A $5,000 grant is awarded to the Vietnamese filmmaker Diem Ha Le for her project Children of the Mist

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

DI, a 13-year-old girl living in a Hmong village in the misty mountains of North Vietnam, dreams of going to high school. She must convince her parents that studying is not a waste of resources. In her community, girls often get married young and are considered a source of labour for the husband’s family. Also, marriage is linked to the controversial tradition of “bride-kidnapping”: when a boy is interested in a girl, he simply drags her to his home. This can sometimes lead to dramatic and violent scenes.

Having just entered puberty, DI fears being bride-kidnapped, for it would mark the end of her dream to see what lies beyond the mountains.