The Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG Karlsruhe) congratulates HfG alumna Minh Anh Nguyễn and her team on the world premiere of the film Onkel Thuận at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film—DOK Leipzig for short—which will take place from October 26 to November 1, 2026.

Nguyễn's movie will be shown at the festival on

October 27th, 5.30 pm at Passage Kinos Wintergarten November 1st. 11 am at CineStar 2

Synopsis:
Thuận and Thúy, former Vietnamese contract workers in the GDR, have run a restaurant in North Rhine-Westphalia for over 20 years. After work, Thuận connects with the world through livestreaming, while Thúy holds together family and business. Their daughters, born in Germany, search for their own link to family history. Old photos from dormitories and factories surface, revealing how a temporary stay became a lifelong home shaped by work, routine, and the decision to remain.

More info about the festival can be found here

Filmdaten: Title: UNCLE THUẬN Director: Minh Anh Nguyễn Year: 2026 Duration: 60 minutes Genre: Documentary film Language: German, Vietnamese Country of Production: Germany Trailer
Website: https://www.instagram.com/onkelthuan.film/

Credits:
Director: Minh Anh Nguyễn
Production: Minh Anh Nguyễn, Stefan Stark, Pujan Shakupa
with: Huy Thuận Vương, Hồng Thúy Nguyễn, Hà Linh Phạm, Hà Vy Vương
Cut: Pujan Shakupa
Camera: Pujan Shakupa, Stefan Stark
Film Sound Engineer: Eric Wehner
Music: Eric Wehner
Sounddesign: Đức Anh Nguyễn
Additional Camera: Hà Vy Vương, Minh Anh Nguyễn
Camera Assistant: Tibor Pilz
Sound Assistant: Samuel Krupke
Color Correction: Stefan Stark
Dialogue Cut: Đức Anh Nguyễn
Sound Mixing: Stefanos Pachidis
Translation and Subtitles: Minh Anh Nguyễn, Hoàng Kỳ Vũ

With support of:
Zeitbild Lab der HfG Karlsruhe, Vietnamesische interkulturelle Fraueninitiative in Deutschland e. V., Aktion Mensch, Kulturamt Steinfurt

Supervisors:
Laura Morcillo und Prof. Charlotte Eifler
More info also via:
https://madek.hfg-karlsruhe.de/entries/e26055ba-d5c1-465a-b265-b93d66e6c0e3?lang=en