Goodbye Vietnam
A Vietnamese migrant must test his limits to provide for his family as he risks his life in terrible work conditions on a UK farm.
Fiction
Team
Alexandre Do, Director and Co-Writer
Alexandre is a French writer and director of Sino-Khmer heritage, was raised in Paris, and initially pursued graphic design before relocating to London to study Moving Images at Central Saint Martins and Commercial Directing at the National Film and Television School. Coming from a DIY filmmaker background, Alexandre gained invaluable experience by creating no-budget shorts, which built his confidence and skillset in the industry. Over the years, Alexandre has directed commercials and music videos. His advert for Shea Creams earned him a finalist spot at the British Young Arrows ‘22. In 2018, Alexandre directed the film A Monster, starring Marc Ozall and Lauren Carse. His next short Aniccam (2020), which premiered on Nowness, marked his first work set in a foreign country —Cambodia — which planted the seed for his upcoming short film Goodbye Vietnam. Alexandre is currently mentored by director Paris Zarcilla.
Jessamine-Bliss Bell, Co-Writer
Jessamine-Bliss is a queer British actor and writer of East Asian descent. She grew up in Paris before going on to study acting at The Lee Strasberg Institute in New York. Jessamine can be seen in Imogen (BFI, Alma Har’el), Pure (Channel4), Everything Will Change (TF1, Wim Wenders) and her most recent work includes the pilot Epic (ABC/Disney) and Bodies (Netflix). She is the co-creator and writer of the film label EXT. ANGST whose trilogy A Study on Behaviour has been hugely successful in festivals. Jessamine is the writer and lead actor of Neither Seen Nor Heard, directed by Florence Kosky. It was successful at both BAFTA and OSCAR qualifying festivals and qualified for BIFA. It has its online premiere on Girls In Film. She has just released Fetishize Me, which is currently in its festival run. She is currently developing her first pilot This Isn't About Love. Jessamine is about to make her directorial debut in Paris with the short Forces Mineures.
Henry Richmond, Producer
Born and raised in Gloucestershire, UK, Henry is a BIFA-longlisted film producer and a BIFA springboard cohort member ’22 – ‘23. Produced on a microbudget at the age of 20, Henry’s first feature Inland, starring Oscar Winner Mark Rylance and Olivier Award Winner Kathryn Hunter, was longlisted for 8 x BIFAs including Best British Independent Film and Breakthrough Producer after its world premiere at BFI London Film Festival 2022. He has since gone on to line produce four others, The Fence (starring Sally Phillips, Paul Cooper & Jayde Adams) and An Enemy Within (with Patrick Baladi, William Mosely & Alexander Lincoln), Two Neighbors (starring Anya Charlotra and Ralph Ineson), Satisfaction (with Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Emma Laird and Fionn Whitehead) and most recently a high-end short film, Peanut Head, starring Munya Chawawa. Inspired by artistically brazen stories nestled firmly in the arthouse tradition, he has his sights set on producing bold new films for the world market while prioritising inclusive and equality-driven production methods.
Lina Portnova, Producer
After arriving in the UK at the age of 18 from Russia, and a quick stint in fashion and acting, Lina quickly found that she wanted to join production in the film industry. Starting out without any contacts she found her way into running on commercial and film sets. Her determination and a lot of emailing lead her to such projects as The Witcher, Secret Invasion and Horrible Histories. After a steady progression as a runner Lina have moved into production, assisting on commercial sets as well as producing short films that she is passionate about.