Céline Roustan

While away for a year, a father and his daughter remained close by sending each other letters. This correspondence meant that they didn’t drift apart and allowed them to be vulnerable with each other, while separated physically. Now estranged, filmmaker Diana Cam Van Nguyen tries to mend her strained relationship with her father, by going back to that medium that allowed them to be so emotionally honest in the past. Milý tati (Love, Dad) is one of those shorts that catches you off guard and gives you the feels. The authenticity of the narrative, brought to the screen with the ingenuity of the craft, makes the film all the more deeply affecting. 

With director Diana Cam Van Nguyen describing her film as “an animated documentary about losing connection with my father and me trying to win it back”, this quote nicely sums up the narrative structure of Love,Dad. With a flashback to her childhood as the starting point, triggered by the discovery of those old letters he would write to her, the exposition takes us back to a time when things were good…up until they weren’t. As the short flashes forwards to now, when she tries to reconcile everything and mend her relationship, the filmmaker and her dad return to the epistolary medium.

“The film is built around voice-over presenting letters of both—me and my dad” – Diana Cam Van Nguyen on the production of her film

Voice-over narration is notoriously a storytelling tool I do not enjoy, but in this case, it allows the filmmaker to be raw and authentic with her own story. As all the dialogue in the film stems from those letters, the emotional power of the correspondence drives the film and gives it momentum, while the visual style adds an undeniably effective depth to the film.

Three actors were cast to embody the filmmaker’s family, and it’s pictures of those three protagonists, paired with the letters, that create the imagery of the short. The animation is impressive and captures both the protagonists and the narrator’s present state of mind, as the latter revisits her memories and then confronts her disconnect with her dad. There is cleverness, humor and playfulness in the construction of the images, as the animation recreates the physical and emotional environments she is in, especially when it describes her childhood. Throughout the film’s 12-minute run-time, the importance of those letters is evident, highlighting how this mode of communication is a vital part of their relationship.

“15 years later I am answering to dad´s letters from prison, addressing his
deeds that made our family break up at the end and trying to understand him” – Diana Cam Van Nguyen explaining the aims of her short in her director’s statement

The film really lands an impact with its emotionally compelling double coming-of-age arc. As we watch her growing up and witness how her relationship with her dad evolve, the discovery of those fifteen years old letters, then allow her to revisit that time with a fresh perspective. As a viewer, there’s a layered and complex depth to the storytelling that resonates long after watching and deeply immerses you in the emotions of the film.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise Love, Dad had an incredible festival career. Premiering at Locarno 2021 it went on to have selections at Telluride, Toronto, BFI London, Clermont and the Palm Springs ShortFest, winning awards at Montreal’s FNC, Seattle and AFI Fest. The film was also eligible for Academy consideration, premiered online through The New Yorker and is part of the MIYU distribution catalog.  

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For North America Viewers —> The New Yorker YouTube

For Most of the World —> Bang Bang YouTube Channel