The East Asia Film Festival Ireland (EAFFI) is delighted to present The Scent of Green Papaya at Pálás Cinema on Saturday 10 February to celebrate Lunar New Year 2024: Year of the Dragon.

The first part of his Vietnam Trilogy, The Scent of Green Papaya is French-Vietnamese writer-director Trần Anh Hùng’s (The Taste of Things, 2023) brilliant debut feature, set in 1950/60s Saigon. In a subtle exploration of female characters, the story unfolds in two parts beginning in 1951. In the interiors of a house and garden with a papaya tree, domestic chores and the intimate life of a wealthy but troubled family and their servants unfold. The slow decline of a society, its family life, gender and class, mirrors the coming-of-age and romantic blossoming of servant girl Mùi.Sparse dialogue and elaborate compositions in a precise palette of colours, textures and sounds (birds, insects, plants, food preparation, clothes, interiors and piano), combine with fluid tracking shots to create a languorous and sensual cinema full of palpable sensations. A pioneer of lyrical and evocative films!