Madame Phung's Last Journey
VIEW EVENT DETAILSMargaret Mead Film Festival Presentation
Part of the 2014 Margaret Mead Film Festival
Co-presented with Margaret Mead Film Festival
People Center
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, NY
Dir. Tham N'guyen Thi | 2014 | 87 min. | Vietnam
U.S. premiere | Director in attendance
The feature debut of 29-year-old filmmaker Tham N’guyen Thi, Madame Phung’s Last Journey follows a troupe of Vietnamese cross-dressing singers on their journey through the country’s poor back roads for a year. Their fold-up fairground attractions include a lottery, a miniature train ride, an inflatable house, a merry-go-round, and a shotgun aimed treacherously at members while they are performing songs and sketches. The film is a poignant look at a mostly unglamorous life, featuring the struggles of the head troubadour Phung, a former monk who fell in love with another monk and embarked on this particular brand of migrant work. Amid ups and downs, hostility and discrimination, the touring party makes an honest living and forms a touching bond, captured candidly by Tham.
*Asia Society member discount: Call American Museum of Natural History box office at 212-769-5200 and mention Asia Society for tickets at member rate ($10).