Letters from Panduranga unfolds through an exchange of introspective correspondence presented as voiceover. The essay film contemplates the circumstances of Vietnam’s marginalised Cham people, exploring themes of memory and representation that are central to Nguyễn Trinh Thi’s practice. Its self-conscious inquiry layers questions of the artist’s role onto reflections about colonialism and historical erasure.
The letters’ unnamed authors—a woman, voiced by Nguyễn, and a man—write fromplaces in Vietnam with significance for the Cham. The woman is in Ninh Thuận, a traditional Cham area formerly called Panduranga. Her letters mention the imminent construction of two nuclear power plants nearby, an additional threat to what remains of Cham heritage. Extended shots acting as portraits of Cham people accompany her writing, though she is unsure of her ability to document the culture she encounters; ‘I’m trying to avoid speaking on behalf of the other’, she explains. The man’s letters trace a route through landscapes of central Vietnam, including to the Hindu temples of Mỹ Sơn, which were partially destroyed by American bombing. There and at other locations, Nguyễn occasionally composes two pieces of footage side by side, recalling stereographic images created by nineteenth-century photographers.