Above All Divisions There Lays a Moon

Above All Divisions There Lays a Moon - 50th Anniversary of the End of the American-Vietnam War [VN: Trên Mọi Chia Cắt Có Một Mặt Trăng]

Curated by the Berlin Asian Film Network (BAFNET) e.V.

This film program reflects on the deep echoes of the past, fifty years after the end of the American-Vietnam War. Far from Vietnam, here in Berlin, where diverse Vietnamese and Viet-diasporic communities have coexisted since the 20th century, we gather to reflect on fragments of a shared past - political upheavals, demographic shifts, and social transformations. The war, long over, is still felt in the landscapes of memory — in the sounds of ghosts and mothers, in silences that bury the unspoken, and rituals of remembrance that bind generations across borders. As we revisit this pivotal moment in history, we are invited to reconsider the divisions of the past — North and South, East and West - to look into the complexity of what remains. Just as rice, a symbol of sustenance, serves as both nourishment and a reminder of what has been lost, the film and the following panel in Above All Divisions There Lays a Moon offer a space to engage with the aftermath of a conflict that shaped not only the nation’s future but also the diasporic communities around the world. (BAFNET)

Viet and Nam
Trương Minh Quý, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Vietnam, 2024, Vietnamese original version with English subtitles, 129 Min, FSK: 12

Followed by a talk with members of the Asian-Diasporic community, moderated by Dieu Hao Do (BAFNET)

Nam and Viet love each other. Both are miners, working 1000 meters below ground where danger awaits and darkness prevails. Coal earns them a living, while polluting the land and the sea. Black sea. Black coal. Burnt coal. Wet coal. Dusty coal. When Nam decides to leave the country via an agent who smuggles people in shipping containers, it causes a rift between his love for Viet and the desires for his own future. (BAFNET)

The Berlin Asian Film Network (BAFNET) e.V. is a discrimination-critical initiative pushing for diverse, nuanced representations of Asian-German lives in film and TV. We support young BIPOC filmmakers by building networks and creating space for their stories – especially in curated diasporic settings.