Vietnamese film to be screened

The Venice Film Festival plans to show a censored Vietnamese short film this week despite the absence of official permission to screen it outside of Vietnam.

The 20-minute film, “Khi toi 20” (When I Am 20), is about a teenage couple whose love story is told in the confines of a room with a low ceiling until one day the boy leaves, raising the question: Has he outgrown the space, or the relationship?

Because of the censorship, the film will be shown Wednesday using a DVD sent during the selection phase rather than an official copy, the film festival said Monday in a statement.

Venice festival officials “decided not to exclude the film from competition because we should guarantee and defend freedom of expression,” the statement said.

The film was blocked by Vietnamese censors because it was considered “damaging” to Vietnam’s image, and it can be officially viewed only at a center for the development and support of new talent in Hanoi that produced the film, the statement said.