Vietnamese actress Nha Phuong plays a pregnant immigrant trying to survive in London in the debut of Infill & Full Set at the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival.

Nha Phuong, a rising star in Vietnam’s film industry following her role in the 2014 horror flick Vengeful Heart, is promoting her latest project, Infill & Full Set, at Cannes.

The 14-minute short, produced by Nha Phuong – who also plays the female lead – is being screened at the Cannes' Short Film Corner, but was not selected for competition.

Infill & Full Set tells the story of a pregnant illegal Vietnamese immigrant woman in London who uses fake identification documents to find employment at a nail salon.

Unfortunately, she gets in trouble on her first day and becomes trapped between the moral boundaries of honesty and survival. 

“I’ve always wanted to work on projects like Infill & Full Set because as a woman, I share and understand very well the conditions and pain that women suffer,” Phuong said.

The film was directed by Dao Duc Hai, a graduate and valedictorian from the school of cinematography at the Hanoi Academy of Theater and Cinema.

After finishing school in 2001, Hai moved to England to attend the Middlesex University Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries, where he earned a Master of Art Film degree in 2016.

The short film is his graduation project, which earned distinction at the university.

Nha Phuong at the Cannes Film Festival 2018 Short Film Corner. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Cannes is considered a stepping stone for young filmmakers, with thousands of masterpieces sent each year from all over the world. Having a work screed at the festival is considered a great honor.

Previously, two Vietnamese short films –16:30 by young director Tran Dung Thanh Huy and Canh Ba Ba (Turtle Soup) by Saigon’s Yeti film crew – were honored with screenings at the Cannes’ Short Film Corner in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival is currently being held from May 8 to 19 in France.

An image from Infill & FullSet is featured on the Cannes website in this screenshot.

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