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THE GIRL FROM DAKLAK
Production Country (s) VIETNAM Production Company (s) ALMAZ MEDIA
Genre Social Realism, Drama Production Spec 4K / 90min
Production Stage
(or Project Status)		 Script Development Expected Date of Completion June 2020
Total Budget
(Negative Cost)		 123,000 USD Confirmed Financing 8,000 USD
Director MAI HUYEN CHI / PEDRO ROMAN Email of Director Chichan313@gmail.com
Pedroroman85@gmail.com
Profile of the Director A graduate from The London Film School with a Masters in Screenwriting, Mai Huyen Chi has had two feature screenplays produced. The first is starting on its UK festival circuit. The second won Best Picture at Vietnam’s 2018 Golden Kite Film Festival.

Chi spent earlier years of her professional life as a copywriter/ journalist. While being the Editor-in-chief at MSN Vietnam she made her directorial debut Down The Stream, a short documentary that became one of Vimeo’s 2015’s Best of the Year and received some international awards.

At present, Chi continues to work as a journalist, screenwriter, producer, and director. She is usually fascinated by the complexity of human mental and emotional landscapes.
Producer (s) HOANG NGUYEN Email of Producer (s) hoangchaizee@gmail.com
Profile of the Producer (s) Hoang Nguyen is a multi-disciplinary film maker with more than 13 years of experience. Hoang has worked mainly as a cinematographer and occasionally helped producing many short films, feature films, music videos, and TV commercials in Vietnam. After attending short courses and workshops in film production in the USC, School of Cinematic Arts(2009), KAFA Producing Workshop in Film Production(2015), and Berlinale Talents 2018, he developed new interests and passion to help the indie film makers in Vietnam make better movies that reach beyond borders and speak to both Vietnamese and international audiences.
Logline Desperate to find a break from countryside life, Trinh soldiers through crushing boredom and isolation of her new migrant worker’s life in the big city. Yet, as soon as she opens up about her ambition, jealousy from her also-struggling coworkers prevents Trinh from getting ahead.
Synopsis Trinh arrives in Saigon, clueless and pennyless. She finds work at a humble eatery, where she works and lives with another two waitresses, Vi and Anh, who spend most of their time looking their phonescreens. Trinh doesn’t have a phone.

To befriend the waitresses and their friends, on a night out, Trinh shares her ambition: to become independent. The group mocks Vi for taking money from her abusive boyfriend. Vi turns cold towards Trinh at work. She commands Trinh to scrub the filthy foodcart. As Trinh does it, she overhears Vi paying a supplier. She realizes Vi has been scamming money. She consults Anh, who tells Trinh to mind her own business.

Disagreeing with how her workmates lead their lives, Trinh goes to the city center to look for another job. She gets refused. She realizes that it is beyond reach for low-borns like her.

Returning to the eatery, Trinh finds Vi in the middle of a fight with her boyfriend. She has to run the foodcart alone. Trinh uses her own money to give changes.

Later, Vi questions Trinh’s money. The girls, both feeling defeated, get into a quarrel, accusing each other of stealing. That night, Vi and Anh go out, leaving Trinh at the eatery without food. Trinh goes to bed, tired and angry. She forgets her daily task of cleaning the drainage.

That night, a rainstorm comes and floods the eatery. The girls try their best to control damage. For the first time, they share comraderie and laughs. Later in bed, they tell each other things: Vi with her struggles to support a fatherless child in the countryside, Trinh and her hard escape from tyrant parents.

The next morning, when the eatery owner, Ms. Hoa, arrives, they learn that the large fridge is ruined. Vi and Anh, fearing for themselves, blame and make Trinh pay for a replacement. They tell Ms. Hoa that Trinh has money to pay for it. When Ms. Hoa reaches to check Trinh’s bag, Trinh pushes her. Ms. Hoa falls on the eatery’s altar. Trinh runs away.

Trinh finds herself again on the street. Huy, who delivers ice to the eatery, finds and brings her home. Trinh meets his sister and paralyzed grandfather. Trinh does all she can to be a part of her new-found family. Thankful, Huy’s sister promises to help Trinh find a job.

Trinh spends money, for the first time, to buy a new shirt and have has new ID photos taken. But later, Huy and his sister take back the job offer and make Trinh leave their house after hearing rumors about Trinh at her former workplace. Trinh screams for a chance to explain. But a neihgbor starts to call for police.

Trinh runs back to the eatery. She finds Anh having dinner with two new waitresses. Trinh wants to set things straight and fairly. Her rage is met with nonchalance. The fridge has been fixed. Vi has gone back to the countryside. Ms. Hoa goes up north for her son’s wedding. Everyone’s moved on.