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With or Without Me

TRAN Phoung Thao, Swann DUBUS
  • Vietnam
  • 2011
  • 80min
  • DigiBeta
  • Color
International Competition

Synopsis

With or Without Me is an intimate, tragicomic por trayal of t wo guys struggling with drug use, and of the wives, family, doctors and friends tr ying to pull them back from the brink. T hi and Trung are t wo men that live in a mountainous Vietnamese province on the border with L aos and like many other young men who live in this province, they are both living with HI V. Thi wants life and wishes for future happiness with his wife. He is determined to overcome his addiction, though his surroundings will make this tough. But Trung is preparing for the end and reflects upon the life that might have been with his ancestors, sinking into despair he continues to use heroin to escape the realit y of his position. T his film graphically illustrates the impact of drug use and HI V upon individuals, families and communities and shows the destinies and tragedy of t wo individual lives to sheds a light upon a wider unfolding stor y about drug use in Vietnam and, in doing so, it hopes to contribute to the debate about how best to tackle this issue.

Director

  • TRAN Phoung Thao
    Born in 1977, Vietnam. She studied foreign trade and interpretation in Hanoi, and went to France to become a professional filmmaker. She acquired her Masters in Documentary Directing at the Université de Poitiers, France in 2004. She now works along side Swann, in Hanoi, as a co - director in a variety of documentary films, including With or Without Me.

    With or Without Me (2011)
    Worker’s Dream (2007)
  • Swann DUBUS
    Studied literature and cinema and has been filming and directing documentary films since 2000. Swann has worked in both Europe, Africa and Asia. He now lives and works in Hanoi, Vietnam, alongside Thao.

    With or Without Me (2011)
    L. Ville (2006) 1970-1989 (2005)
    Lettre à L. et à Elles Toutes (2003)

Credits

  • Director  TRAN Phuong Thao, Swann DUBUS
  • Producer  TRAN Phuong Thao, Swann DUBUS
  • Cinematographer  Swann DUBUS
  • Editor  Julie BEZIAU
  • Sound  TRAN Phuong Thao

Distributor/Sales

  • Distributor/Sales  TRAN Phuong Thao
  • Address  353/40 An Duong Vuong, Tay Ho, Ha Noi, Vietnam
  • Tel  84 989095856
  • E-mail  tpthao1977@yahoo.fr