Vietnamese film won Best Film at Kolkata Film Fest

The film crew received a cash prize of US$71,000 and a sculpture of a Golden Royal Bengal Tider Award and a certificate.

The film has won various prizes at international film festivals in Toronto (Canada), San Sebastian (Spain) and Chicago (US).

The film Widow of Silence by Indian director Praveed Morchale won the Best Film in Indian Films category at the same event.

A scene from The Third Wife by director Nguyen Phuong Anh.

The Third Wife tells the story of a 14-year-old girl named May, who enters an arranged marriage to a landowner.

Her new home seems idyllic, her husband favours her, and she quickly becomes pregnant with what she is certain will be the desired male progeny. But trouble is quietly brewing: she witnesses a forbidden tryst that will spark a chain reaction of misfortunes — and stir in May urges that until now had been dormant.

Based on a true story, the film relflected women’s thoughts and feelings in a world dominated by men.

The Third Wife echoes the art-house triumphs of noted director Tran Anh Hung, who serves as an ‘artistic advisor’, while his wife and frequent collaborator Tran Nu Yen Khe plays one of the principal roles.

Phuong Anh has been considered as a talented young director who has studied overseas. Born in 1985 in HCM City, she graduated from an MA course on directing drama in the UK and an MA in producing films in New York, the US.

The Kolkata International Film Festival is an annual event launched in 1995. It is the second oldest international film festival in India. The festival is organised by the West Bengal Film Centre under the West Bengal Government.

This year, the event screened 170 films from 70 countries between November 10 and 17.