Vietnamese movie wins prize at Cairo int’l film festival

Directed by Nguyen Phuong Anh (Ash Mayfair), the film was among the best 14 of the international competition category at the CIFF. 

It tells a story in the 19th century rural Vietnam, in which a 14-year-old girl becomes the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Soon she learns that she can only gain status by giving birth to a baby boy.

The 14-year-old girl May, the film's protagonist (Photo: VNA)

Her hope to change her status turns into a real and tantalising possibility when she becomes pregnant. Faced with forbidden love and its devastating consequences, she finally comes to understand the brutal truth: the options available to her are few and far between.

The first motion picture by director Phuong Anh won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award for the best Asian film at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. It also earned the Best Film award at the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival in India this month. 

The 40th CIFF took place from November 20 to 29, featuring more than 160 movies of 59 countries and territories. It is an annual event organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and viewed among major and acclaimed film festivals of the world. 

In last year’s edition of the festival, Dao Cua Dan Ngu Cu (The Way Station) by young director Pham Thi Hong Anh was included in the list of best 16 films.