East Films and Kontribute are developing a feature adaptation of Nguyễn Thiên Ân’s short “Giấc Mơ Là Ốc Sên” (“The Dream Is a Snail“), with the project selected for Cannes’ Focus Co-Pro – an initiative of the SFC | Rendez-vous Industry that supports debut feature projects in their earliest stages through co-production mentoring and industry networking.
The feature will carry the title “Cỗ May Ốc Sen” (“The Snail Automaton”).
“The Dream Is a Snail” premieres in the short film competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Ho Chi Minh City production was produced by Thảo Quiêngg of Kontribute alongside East Films’ Bao Nguyen and Anderson Le, with Command+Art also collaborating. It was developed through the CJ Short Film Project, with backing from the CJ Foundation and the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA). East Films is handling international press, festival strategy, and global inquiries.
“Originally conceived as a bold sci-fi, slapstick action comedy – a genre rarely embraced within the Vietnamese market – the project was first realized as a more intimate short through the CJ Short Film Project in Vietnam. Its international recognition has now reignited the original vision. With development support from East Films and production backing from Kontribute, Ân will revisit and reimagine the story on a larger scale – allowing ‘Dream Is a Snail’ to return to the full scope of its original ambition,” East and Kontribute said in a joint statement.
In “The Dream Is a Snail,” a struggling background actor named Huy takes an unusual job at a senior rejuvenation workshop where snails race across his body. Briefly elevated into an unlikely attraction, he is soon displaced by a more appealing performer and becomes consumed by the need to reclaim that fleeting sense of being seen. The film navigates longing, performance, and the precarious line between visibility and vulnerability.
“In the film, the snail is a symbol of absurdity that is somehow celebrated. It satirizes its own creator, myself, every time I have to explain what the snail means. At the same time, ‘the dream is’ in the title serves as a quiet reminder to me: if a strange dream like ‘a snail’ can come true, then perhaps no dream is ever impossible,” said Nguyễn.
Nguyễn is a Vietnamese filmmaker working across fiction, music videos, and commercials, with an observational style focused on the emotional textures of everyday life.
“This film stayed with me the first time I saw it. What makes it so memorable is its humor as much as its tenderness. It’s strange, funny, and lingers with you,” said Bao Nguyen of East Films. “Ân has such an original voice, and I’m proud East Films could help bring this work to a global stage.”
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