“The Whirlpool” is an original feature film written by screenwriter Duong Nu Khanh Thuong.
It follows the cross-country journey of Hieu Minh, a young husband who loses his wife in a mysterious accident and begins a long search to recover love, memory, and a sense of self.
From personal tragedy to inner transformation, “The Whirlpool” raises profound questions:
What remains when every anchor disappears
What does freedom mean in a world full of choices yet short of patience
Where does happiness begin when all definitions may shift
Across landscapes stretching the length of Vietnam, the film offers a deep portrait of urban youth who are educated, ambitious, and full of opportunities, yet often overwhelmed and disoriented in modern life.
ACEF supports the project by connecting creative partners, offering academic and narrative guidance, and contributing to early development with the goal of bringing Vietnamese humanistic stories closer to both domestic and international audiences.
“The Whirlpool” is not only a love story.
It is a search for identity, moving through loss, responsibility, the fragility of youth, and the darker spaces that each person carries.
The film reflects many real and contemporary issues:
Dependence on technology and loneliness in a hyper-connected era
The tension between achievement, expectation, and personal freedom
The mistakes of youth and the ability to heal and make amends
A journey of healing through nature, human connection, and honest self-reflection
The film’s tagline: “Joy is not the only form of happiness. Sadness is not the same as misfortune.”
It offers a philosophical and open view of emotion and fate.
Hieu Minh and Sa Anh, a young married couple, choose to live in a self-designed car that serves as their mobile home.
One night during a city-wide blackout, an accident occurs. Sa Anh disappears without a trace.
When Hieu Minh wakes in the hospital, he confronts an unsettling truth:
No one believes Sa Anh was ever in the car
Nothing remains to prove she was present
One year later, despite pressure from his family, he begins a long journey to find his wife, driven by a persistent belief that she is still alive.
His journey takes him through:
Windy coastal towns where he meets Viet, an American traveler fluent in Vietnamese
A small café in Da Lat where Tao Mai has abandoned corporate life to rediscover herself
Spirit-calling rituals where the boundary between life and death becomes thin as mist
Meetings with Trung, a young ex-convict with a painful past and an earnest desire for redemption
Each person he encounters reveals new dimensions of loneliness, emotional wounds, and the human capacity to heal.
Hieu Minh’s path becomes a universal one: learning to release, to face oneself, and to recognize that happiness often lies in the simplest things.
The project offers:
A screenplay rich in cinematic potential with multilayered emotional and philosophical depth
A contemporary view of young Vietnamese navigating globalization and modern pressures
A strong sense of place, with settings from the Central Coast to the Northwest mountains, the Da Lat highlands, and urban Saigon
Elements of Vietnamese spirituality and subtle magical realism, treated with cultural sensitivity
ACEF recognizes “The Whirlpool” as a project with meaningful potential for artistic and academic impact, where a Vietnamese story is told through a modern, compassionate, and resonant cinematic language.
ACEF supports the project through:
Content and academic consulting for narrative depth and thematic structure
Connection with creative, production, and media partners within and beyond Vietnam
Strategic guidance on IP protection and the development of future derivative works
Fundraising support and project development during pre-production
The project is currently in advanced script development.
“The Whirlpool” is a nationwide road-movie that requires substantial resources for location scouting, vehicle construction, long-distance production logistics, and post-production at an international standard.
ACEF proposes the following preliminary financial framework:
18 to 25 billion VND
(approximately 700,000 to 1,050,000 USD)
1.5 to 2 billion VND
Allocated to:
ACEF is committed to transparent financial and legal processes that ensure partner benefits and uphold international IP protection standards.
ACEF welcomes the participation of:
We invite you to join us in bringing “The Whirlpool” from script to screen, shaping a contemporary Vietnamese film that carries depth, humanity, and a lasting artistic presence.
Founded with the mission “Born from IP. Built for IP”, the Asoka Creative Experimentation Fund (ACEF) serves as a bridge that transforms intellectual property policies into practical, creative projects within Vietnam and across the world.
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