Untitled Water Poem
Short Film | Experimental
2026
Currently finalizing post-production.
A meditation on transness, ancestral memory, and grief as the body carries things the way a river carries sediment.
Untitled Water Poem is a short experimental film in which a Vietnamese trans man recites a poem while images drift and shift beneath the words, exploring the element of water against the boundaries of time.
Like water, the body may be a river, a current, or an ocean — vessels of shifting form carrying memory, grief, and desires to persist across time.
Select Festivals
Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival, 2026
credits __
director
writer
producer
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
director of photography
JOY XING
starring
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
TRẦN THỊ TUYẾT HOA
picture edit
colour grade
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
sound design/mix
LUKE DONOVAN
sound edit
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
sound recording
CHANTAL DUYÊN LÊ
CAO LÊ HOÀNG
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
musical composition
vocal narration
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
musical mentor
CAO LÊ HOÀNG
production design
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
mixed media animation
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
props support
CHANTAL DUYÊN LÊ
graphic design & titles
storyboard
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
photography
JOY XING
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
NGUYỄN PHÚC BẢO MINH
additional footage
16mm film loader
TRÂM ANH NGUYỄN
lighting assistant
CHANTAL DUYÊN LÊ
translation editor
HẢI ANH TÔN
CAO LÊ HOÀNG
production assistance
HẢI ANH TÔN
SHARON SUN
location support
HẢI ANH TÔN
JOY XING
Made possible with the support of
Liaison for Independent Filmmakers in Toronto (LIFT)
Workman Arts
Rendez Vous With Madness Festival
16mm footage shot on
Kodak VISION3 250D Color Negative Film #7207
using
Non-Reflex Bolex with Underwater Housing
Developed & scanned by Frame Discreet
Digital footage shot on Canon EOS R6
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
August - September, 2026
Additional footage shot on Fujifilm X-T2
in Huế, Việt Nam (2019),
The Hague, Netherlands (2026),
& Montréal, Québec (2022)
Inspired by the great artists & filmmakers who have paved the way before me:
Trịnh T. Minh Hà
Ana Mendieta
Apichatpong Weeresethakul
Trần Văn Thuỷ
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Kelsey Lu
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ana Roxanne
& deeply influenced by the writings of:
Natalie Diaz
Malidoma Patrice Somé
Toni Morrison
Mahmoud Darwish
Etel Adnan
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Dionne Brand
Rita Wong
James Baldwin
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Ursula K. Le Guin
Special thanks to
Robin Riad
Gulzar
Janet-Rose Nguyễn
Pio Monti
Tâm Đỗ
Lucia Fella Pellegrino
cát nguyên
IYAM 2026 Cohort
Nguyễn Hữu Thái
Teresa Van
Minh Tâm Huỳnh
Nguyễn Hữu Thái Hoà
Trần Ngô Thiên Lý
& thank you always to the moon, the waters,
our ancestors from the past & future.
Created as part of the “If You Ask Me” program by LIFT x Workman Arts in Toronto, Canada.
“If You Ask Me (IYAM)” has supported emerging filmmakers with lived mental health and/or addiction experiences to create new short films. The program features shorts by filmmakers from across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). These new films were developed from July to September 2026 under the guidance of Robin Riad, with IYAM alumnus Gulzar serving as mentor.