BURY US IN
A LONE DESERT
a film by Nguyễn Lê Hoàng Phúc
FEATURE PRESENTATION
MAY 30, 2026 • 2:00 PM
@ THE BUS STOP THEATRE
(2203 GOTTINGEN STREET, HALIFAX)
2025 / VIETNAM / 62 mins
In Vietnamese with English subtitles
What begins as a burglary gone wrong turns into a road movie with an unlikely duo: a petty thief focused only on what is immediately ahead of him, and an unflappable old man who is reflecting on a lifetime past. The old man’s only wish is to be buried next to his late wife, who is currently encased in a plaster sarcophagus. As the two men negotiate their strange dynamic, questions pertaining to love arise—do we get to choose who we love, or what we do for them?
The first medium-length film of editor-turned-director Nguyễn Lê Hoàng Phúc, Bury Us in a Lone Desert will catch you off guard in all ways. Come for the stylistic play and slapstick hijinks; stay for the surprising emotionality that will likely induce your own meditation on mortality.
—Kelly Li
TRAILER
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Nguyễn Lê Hoàng Phúc
Nguyễn Lê Hoàng Phúc is a filmmaker and film editor based in Saigon, Vietnam. Phuc’s debut short film, “Slowly and Painfully”, was selected for “Dispatches from the Mekong Region: Vietnam” as part of SeaShorts Film Festival 2022. Phuc was a selected participant for UNESCO’s On The Reel Film Lab 2021, and became one of the three winners of the Lab’s awards.
As an editor, he has also worked on various films including Coi (2020 International Film Fest Rotterdam Official Selection), Memento Mori: Earth (2022 Busan International Film Festival Official Selection) and Saigon Kiss (2023 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Official Selection). Phuc’s first feature film, “Bury Us in a Lone Desert,” is an official selection for the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam.