No Crying at the Dinner Table
A film by
Carol Nguyen
Synopsis
Filmmaker Carol Nguyen interviews her own family to craft an emotionally complex and meticulously composed portrait of intergenerational trauma, grief, and secrets in this cathartic documentary about things left unsaid.
Highlights
85+ festivals, 19+ awards and mentions.
Tags
2019
No items found.
Documentary
Genre
No items found.
Country
Canada (Quebec)
Year
2019
Length
15'40"
Themes
Mental Health
,
Social Justice
,
Social and cultural identity
,
BIPOC
,
Trauma
,
With
Thao Nguyen-Duong, Ngoc Nguyen, Michelle Nguyen, Carol Nguyen
Production
Carol Nguyen & Aziz Zoromba (Concordia - Mel Hoppenheim School Of Cinema)
Cinematography
Walid Jabri
Artistic Direction
Carol Nguyen
Editing
Carol Nguyen, Andres Solis
Sound
Giulio Trejo-Martinez
Music
Arie Van de Ven
Carol Nguyen
Carol Nguyen is a Vietnamese Canadian filmmaker, born and raised in Toronto, now based in Montreal. Her films often explore the subjects of cultural identity, silence and memory. Her newest film "Nanitic" (2022) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Her previous film “No Crying at the Dinner Table” (2019) also screened at TIFF alongside IDFA, where she was additionally invited as the Opening Night speaker. In 2020, “No Crying” also received the Jury Prize for Short Documentary at SXSW. Carol is a 2018 Sundance Ignite fellow and a TIFF Share Her Journey ambassador. Recently, her project “The Visitors” was selected for the IDFA Project Space 2022, a development lab for first- or second-time directors. Today, Carol is writing and directing several projects, including two feature films as well as an animated short.
Filmography
Beyond Borders | Short Animated Documentary | TBA
Nanitic | Short Fiction | 2023
No Crying at the Dinner Table | Short Documentary | 2019
Tundra | Short Fiction | 2018
Every Grain of Rice | Short Fiction | 2017
Social media
No items found.
Festivals
85+ festivals. 19+ awards and mentions.
SXSW, USA | 2020 *BEST SHORT DOC*
Future of Film, Canada | 2020 *BEST FILM AWARD*
Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland | 2020 *BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT DOCUMENTARY*
Indy Shorts Heartland Film Festival, USA | 2020 *BEST DOCUMENTARY STUDENT FILM*
NFFTY Festival, USA | 2020 *BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY + BEST EDITING PRIZE*
Loudoun Arts Film Festival, USA | 2020 *BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT*
Indie Street Film Festival, USA | 2020 *BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – JURY PRIZE*
Galichnik Film Festival, North Macedonia | 2020 *BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT*
Salut Your Shorts, USA | 2020 *BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM*
Filministes, Canada | 2020 *BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY*
Les Percéides, Canada | 2020 *JURY MENTION*
Aspen ShortFest, USA | 2020 *STUDENT JURY’S MENTION*
Real Asian Film Festival, Canada | 2019 *CHANGE CONNECT AWARD*
Gala Prends Ça Court!, Canada | 2020 *COUP DE CŒUR COOP VIDÉO AWARD*
Rendez-vous du cinéma Québécois, Canada | 2020 *BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM*
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, USA | 2020 *SPECIAL JURY AWARD FOR WRITING*
Canadian Screen Awards, Canada | 2020 *NOMINATION – BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT*
Pleins Écrans, Canada | 2021 *BEST DOCUMENTARY* *JURY’S FAVORITE* *EMERGING TALENT AWARD*
DOC NYC, USA | 2020 *SHORTLIST*
Toronto Int. Film Festival, Canada | 2019
Vancouver Int. Film Festival, Canada | 2019
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Canada | 2019
RIDM, Canada | 2019
IDFA, The Netherlands | 2019
South Western Int. Film Festival, Canada | 2019
TIFF Shortcut Series: Portraits, Canada | 2019
Calgary Underground Film Festival, Canada | 2019
Cucalorus Film Festival, USA | 2019
All Animals Are Equal, Vietnam | 2019
TIFF Canada’s Top Ten, Canada | 2020
TIFF Short Waves – Young Creator Showcase, Canada | 2020
It’s All True Documentary Film Festival, Brazil | 2020
Atlanta Film Festival, USA | 2020
Rooftop Film Festival, USA | 2020
FDBA, Argentina | 2020
Busan Int. Short Film Festival, South Korea | 2020
Houston Asian American & Pacific Islander Film Festival, USA | 2020
CineYouth Film Festival, USA | 2020
BlueCat Short Film Festival, USA | 2020
The Asian American Showcase, USA | 2020
Video Consortium, USA | 2020 *Online Screening*
Chicago Underground Film Festival, USA | 2020 *Online Screening*
Tacoma Film Festival, USA | 2020 *Online Screening*
Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Canada | 2020
Int. Film Festival of Ottawa, Canada | 2020 *Canceled*
United Vietnamese Students Association of Eastern Canada Summit, Canada | 2020
Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival, Canada | 2020
Kiev Molodist Int. Film Festival, Ukraine | 2020
Palm Springs ShortFest and Market, USA | 2020
Altan Khalis Int. Film Festival, Mongolia | 2020
Desertscape Int. Film Festival, USA | 2020
Bolton Int. Film Festival, USA | 2020
Shanghai Int. Film Festival, China | 2020
El Paso Film Festival, USA | 2020
Nantucket Film Festival, USA | 2020
DMZ Doc Film Festival, Japan | 2020
Gimli Film Festival, Canada | 2020
St. Louis Int. Film Festival, USA | 2020
Kaohsiung Int. Short Film Festival, Taiwan | 2020
San Diego Asian Film Festival, USA | 2020
FLY! Festival, UK | 2020
Seoul International Senior Film Festival, South Korea | 2020
Silicon Valley Asian Film Festival, USA | 2020
Kerry Film Festival, Ireland | 2020
Festival du film de Knowlton, Canada | 2020
Prends Ça Court - Dans ta face, Canada | 2020 *Online*
Philadelphia Film Festival, USA | 2020
Tacoma Film Festival, USA | 2020
Halifax International Film Festival, Canada | 2020
Loft Short Film Festival, USA | 2020
FECEA - Int. School Film Festival of Alvorada, Brazil | 2020
Exile Room, Greece | 2020
Scout Film Festival, USA | 2020
Femme Fatale x Rose Coloured Theatre, Canada | 2021"
Press Inquiries
Press Kit
Social media
News
✈️ Travelling is back at Clermont Ferrand!
Travelling Distribution will be at Clermont-Ferrand from Saturday, January 31 (evening) to Friday January 6 (morning).
We're bringing 6 films with us - and a lot of cool merch, so leave room in your suitcase!
Three shorts in competition : BOA, WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND, AIR HORSE ONE + three shorts at the market : TBA. Teams in attendance.
Book a meeting with us from Jan 1 to Jan 5 :
Buyers : Laurence Blais, admin@travellingdistribution.com
Programmers : Tam Dan Vu, coordo@travellingdistribution.com
Directors, producers : Louise Morel, louise@travellingdistribution.com
C'EST MA SOEUR | Berlinale Generation
C’EST MA SOEUR (THAT’S MY SISTER) directed by Zoé Pelchat, written by Léalie Ferland Tanguay, produced by Papillon Films, will have its World Premiere at Berlinale Generation 14plus. Team in attendance.
Distribution Inquiries : info@travellingdistribution.com
Press Inquiries : caroline@pixellex.ca
Learn more ↗
3 films | SXSW
1-2-3 films at SXSW (March 12–18, 2026)! Teams in attendance.
A WOLF IN THE SUBURBS
*World Premiere
dir. Amélie Hardy, prod. Metafilms
2026 | documentary | 19’
AIR HORSE ONE
*North American Premiere
dir. Lasse Linder, prod. Dynamic Frame, Black Boat and White Boat
2025 | documentary | 21’
WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND
*US Premiere
dir. Jean-Sébastien Hamel & Alexandra Myotte
2025 | animation, genre | 11’
Distribution Inquiries : info@travellingdistribution.com
Press Inquiries : caroline@pixellex.ca
Learn more ↗
BEAU TEMPS, MAUVAIS TEMPS | Slamdance
Florence Lafond’s BEAU TEMPS, MAUVAIS TEMPS (NO MATTER THE WEATHER) will be in competition at Slamdance (Feb 19 - 25, 2026) in the Documentary Shorts Competition.
Inquiries : info@travellingdistribution.com
Learn more ↗
Jazz Infernal at Sundance
After TIFF and TIFF Canada's Top Ten, Will Niava’s JAZZ INFERNAL (prod. Telescope, Disamare, Scara-b) will have its international premiere at Sundance Film Festival (Jan. 16 - 26, 2026). Team in attendance.
Distribution Inquiries : info@travellingdistribution.com
Press Inquiries : caroline@pixellex.ca
Info + Screening Times ↗
WE WERE THE SCENERY | 98th Oscars® Shortlist
WE WERE THE SCENERY (dir. Christopher Radcliff, prod. Cathy Linh Che, Jess X Snow) is shortlisted at the 98th Academy Awards® for Best Documentary Short Film!
Distribution Inquiries : info@travellingdistribution.com
Watch now (US, Canada, UK) ↗