EXCLUSIVE: Vietnamese vampire thriller Daydreamers is getting a U.S. release via Dark Star Pictures, which has set a limited theatrical run from May 2nd and a digital launch from June 3rd.
From producer-director Timothy Linh Bui (Three Seasons), the film is set 400 years ago, reimagining vampire lore in Southeast Asia. As European vampires faced extinction, they fled to Vietnam – then known as Annam – bringing with them the dark curse. The film introduces a dark supernatural world set in modern-day Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Cast includes Vietnamese superstar Chi Pu, the singer and actress with more than 20 million followers who became a local sensation after her performance in the hit Chinese reality series Sisters Who Make Waves. She’s joined by rising actors Trinh Thao, Thuan Nguyen, and Tran Ngoc Vang.
The movie was nominated for six awards at the Vietnamese 2025 Ngoi Sao Xanh (New Face of the Year) Awards and won Best Director, Best New Talent and Best Production Design.
The expanded synopsis reads: “Daydreamers follows Nhat, a young vampire raised in a secluded river community that suppresses its thirst for human blood in hopes of regaining lost humanity. When his long-lost brother Marco returns with stories of vampires thriving in the big city amongst humans, Nhat is drawn into a dangerous world that tests his loyalty, beliefs, and survival. His fate takes a turn when he meets Ha, a rebellious schoolgirl who uncovers his secret—forcing Nhat to break vampire law in an act of forbidden protection. As Trieu, a ruthless vampire queen, orders their execution, the city erupts into chaos, setting the stage for a final battle between brothers—one embracing the monster within, the other fighting to hold onto his last shred of humanity.”
The film is one of the first vampire films to emerge from Vietnam, and the U.S. theatrical release will be targeted at cities with large Vietnamese diaspora audiences.
Vietnamese-born American filmmaker Timothy Linh Bui produced The Housemaid in 2016 which was released by IFC Films and distributed in 25 countries, and has a remake in the works written by Oscar winner Geoffery Fletcher. He and his brother Tony previously made Three Seasons which won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at Sundance, and Patrick Swayze film Green Dragon, winner of the Humanitas Prize.
In 2013, he co-founded the movie production company Happy Canvas Film in the U.S. In 2016, he moved Happy Canvas Film to Vietnam to develop the film industry in the country, and it went on to make projects including The Bachelor: Vietnam.
“I wanted to tell a story about people who live within the shadows of a modern city,” stated director Bui. “I was inspired by the Vietnamese riverboat communities, who have been there for decades and are overlooked by those around them. As the ultimate outsiders, vampires are the perfect vehicle to explore that world. They exist in secrecy, live on the margins, and are defined by their need to remain hidden.”
