The concept of Vietnamese femininity is as charged with idyllic possibility as it is with prescribed notions of place and role. “Phim Femme” challenges this tension by celebrating the ongoing act of reimagining and expanding what the feminine can be. The set opens with Yellow Balloon, a quiet yet powerful portrait of a young girl navigating a turbulent chapter of her childhood — inviting us to see the universal through the deeply personal. From girlhood to young adulthood, Sex, Baseball & All Pussibilities shifts the tone with a vibrant buddy comedy, following two friends as they gain confidence in their sexuality through the playful metaphors of the game. Expanding the possibilities of femininity even further, Becoming Ruby spotlights Ruby Chopstix, Canada’s first drag artist-in-residence, whose preparations for a showcase reflect a joyful convergence of queerness, culture, and the sustaining power of community.

Carrying forward this spirit of kinship, My Sister offers a call for global solidarity — bridging feminine experiences across borders. That thread of care continues in Clementine, where a late-blooming trans woman opens up to her closest friends, sharing long-held desires and evolving questions of identity in a space defined by compassion. The program closes with Saigon Kiss, a smoldering romance between two women whose fleeting motorbike encounters stir longing and connection within the charged rhythm of the city. Through their visual language, these filmmakers trace the map of the Vietnamese feminine, offering expansive new ways of being within its ever-evolving terrain.

By Jenn Thảo Nguyễn