‘Zero Meets Hero’ Leads Mockingbird Pictures’ Cannes Film Market Slate of Vietnamese Commercial Titles (EXCLUSIVE)

Vietnamese sales and distribution company Mockingbird Pictures is bringing a commercial slate to the Cannes Market anchored by “Zero Meets Hero,” a multigenerational comedy-drama from Huỳnh Lập, director of “The Ancestral Home,” one of the highest-grossing Vietnamese films ever made.

Produced by Hồng Tú and 17 Production, “Zero Meets Hero” is positioned as one of Vietnam’s major National Day holiday releases this year. The film follows the clash between a Gen Z grandson and his war-veteran grandfather, weaving together comedy, family drama and spiritual elements that are characteristic of Lập’s filmmaking.

Related Stories

Jon Stewart and Seth Rogen Slam Kanye West for Attempted Comeback: 'F--- That Guy'

Kim Kardashian's Paris Robbery Getting Four-Part Docuseries 'Kim, the Diamond, and the Grandpa Robbers'

The lineup’s strongest genre entry is “Phi Phong: The Blood Demon,” directed by Do Quoc Trung and produced by Bluebells Studios — Mockingbird’s sister production company. Released during Vietnam’s Hung Kings Festival and Reunification holiday period in late April, the supernatural horror film accumulated more than 2.1 million admissions and grossed close to $7 million, making it the highest-earning local horror title in Vietnamese box office history. An international rollout is underway, with releases set in North America on May 29, Cambodia on June 19, and Malaysia, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand on June 25.

A second horror offering, “Hell Trotter,” draws on Khmer folklore surrounding the legend of the five-toed pig, a creature associated with restless spirits and supernatural omens. Directed by Luu Thanh Luan and produced by Vo Thanh Hoa, the film opened alongside “Phi Phong” during the late-April holiday frame and has crossed Vietnam’s VND100 billion ($3.8 million) box office threshold.

Rounding out the slate is action thriller “Saigon Birthday Boy,” the feature directing debut of Lam Vissay, who also stars. The film delves into the world of clandestine criminal networks and co-stars Nguyen Phuong Tra My, lead of “The Third Wife,” a multiple award-winner at the Toronto, San Sebastián and Chicago film festivals.

“We are seeing Vietnamese filmmakers become increasingly ambitious in both scale and storytelling, and Mockingbird aims to bring these culturally distinctive stories to wider global audiences,” said Phong Duong, business director of Mockingbird Pictures and an executive producer at Bluebells Studios.