Over the last twenty years, Dang Nhat Minh has earned an international reputation as one of Vietnam's most talented directors, with films like NOSTALGIA FOR COUNTRYLAND and WHEN THE TENTH MONTH COMES. THE SEASON OF GUAVAS (2000), a tender tale about a Vietnam torn between past and present, won awards at the Locarno and Rotterdam festivals.

Sypnosis: Hoa loses his mental faculties after falling from the guava tree in his family home's garden. Afterwards, he lives in his memories, yearning to return to the past. The state later expropriates the house and garden and a family of civil servants moves in. One day officials arrest Hoa for stealing guavas from his former backyard. But the civil servant's daughter intervenes on his behalf and their relationship develops. [100 minutes, color, in Vietnamese with English subtitles]

Review: “…a bittersweet depiction of Vietnam, addressing contemporary issues with both a sense of nostalgia and expectation, at once anxious and hopeful. But more than a Vietnamese Forrest Gump, Hoa is the embodiment of all the innocence which the country seems to have lost in decades of wars and tragedies, but which still surface in everyday life, in a smile, a look, a gesture, in the understanding of this young student who greets Hoa back in his family home after the initial fright. “—Robin Gatto

A discussion with the film director will follow the screening.

UCLA parking: $7 in Lot 3 (south of Sunset. Blvd., off Hilgard Ave.)

Cost : The screening is free and open to the public.

www.international.ucla.edu/cseas/

Sponsor(s): Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Asian Languages & Cultures, Film and Television Archive, CHEER for Viet Nam, East Meets West Foundation, Pacific Time, The Ford Foundation, Viet Nam Airlines