shorts, “Butterfly” explores recurring themes of womanhood, family relationships, and cultural traditions, and is told through a quirky sense of humor and use of magical realism.
