Heretic has taken on world sales for “Hearing” (“Thính Giác”), the second feature from Vietnamese director Lê Bảo, which is set to screen in the International Competition at the Locarno Film Festival.
Written and directed by Lê Bảo, “Hearing” centers on Ninh, a mechanic whose job installing decibel meters in public spaces and private homes takes on a new dimension when rising sound levels begin to register as signals about the state of his personal life. Estranged from his ex-wife and young children while living with his mother, Ninh finds the distances between himself and those he loves measured in something harder to quantify than decibels.
A clip has been unveiled.
The film is an expansive international co-production spanning nine territories: Singapore, Vietnam, Norway, France, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Thailand and Taiwan. Producers are Elizabeth Wijaya, Lai Weijie and Huỳnh Yến.
Lê Bảo’s debut, “Taste,” earned him the Encounters Special Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival and established the self-taught filmmaker as one of the more singular voices working in Vietnamese cinema. “Hearing” reunites him with cinematographer Nguyễn Vinh Phúc and production designer Lê Văn Thanh. The editing team comprises Carlo Francisco Manatad and Dounia Sichov.
Sound sits at the heart of the film’s formal ambition. French sound designer and re-recording mixer Vincent Villa, whose credits include Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul,” “Diamond Island” and “Cambodia 2099,” as well as “White Building,” “Taste” and “Viet and Nam,” shapes the film’s sonic world. The original score comes from Norwegian electronic music artist Mental Overdrive, the alias of Per Martinsen, whose work spans film composition, theater and multimedia art.
Heretic said: “We are thrilled to be working with Lê Bảo and this outstanding team on ‘Hearing.’ Lê Bảo has established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary cinema, and ‘Hearing’ is a profoundly moving and formally accomplished work. We are excited to introduce this remarkable film to festival audiences and international partners around the world.”
Lê Bảo added: “I am happy to share with everyone my film ‘Hearing,’ a place where I have preserved warm memories and profound longing. ‘Hearing’ is also as tender as the songs my mother used to sing while cycling with me as a child.”
Sales inquiries are being handled by Ioanna Stais at Heretic.
Watch the clip here:
