The U.S.-Vietnam family drama, starring veteran Vietnamese actress Kieu Chinh, drew positive critical attention during a special, limited theatrical engagement in Vietnam.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The WS Productions film “Chrysalis,” a U.S.-Vietnam family drama inspired by artist Sir Daniel K. Winn’s childhood, opened in Vietnam on Sept. 11 to a positive response from critics and audiences ahead of its April 2027 U.S. premiere, presented by the Beverly Hills Film Festival.
Vietnamese coverage has highlighted the restrained performances of Kieu Chinh and Uy Nhan and the film’s intimate portrayal of family, memory and separation. ELLE Vietnam singled out the conviction of their grandmother-grandson interplay. Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam wrote that the film’s first theatrical screening left a lasting impression through the film’s understated, emotionally resonant treatment of family, roots and intergenerational memory.
During its opening week, the film held an 8.2 average from 211 ticket-holder reviews on MoMo, a Vietnamese ticketing platform. A Sept. 11 Kenh14 report, citing Box Office Vietnam data, placed the film at No. 4 in a daily box-office snapshot.
Directed by J. Robert Schulz from a screenplay by Andrew Creme, “Chrysalis” follows young Daniel’s coming-of-age journey in 1975 Saigon and the bond with his grandmother, Bà Nội, which anchors the story. Kieu Chinh stars as Bà Nội. Uy Nhan portrays Daniel as a child, while Winn appears in the present-day storyline.
The Vietnam opening brings the U.S.-Vietnam production to audiences in the country where its story is set. The film opened locally as “Mãi Nợ Một Lời Tạm Biệt,” rendered in English as “The Farewell I Never Gave.” Its international title remains “Chrysalis.” The film also stars Samuel An, Lan Thy, Le Anh Huy, Tien Pham and Trinh Tu Trung. WS Productions produced the film.
WS Productions elected to make the Vietnam run a special, limited theatrical engagement, allowing audiences in the country that shaped Winn’s early life to see the film before its planned U.S. premiere in April 2027.
“Chrysalis” made its market debut at the 2026 Marché du Film in Cannes, where it held two market screenings. At DANAFF IV, Kieu Chinh received the Screen Excellence Merit Award for her screen career spanning nearly seven decades and more than 100 roles.
At the Los Angeles Tribune International Film Festival, the film received five honors: Best Feature Film; Best Director for J. Robert Schulz; Best Actress for Kieu Chinh; Best Child Actor for nine-year-old Vietnamese actor Uy Nhan; and Best Orchestral Score for Motion Picture for “Chrysalis,” composed by Elia Cmiral. At nine, Uy Nhan became LATIFF’s inaugural Best Child Actor and one of the youngest documented Vietnamese recipients of a U.S. film-festival acting award.
The April 2027 U.S. premiere, presented by the Beverly Hills Film Festival, will coincide with the 52nd anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam. It will introduce the film’s story of family, displacement and remembrance to U.S. audiences while building on its Vietnam response.
ABOUT “CHRYSALIS”
“Chrysalis” is a U.S.-Vietnam family drama inspired by Vietnamese-American artist Sir Daniel K. Winn’s early life, directed by J. Robert Schulz and starring Kieu Chinh.
U.S. Media Contact for “Chrysalis”
Rick Krusky, MWPR Inc.
818 521 8294
423173@email4pr.com
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SOURCE WS Productions
