In an exquisite pairing of sight and sound, Bảo Lê lures us into his sophomore feature, where vibrations define the existential rhythm of a rural Vietnamese outpost. Ninh, a mechanic who installs decibel meters across public and private spaces, is trapped in his own personal silence, caring for his ailing mother while estranged from his wife and children. Integrating an impressionistic soundscape and a non-linear, liminal arrangement of multi-timeline vignettes, Hearing explores the profound, immeasurable qualities of emotional isolation and the quiet buildup of human resentment. Sharing the same cinematic DNA as the distinct tradition of Southeast Asian slow cinema, the film will transport audiences into a contemplative experience where memory and reality share a porous divide, and the distinctions among our senses begin to dissolve. – Roland Basmayor