Still Night, Burning House (2026): Cast, Story and Release

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Carol Nguyen’s Still Night, Burning House follows a family reunion in Vietnam after an uncle’s mysterious death. Combining personal documentary filmmaking with a search through medical records and long-held silence, the film considers intergenerational trauma, complex mourning and the possibility of healing through shared storytelling.

Still Night, Burning House is a 2026 documentary directed and written by Carol Nguyen. The film centers on a family’s first reunion since the mysterious death of Nguyen’s uncle, bringing relatives together in Vietnam for an emotionally charged reckoning with the past.

As the family revisits unsealed medical records and a decades-long silence, the documentary considers how grief can move from private pain toward collective understanding. Its 76-minute running time gives the story a focused, intimate scope.

Still Night, Burning House movie details

Story without spoilers

The film follows Nguyen and her family as they travel to Vietnam for their first reunion after her uncle’s death. Their journey involves confronting unresolved questions, examining medical records and facing the effects of trauma and loss across generations.

Rather than presenting the reunion as a simple return to the past, the documentary frames it as a revelatory and sometimes uncanny experience. The family’s conversations and shared investigation gradually bring them back into connection, with storytelling serving as a way to approach grief together.

What to expect

As a documentary, Still Night, Burning House is grounded in real family experience rather than a fictional plot. Its subject matter includes mysterious death, medical records, intergenerational trauma, prolonged silence and complex mourning. The Vietnam journey provides the setting for a personal investigation into how families process difficult histories.

The supplied synopsis also describes the film as a metaphysical poem, suggesting a reflective approach alongside its documentary elements. Viewers can expect an intimate, family-centered work focused on memory, loss and the possibilities of collective healing, without relying on a conventional entertainment-driven premise.

Cast and creative team

Carol Nguyen directs and writes Still Night, Burning House. No cast members are listed in the supplied information. As the film’s filmmaker, Nguyen guides her family’s reunion and investigation into the circumstances surrounding her uncle’s death.

Release and production context

Still Night, Burning House is a Canadian documentary in English and Vietnamese. It was released on September 12, 2026, and has a runtime of 1 hour and 16 minutes. The production companies are ONF | NFB, Metafilms and Portage Films inc.

Production companies: ONF | NFB, Metafilms, Portage Films inc.

Movies Dock view

Still Night, Burning House is a compact documentary about a family addressing loss that has remained unresolved across decades. Its focus on a reunion in Vietnam, unsealed records and shared storytelling places personal history at the center, offering a thoughtful portrait of mourning and reconnection based on Carol Nguyen’s family experience.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb