No Crying at the Dinner Table

Directed by Carol Nguyen

Canada, 2019 (documentary, 15 minutes, colour, English / Vietnamese)

Also known as "Pas de pleurs à la table du dîner"

Image: © Travelling Distribution

Film Description:
"Filmmaker Carol Nguyen interviews her own family to craft an emotionally complex and meticulously composed portrait of intergenerational trauma, grief, and secrets in this cathartic documentary about things left unsaid."
-- Travelling Distribution (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Produced by:	Carol Nguyen, Aziz Zoromba
Participants:	Thao Nguyen-Duong, Ngoc Nguyen, Michelle Nguyen, Carol Nguyen
Cinematography:	Walid Jabri
Film Editing:	Carol Nguyen, Andres Solis
Music:	Arie van de Ven
Production Company:	Mel Hoppenheim School Of Cinema, Concordia University

(sources)

Notes about No Crying at the Dinner Table

Shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019.

(sources)

Quote by the Director [in French]

"Ma famille soutient ma carrière d'une façon incroyable. Ils n'ont pas hésité à participer au projet [No Crying at the Dinner Table]. J'ai travaillé fort avant le tournage à approfondir mon lien de confiance avec eux, nous avons parlé de tous les sujets pour définir les limites. Ce n'était pas spontané. Aussi, on a réduit le nombre de personnes présentes au tournage pour que tout le monde soit à l'aise, il n'y avait que moi et le directeur photo avec qui je travaille. "
-- Carol Nguyen (source)

Quote about No Crying at the Dinner Table

"In shots in between their stories [in No Crying at the Dinner Table], we watch the family members go about small tasks—[Carol] Nguyen's mother soaks bok choy and prepares a whole mackerel for cooking, her father lights incense, and her sister soaks in a bath. These quiet moments evoke the way memories arise during moments of quotidian repetition, and the strangeness of mundane life continuing after tragedy."
-- Crispin Long (source)

Bibliography for No Crying at the Dinner Table

Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites

Ferah, Mayssa. "À table avec Carol Nguyen." Interview with Carol Nguyen. La Presse, December 5, 2020. [in French]
Long, Crispin. "The secret history of a filmmaker's family in 'No Crying at the Dinner Table'." New Yorker, February 17, 2021.

Web Sites about No Crying at the Dinner Table

"IMDb: No Crying at the Dinner Table." Internet Movie Database, Inc. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10413396/reference.