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The award-winning film Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Ben Trong Vo Ken Vang) by director Pham Thien An is set to release in Vietnam on August 11th. The film won the prestigious “Camera d’Or” award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and this release comes three months after its victory. An Exploration of Cinema The story follows Thien as she returns her sister-in-law’s body to their hometown for burial after a car accident. Her son, Dao, miraculously survives the crash. In order to reunite the boy with his missing father, Thien embarks on a journey that leads her to confront her past and contemplate life’s deeper questions of faith and purpose. The film also showcases the stunning landscapes of Vietnam. Director Pham Thien An explains that the title “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” symbolizes the cover people put on in society – a cycle of money and fame – while the capsule inside represents a person’s soul. The film is deeply personal for Thien An, who drew inspiration from his o...

Discovered along the Mekong River in southern Vietnam, the 2,000-year-old instrument resembles a single-stringed harp and may have been an ancestor to the complex musical instruments people still plucked today in Vietnam, according to UK-based science website IFLScience . The artifact consists of a 35-centimeter piece of deer antler with a hole at one end for a peg, which was likely used to tune the string. The antler most likely came from a Sambar deer or an Indian hog deer, two species native to mainland Southeast Asia. While the string seems to have eroded away long ago, the instrument features a bridge that was perhaps used to support the string. Lead researcher and Ph.D. student Fredeliza Campos from the Australian National University said the artifact is at least 2,000 years old — dating back to Vietnam’s pre-Oc Eo culture along the Mekong River, which is exceptionally early for this kind of instrument. How the artifact could have been played. Image credit: F Z Campo...