For the past few years, despite the ongoing pandemic, Asian content has been making waves in the global arena of the film industry — gaining recognition and awards in international film festivals and markets, as well as in online streaming platforms. But what makes Asian films standout? Is there a formula that needs to be followed in order to guarantee its success? Is there such a thing as ‘the right path’? 

Full Circle Lab Philippines (FCL PH) - Fiction Lab alumni project Don’t Cry, Butterfly by Vietnamese writer-director Duong Dieu Linh with Singapore-based producer Si En Tan of Momo Film Co, has come a long way since it’s participation in FCL PH 2020. Just like the dilemma of the majority of emerging filmmakers, Duong's debut feature project needed guidance on how to navigate her film’s journey. 

Through the FCL PH program of the Film Development Council of the Philippines with Tatino Films, Don’t Cry, Butterfly was aided in its early development stage through the mentorship sessions by international professionals in the industry along with other projects from the Philippines and Southeast Asia. 

The film project is currently in its development stage and is participating in the ongoing Berlinale Co-Production Market of the Berlin International Film Festival. It is also part of the official selection for Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum in March. 

Set in the early 2000’s in an urban town near Hanoi, Don’t Cry, Butterfly revolves around a middle-aged housewife who is trying to voodoo her husband back into love, while her daughter fantasizes about her life abroad. 

Stomach filled with food and butterflies

Every kind of relationship starts off with sharing similarities and nurturing that love to grow into something profound. Director Duong and producer Tan’s working relationship started with their interest in food. Tan recalls how it all began and emphasized how important it is for the producer and director to have some kind of chemistry. “We met over ramen and we decided the title over doughnuts, and so many of our meetings and journeys started with food,” Tan shared. 

Duong’s debut feature project, Don’t Cry, Butterfly, was previously known as Man Hunting. Writer-director Duong recollects that, back then, she and Tan were throwing out ideas and the project’s current title is the one that stuck for a while. “It sounds catchy, and it rhymes. Butterfly also has a certain meaning in Vietnamese and the film itself, meaning for the character itself, so I thought it's a good title to stick with for now.” 

Director Duong became obsessed with the idea and image of a butterfly, “The whole idea of the butterfly being free and beautiful, it is used to refer to women in Vietnam,” she said. “It’s funny that there’s a lot of songs that refer to this beautiful creature, but then in real life, the women are not like that at all.” 

Producer Tan, whose criteria of selecting projects includes that the story needs to be sincere or fresh, has always been fascinated with Duong’s work, “It’s really funny, it has a little bit of a sad element to it, it talks about women in Asian culture, which I think we need more of. ” 

Lab at first sight

FCL PH 2020 is the first official lab that Duong and Tan participated in during the early development stage of the project. The debut feature project is currently in its development stage and will go into financing, with director Duong writing the scripts. “I think, based on the feedback that we got from FCL, we’ve been working on the project since and the project has gotten quite a lot of attention from various script labs and markets,” Tan informed us. 

Producer Tan, who has already participated twice in FCL PH 2020 and 2021 for debut features Don’t Cry, Butterfly by Duong and Dreaming & Dying by Nelson Yeo, believes that the international lab is a good introductory lab, “I think we got a really good sense of how people read the project, how people felt about the project and for us, how to continue working to develop the project.” 

“I always join labs if the project needs it or if the journey of the project allows for it. Last year I had a project (Dreaming & Dying) that had some of it shot, some edited, and I think the First Cut Lab is an interesting way for it to continue to get some feedback while we are figuring out how to shoot the next portions of it,” Tan added.

Meanwhile, Duong shared her memorable experiences in FCL PH as the writer and director of her project, highlighting the private mentor sessions of the lab, “It's more about how the treatment was written and whether it has translated all the information I want to say to deliver to the audience or not. It's still one of the most helpful sessions to me, across all the labs, I really appreciate that session.” 

“In FCL, I really like that it really respects the creative space for the writer-director and they just give enough feedback to move on, rather than really nitpick things,” Duong added. 

Stepping out of the cocoon

Both Duong and Tan pointed out the importance of being open to feedback from the mentors and other participants when going into labs. “Development is important and labs are a very helpful platform for development of any project, but I suppose that not every project needs to go to a lab, but I think if they go to one, I think it’s important to balance what they want and being open to hear from other people,” Tan said. 

Besides receiving feedback, Duong perceives labs as a platform to connect with other filmmakers who are also struggling with constant self-doubt about their projects, “To be honest, in the future, when you get to look for new works by these directors, it’s a whole ecosystem, it’s a whole friendship, it’s a whole network thing that you are building and to me, beside getting feedback and trying to develop your project, that is also something that would be really helpful.”

Making a film is never easy; it takes a lot of time, effort, and patience. It involves believing in your own voice and then finding the right person who will aid you to make that vision happen. Duong advises aspiring filmmakers, “Be open to feedback and changes, but also find the balance and find your own voice and fight for your vision. This is really important.” 

The butterfly effect 

The journey of one’s project is constantly evolving, even the smallest factor can affect the overall outcome of the film. After their experience with FCL PH, both Duong and Tan gained significant learnings that they always bring wherever they go. Through the lab, Duong uses feedback or criticism to her advantage, without sacrificing her voice. 

For Tan, the most exciting thing about participating in a lab is to see how the project will grow, “I think that is the wonderful thing sometimes, some labs are much longer, some labs are shorter, sometimes a brief encounter can affect the growth of the project, quite fast, quite differently. With FCL, it was quite similar. The duration wasn't very long, but we could see where the project needed to change.” 

Duong, who has long been fascinated with sad and angsty middle-aged Vietnamese women, directed four short films and will now close that series with her debut feature project Don’t Cry, Butterfly. Duong has recently started a new series with a different concept: “Even though I still have a lot of material about middle-aged women. I started a series about popular tourist places in Vietnam. I made a short film called A Trip to Heaven,” she said. 

The debut feature project is undergoing a metamorphosis and is constantly adapting to changes. FCL PH’s goal to nurture and support filmmakers’ projects has helped with reaching the project’s full potential and open more opportunities for it to flourish. From the early development stage of the film project to participating in various international film markets and receiving accolades, Don’t Cry, Butterfly will soon evolve and come to life in the big (and small) screens for all to see.

“Whichever part you’re in, whether you’re writing a script, whether you’re shooting it, whether in post-production, it’s just never easy. You just have to keep going forward and don’t lose hope,” Tan concluded. 

This year’s FCL PH edition will be a hybrid format; an onsite residential workshop in April and online followup sessions in September. The applications for Fiction Lab, Creative Producers Lab, and Story Editing Lab will be accepted until February 15, 2022, while the application period for First Cut Lab will be until March 15, 2022. Interested applicants may read the guidelines and download the application form here: https://bit.ly/FCLPH2022.