The cast and crew of ‘Ben Trong Vo Ken Vang’ (Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell), the only Vietnamese film competing at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, received a five-minute standing ovation at its global premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section on Wednesday afternoon (France time).

‘Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,’ which vies for the Camera d’Or Award against 17 other competitors in the Directors’ Fortnight section, was premiered at 4:45 pm in France.

Directed by Pham Thien An, the movie tells the story of a journey taken by a young man named Thien, who is tasked with delivering his sister-in-law’s body to their countryside hometown following a tragic motorcycle accident.

Amid the mystical landscapes of rural Vietnam, Thien begins a search for his older brother, who vanished years ago. 

As the debut screening of the movie ended after three hours on Wednesday, audiences rose and stood applauding for five minutes.

According to AP News, a five-minute standing ovation would count as a dream response in most places in the world although it is supposedly tepid in Cannes.

For An Nguyen, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reader, who experienced such standing ovation first-hand, the responses were deeply emotional. 

“This can be considered as [Vietnam’s] shining moment in Cannes,” An said.

“A number of foreigners enthusiastically cheered, while the spotlight was directed toward director Pham Thien An.”

An Nguyen added that he had held the belief that the few minutes of applause received at major film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, and Berlin were likely fabricated, as it seemed improbable to have such prolonged standing ovation. 

However, upon experiencing the five-minute applause for ‘Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell’ first-hand, he came to realize the genuine love for cinema exhibited at renowned film festivals.

“I am delighted by the favorable reception the film has received, and I am glad to watch such an interesting and typical Vietnamese film,” said An Nguyen.

The cast and crew of ‘Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell’ greeted the audiences in Vietnamese and French afterward.

They are scheduled to attend two more screenings of the movie and Q&A sessions with audiences on Thursday and Friday.

Immediately following the Wednesday screening, the initial reviews of the Vietnamese film surfaced on film-focused sites such as IndieWire and Screen Daily.

IndieWire described it as ‘a hypnotizing Vietnamese drama goes on a quest for transcendence,’ and Variety Magazine mentioned it as part of ‘the Southeast Asian New Wave in the global film industry.’

The Directors’ Fortnight, known in French as Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, is an independent section held in parallel with the Cannes Film Festival.

Director Pham Thien An won the Illy Prize, given to the best short or medium film in the section, at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival with his one-shot movie ‘Hay Thuc Tinh Va San Sang’ (Stay Awake, Be Ready).

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