Children of the Mist

In the misty mountains of Vietnam, insulated from the modern world, live the ethnic minority Hmong. Among them is feisty thirteen-year-old Di, who delights in her friendship with filmmaker Diễm Hà Lệ, a rare ally and mentor. As the Lunar New Year approaches, Di faces the Hmong tradition of “bride kidnapping,” in which young girls are forced into marriage. She has witnessed the results of these matches in her parents’ toxic relationship and her sister’s fate as a wife and mother at fourteen. Foolishly, Di plays with fire and is ill-prepared for the consequences of her actions. Patiently filmed over three years, this bold and curious documentary is a rare window into a remote community on the cusp of global change and the life of an emotionally vulnerable girl on the precipice of her destiny.