About

2026 | Documentary | 76 min | Production: Metafilms, NFB & Portage Films

In her most personal work yet, filmmaker Carol Nguyen chronicles her family’s first gathering since her uncle’s mysterious death over a decade ago. Travelling together to Vietnam, the family embarks on a transformative journey through intergenerational trauma, mental health and deeply layered loss. With profound care, trust and immediacy, Nguyen guides them as they navigate unsealed medical records and long-unspoken questions. How can we grieve if we’ve never been given the chance to be sad? Still haunted by guilt, Nguyen’s father’s search for answers via collective rituals and solitary meanderings soon leads him into the uncanny. A companion to the award-winning short “No Crying at the Dinner Table”, “Still Night, Burning House” marks the feature debut of Vietnamese-Canadian filmmaker Carol Nguyen. A metaphysical poem for complex mourning, Nguyen’s film shows how storytelling can turn grief and regret into healing, hope and a kinship restored.

For distribution inquiries: distribution@nfb.ca | For festival inquiries: festivals@nfb.ca

Cast and Crew

Starring - Ngoc Nguyen, Jennifer Nguyen, Hoang Nguyen, Jenny Tang, Phan Hue Tang | Writer, Director - Carol Nguyen | Producer - Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre, Rob Vroom, Ariel Nasr | Production Manager - Anh Duy Vo Dinh | Cinematographer - Juliette Lossky | Sound Recordist - Tobias Haynes | Editor - Anouk Deschênes | Sound Designer - Marie-Pierre Grenier | Music Composer - Arie Van de Ven | Colourist - Marc Boucrot +++

Select Festivals

• Toronto International Film Festival — Official Selecion 2026

• More to come!