Private Project

Monkey in the Middle

Logline:
Standing on the precipice of life, a man tries to find his birth parents, only to realize that the journey is the answer.

Thomas Werner, a Vietnamese orphan adopted as an infant by a German couple, is informed he has terminal lung cancer.

He desperately decides to use the remaining time to track down his biological parents.

A run-down orphanage in rural Vietnam is his only lead, but the owner, Mai, needs his help to find Thomas's adoption papers.

Thomas's time at the orphanage puts his grief and anger into perspective. She agrees to help him after he generously donates a large sum to the orphanage. During the search for his identity and origins, he falls in love with Mai but sees that there is no future, given he still faces inevitable death. He decides not to tell her about his terminal illness and instead proposes that they break up.

When Mai tells him that there is no record of his birth parents, all hope seems lost and he wants to commit suicide. But at the very last moment, before taking the final step, he realizes that the journey he is on and his love for Mai are the answers to his search for the life's meaning.

  • Lam Vissay
    Director
  • Lam Vissay
    Writer
  • Lam Vissay
    Producer
  • Lam Vissay
    Key Cast
    "Thomas Werner young"
  • QuỳnhHoa Nguyễn
    Key Cast
    "Mai"
  • Kevin Gallarello
    Key Cast
    "Thomas Werner old"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    drama, autobiography
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 16, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    1,700 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Vietnam
  • Country of Filming:
    Vietnam
  • Language:
    English, Vietnamese
  • Shooting Format:
    Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Lam Vissay

Lam Vissay is a German actor and singer-songwriter of Vietnamese and Laotian descent.

Be it in stories, poems or songs, Lam spends much of his time living within his passions, forever searching for that next unique idea or feeling. But taking this path has caused him to make sacrifices along the way…

“If I followed my parents wishes, my life may have been more secure. But it’s unclear if I would be happier, probably not. I do feel very happy that I am able to do what I want. Being an artist, I am able to breathe my passion…”

1998-2000 he went to acting school (Das Theater der Keller) in Germany, where he appeared in numerous film and theater productions

He lives currently in Vietnam and was nominated for "best actor " at the
Vietnamese television VTV awards 2017 (Vietnam's Emmys) and 2018 for the tv shows "Giọt Nước Mắt Muộn Màng” and “Thương nhớ ở ai”.

IMDB:
www.imdb.me/vissay

Short film “UnLOCK”, writer, director, producer: Lâm Vissay
https://youtu.be/5QPjhTVvXwY

Short film “Tim", writer/director/producer/actor: Lâm Vissay
https://youtu.be/SW6VHvJJYBE



Short film “Other Side", writer/director/producer/actor: Lâm Vissay
https://youtu.be/BBDD18KkhFg

Music video “Đêm Ấy”, writer/director/producer/actor: Lâm Vissay
https://youtu.be/9uiIab7G0ac

Acting reel:
https://youtu.be/vOy5_mqRJrs

Commercial reel:
https://youtu.be/C9jpP5DlCe4

Music video , writer/producer/actor: Lâm Vissay, 2 Million YouTube-views:
https://youtu.be/LtD_be8w7YI


Music video, lead role, with 180 Million YouTube-views:
https://youtu.be/HXkh7EOqcQ4

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

What are we doing with our lives, I asked myself many times? I don't look German but I can assure you I am 100%. I am very organized, always punctual and all the other stuff they say about the Germans.

I grew up in Germany within 2 cultures. For the Germans I am an outsider, too brown or if you want too yellow. And in Vietnam it's the same, I'm a foreigner. My behavior, my gestures, my pronunciation, even how I walk and talk, is different, they remind me of that all the time. The way the world works, I belong nowhere.
So there's this, simply I'm neither German nor Vietnamese. I'm a cultural
contradiction. The truth is, sometimes I feel like there's 2 of me.

I want to reach everyone who feels similar or can relate to that (20% of Germans have a migration background), but also those who are curious and open to it.

It is my most personal film out of the 5 short films I have done. I always felt like being on the hunt. So I was inspired to make a film about this topic, about what is the meaning of life for me. 
For me it is not reaching the ultimate goal, because I will never be forever satisfied. But maybe it is the journey towards that goal, by appreciating what I have and living in the moment.

In my film I don't give the answer but if the audience starts to think about their own answers, then it is already a wonderful thing and the film reaches its purpose.

"There is no constant in life but there is always change. The only constant in life is change and death. I don't want to die. Not this way. Not now. Not ever... but it is inevitable."