Growing up in South Vietnam, Minh Nguyễn-Võ was captivated by cinema from an early age. Minh followed other scientific endeavors to France and later the United States, becoming an accomplished physicist working in research and development.

It wasn’t until later in his life that Minh returned to cinema, this time behind the camera, to share his passion on the big screen. Inspired by a short story by Nguyen Ngoc-Tu, Minh’s second feature-film, Nuoc 2030 (Nuoc means “water,” but can also mean “country” or “nation” in Vietnamese) is set in the near future, when global climate change and rising sea levels have decimated arable land in Vietnam.

The story follows Sao (Quynh Hoa), a young woman searching for the truth behind the murder of her husband. The search leads her to a corporation developing genetic engineering technology, with dangerous, controversial secrets.