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SINOPSIS | In 2007 Tang Duyen Hong was living in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi when she unexpectedly became pregnant from her boyfriend. In the old Vietnamese traditions women are not allowed to be pregnant without being married. Her boyfriend and her parents told her to do abortion or to end the relationship. That was the point in her life where she has to face a difficult decision. Despite the cultural pressure she responded in the name of the love for the unborn and decides to keep the baby.. She became a single mom.

By Choice or Chance is a beautiful and powerful portray of three single mothers by choice or chance living in Hanoi who are bringing the very first changes to the core values in the development process of the Vietnamese culture. The story takes you from the very heart of the moving city to the peaceful and traditional country life where old traditions and cultures making the values.
 
 

GENERAL INFO | Generation by generation, family-based tradition has been absorbed deeply into the mind of every Vietnamese citizen. Day by day, each family is surrounded by love of its members, which then become warm cradles for the following generations, who will grow up and together contribute to their society. In that way, each family becomes a "cell" of a "living" society. The strength of all these families together creates the power of the country.
Since long ago it has been that in each "cradle" there must be a husband, a father who is believed to be a "pillar" of the family, in Vietnamese tradition. Therefore the role of women in families seems to be smaller, weaker and subconsciously, women become more dependent.

The traditional belief gives the men in every family absolute power while their women have to bear the strong hierarchy of society each day of their whole lives.

The traditional belief gives the men in every family absolute power while their women have to bear the strong hierarchy of society each day of their whole lives.

  Is it the challenge of this history to find the women of our time? Single mothers, by choice or chance, live in their own way. They themselves are building up their own families in which they are the "pillar."

They bring their children the love of a father and moreover, they bring the love of a mother. These women, as single mothers, bring the very first changes to the core values in the development process of culture.

The concept for this movie told by producer Peter J. de Vries to filmmaker Marijn Poels, has become a good example of the strength of single mothers in Vietnam, which resulted to the documentary "By Choice or Chance". This filmmaker from Berlin came to Hanoi and talked with three single mothers. In front of Poels' camera, these three women shared the stories of their personal lives about their struggle to find happiness for their children, and by themselves to build up their small families.

"We created this documentary to make the greatest impact possible worldwide to encourage women to realize their strength never give up to build up a happy and independent life for theirselve and their children."
    REUTERS has developed some great resources as they invite you to join them in celebrating International Women's Day and the role of women in bringing about positive change in the world. To mark this occasion Reuters has created a slideshow of women from across the globe, living in extraordinary times. A women's world