Hair, Paper, Water... (Vietnamese: Tóc, Giấy và Nước...) is a 2025 documentary film written and directed by Belgian filmmaker Nicolas Graux and Vietnamese director Trương Minh Quý. The film shot on 16mm is a series of 'snapshots' of the life of an elderly Rục lady and her large extended family with a focus on capturing moments and memories. The Rục people were first contacted in 1959, and numbered 580 individuals living in 144 households as of April 2022.
The documentary follows Cao Thị Hậu, an elderly woman of the Rục people who was born in a cave and now lives with her extended family in rural Vietnam. As she cares for younger generations, she teaches them words from the endangered Rục language and shares knowledge connected to her community’s way of life. Her present-day routines are interwoven with memories of the past, including dreams of her deceased mother and recollections of the cave she once regarded as home. Through scenes of family life, work and the surrounding landscape, the film examines the fragile transfer of language, memory and cultural identity from one generation to the next.
Cast
Cao Thị Hậu
Cao Xuân Doanh
Cao Thị Hiệu
Cao Thị Bát
Production
The film was shot on a vintage Bolex camera over three years. It is produced by Julie Freres at Dérives and Petit Chaos, with co-production from WIP and Lagi films. It received support from Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Ciclic Région Centre-Val de Loire, Procirep, Angoa, Media, Wallonie, Pictanovo, and Brouillon d’un rêve de la Scam.
It was also selected to compete in the Official Competition section of the 2025 BFI London Film Festival for the best film award and had screening on 11 October 2025.
The international sales of the film is managed by the Italian distribution company Lights On, who have acquired the international rights in July 2025.
Reception
In his review at Locarno, Marc van de Klashorst of the International Cinephile Society rated the film with 3.5 stars out of five, writing that the "film’s gorgeous 16mm photography might lure a wider group of people." Concluding his review Klashorst opined that since there are only a few hundred Rục left "the film will be all that lasts as a memory of a culture, and for that we have to thank Truong and Graux." David Katz of Cineuropa praised Graux and Trương for co-directing a "pensively beautiful documentary miniature".
Accolades
The film was shortlisted for nomination to 2026 European Film Awards in documentary film category. The award ceremony will take place on 17 January 2026.
↑Tran Tan Dang Long (26 July 2024). "Cultural Changes of the Rục Community in Minh Hóa District, Quảng Bình Province, Vietnam". International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies. 4 (4): 686–691. doi:10.62225/2583049X.2024.4.4.3092.
