Becoming Alluvium

The Mekong River, which crosses six countries and supplies water to numerous fish farms and rice fields in Asia, is the main subject of this short film by Vietnamese artist Thao Nguyen Phan, who was inspired by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s film Mekong River. From a close-up on a child’s eyes to a shot of water hyacinths on the banks of the river, Becoming Alluvium is what the artist defines a “moving image”. The film flows between cinematic shots and watercolour animations, punctuated by a narration that mixes everyday reflections with Buddhist fables, such as the princess and the crown of dew. Moments converge in a narrative space with fairytale and dreamlike tones. Phan frames the river from its banks, from above, from its waters; observes its changes, imagines its previous lives and reincarnations, retracing Vietnam’s past and questioning the river’s uncertain future, its cycles altered by climate change and human intervention.