The Brilliant Darkness of Aaron Toronto and Nha Uyen Ly Nguyen

Director/screenwriter Aaron Toronto and screenwriter/actress Nha Uyen Ly Nguyen discuss their film, The Brilliant Darkness!, which won the highest award, The Golden Kite (the Vietnamese equivalent of an  Oscar) this year, for best film, best screenplay, and best actress. The dramatic film is about a family imploding, precipitated by the death of a wealthy grandfather and his son's gambling debts that imperil his life and his family's future. The main theme of the film and the topic of the podcast interview are the abusive relationships of families over multiple generations that are tacitly condoned in Vietnamese culture and their toll on its populations' physical and mental health. Recent studies show that 2/3 of Vietnamese children suffer physical abuse by family members. This is something that is autobiographical for Nha Uyen. The rapturous reception of the film--its appearance tragically coincided with the deaths of three different family's young children as victims of abuse at the hands of their parents--has started an important, national conversation and prompted the enactment of new protective laws, as well as a more open discussion on mental health (interview in English and Vietnamese).Music for the episode includes excerpts from the film's soundtrack.Liked this episode? Send us a text.