“Exquisite…this is challenging but seductive art cinema that invites comparisons to such titans as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Tsai Ming-liang and even Theo Angelopoulos, without feeling derivative of any.”
– Guy Lodge, Variety
“A remarkable debut feature; provocative, absorbing and mysterious.”
– Allan Hunter, Screen International
“A spellbinding tale of the soul’s unfathomable desire for the other-worldly, that does itself border on transcendental in its filmmaking.”
– Josh Slater-Williams, Indiewire
Kino Lorber announced that it has acquired from Cercamon North American rights to Pham Thien An’s hypnotic debut feature Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, winner of the Camera d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film will continue to make stops on the international film festival circuit this fall, followed by a theatrical release via Kino Lorber as well as a digital and home video release on all major platforms.
Written, directed, and edited by Vietnamese filmmaker Pham Thien An, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell premiered in Directors Fortnight at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Camera d’Or for best first feature. This marks Thien An’s second appearance in Directors Fortnight following his short film Stay Awake, Be Ready, which premiered in 2019 and was awarded the Illy Prize for Best Short Film. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is the second Cannes prizewinner acquired by Kino Lorber out of the 2023 festival, following Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters which was awarded the L’Oeil d’Or for Best Documentary.
In this entrancing debut from writer/director Pham Thien An, the sudden death of his sister-in-law brings unexpected responsibilities to Thien (Le Phong Vu), who is reluctantly tasked with bringing his five-year-old nephew Dao to their countryside hometown. On the road, Thien is drawn into a search for his long missing older brother, haunted and spurred forward by a series of sublime dreams that reignite suppressed memories, forbidden desires, and specters of his own youth. What began as a journey home becomes a pilgrimage marked by visual splendor and mystical overtones, a quest for understanding and certainty in a Vietnam that seems unable to provide any clear answers. As Thien battles with his own existential question of what is worth living for, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell interrogates the persistence and complexity of faith, not only in the spiritual but in the delicate beauty of earthly existence.
The deal for Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell was negotiated by Kino Lorber Chairman and CEO Richard Lorber and Sebastien Chesneau for Cercamon.
“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell was our most spellbinding discovery of Cannes and not surprised the Camera d’Or jury agreed – a visually mesmerizing, emotionally staggering, utterly singular piece of work, the film grapples with perhaps the most universal question of our time: what does it all mean?” said Richard Lorber, Chairman and CEO of Kino Lorber. “It's a gorgeously mounted achievement by writer/director Pham Thien An, particularly as his first feature film, and we couldn't be more thrilled to introduce North American audiences to this incredible new talent.”
“Kino Lorber represents the diversity and richness of the cinematic experience. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be part of their incredible line up and proud that they will bring my film and its ideas to audiences in North America,” said director Pham Thien An.
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is a JK Film and Potocol production in co-production with Deuxième Ligne Films, Zorba Production, and Fasten Films. The film is produced by Jeremy Chua and Tran Van Thi, executive produced by Tran Van Thi, and co-produced by Marie Dubas, Ka Nguyen, Le Quynh Anh, Adria Monés, and Gabriel Kaplan.