Experiencing Interruptions?

Princess Diary

An is a stubborn young lady and she has a bad relationship with her mother. Every morning, her mother sends An a letter, which blaming her because of her sloppy habits. But An often ignores and she doesn't pay much attention to her mother's letter. The contrast in their personalities makes An and her mother rarely open up to each other. One day, An accidentally found her mother's lassie diary from 1996. She discovered things that she never knew about her mother. After reading the diary, An decided to write her mother two letters, one for her mother when she was 20 years old and one for her mother now.

  • Thuý An Châu
    Director
  • Thuý An Châu
    Writer
  • Thuý An Châu
    Producer
  • Thuý An Châu
    Key Cast
    "An "
  • Quốc Anh Đặng
    Director of Photography
  • Hải Nam Nguyễn
    Graphic Motion Designer
  • Phương Nguyên Đào
    Animation Artist
  • Ngọc Minh Nguyễn
    Music Composer
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 15, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    590 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Viet Nam
  • Country of Filming:
    Viet Nam
  • Language:
    Vietnamese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema
  • 44th VGIK International student festival 2024
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    November 13, 2024
    Student festival
    Official Selection
  • Student Talent Contest of 44th anniversary of Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema
    Hanoi
    Viet Nam
    December 10, 2024
    Student festival
    The Best Idea
Director Biography - Thuý An Châu

Chau Nguyen Thuy An was born in 2004 in Hanoi, Vietnam. She is a 3rd year film directing student studying in Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema.

She often focuses on the mixture of human emotions in relationships and generational gaps, the struggle with the desire to have a connection between the elders and the young people. In addition, the subject of women and the social constraints placed on them is also a primary concern of hers.

Her works reflected and were inspired by the themes: living of society, feminism, pop-culture, fairy tale and art of painting.

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Director Statement

“Princess Diary” is a mixture of many human emotions in a relationship. For me, human emotions are hard to name clearly and they do not stop at the two opposite sides of love/hate. The film is a parallel process of emotions, not a way to "package" the maturity. The generation gap and the struggle with the desire to have a connection between the elders and the young people are also things that I care about.

I accidentally found my mother's notebook from 1996 - when she was the same age as me now. The diary is where she wrote down quotes about love, shared feelings with her university friends - all the memories of her teenage years were kept in it. After reading my mother's diary, I felt a connection between the past and the present, a connection between me at this time and my mother nearly 30 years ago. That is the reason why I decided to make this film.The film is like a letter I want to send to my mother.

I want to face difficult situations with my mother to express my feelings and understand her better - as well as a way to open up to myself. Since childhood, my mother and I have often argued with each other. My mom was tougher than my dad, so somehow I liked being with dad more than mom. Honestly, since I became aware of my memories, I have never been bold enough to express my feelings to Mom, even when I had the chance to open my heart. I still remember before the parent-teacher conference in 4th grade, the teacher asked the whole class to write a letter to our parents. I wrote to my mom a long letter of reproach and anger. She cried after reading that letter, because she felt sad and hurt when other parents around her received letters of gratitude and love from their children. During the early stages of adulthood, the relationship between her and I was very intense. I often argued with mom, and that was the reason I once listed my Mom as one of the people I hated the most in high school. Those arguments unintentionally and intentionally hurt Mom and me. I say that I am grateful to my mother, but she is not my “favourite person”. Until now, when people ask me about my feelings for my mother, perhaps I still hesitate to answer.

I find myself in harmony with the paintings that I made before - they strongly influence my current aesthetic vision that I want to carry out in the film. I love painting, I am interested in mixing colorful colors. My mom also likes my paintings and their innocent materials. I think that using my own paintings brings a sense of familiarity and recalls good memories. Colors are the way for me to convey my personality and emotions. Therefore, these paintings are my way of expressing myself aesthetically and artistically in the film.