At the ongoing 64th International Film Festival Berlin, which runs until Feb 16, “Nuoc” (2030) by expat Vietnamese director Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh is considered a brilliant film in both its artistic values and environmental protection message.

Most expert and audience opinions agree that the film boasts an alluring story line, stunning images on the sea and a topical message.

“Nuoc”, which is selected in the Panorama category along with 36 other films from other countries and territories and continues to be screened at the festival until Feb 14, has its title written in Vietnamese. Despite their difficulty in pronouncing the Vietnamese word, native audiences kept asking about the film.

With such notable interest from the audiences, the festival organizer decided to screen the film at three other cinemas apart from CinemaxX7. A number of Vietnamese German and native audience members didn’t mind sitting on the floor to watch the film, while several others who were late in buying the tickets stood outside.

Meanwhile, Wieland Speck, director of Panorama Berlin, in both his article on the festival website and in his exchange with the audiences, enthusiastically applauded “Nuoc” for its topical, humanitarian message.

“Though climatic changes have caused increasing concern worldwide, the issue has yet to earn its due attention in several places, including Vietnam. I hope my film would help raise an alarm among such communities,” shared Minh, the film director, whose other film, “Mua len trau” (Buffalo boy) had pocketed several international prizes.

“Nuoc”, a film adaptation from a popular short story by local writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu, is selected for the festival’s Panorama category, which honors works with unique aesthetic perspectives.

The 98-minute film, which is a brilliant fuse of different genres (apocalyptic film, sci-fi, thriller and  romance), has its setting in year 2030, when most of the cultivable land in southern Vietnam is below sea level due to extreme climatic changes.

In 2012, a Vietnamese film about two gay young men titled “Hot boy noi loan hay cau chuyen ve thang Cuoi, co gai diem va con vit” by local director Vu Ngoc Dang also made it into the festival’s Panorama category.