(VNF) - Host Vietnam won four prizes at the fourth Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF) that closed on November 5^th.

The awards ceremony took place at the Culture and Friendship Palace, wrapping up the six-day festival with various activities honouring local and world cinema. Directed by Hoang Nhat Nam, the ceremony was included an art performance with the participation of singers Kieu Anh, The Wings, singer and MC Ai Phuong, Korean boy band Offroad.

“The festival brings Vietnamese cinema closer to the world and brings world cinema closer to Vietnamese audience thanks to the efforts of the organisers,” said the head of the Cinema Department (under the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism), Ngo Phuong Lan.

Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, General Director of Vietnam Cinema Department, Head of Festival Director, Head of the Organizing Committee of Haniff 2016. (Photo: haniff.vn)

In addition to useful professional activities (Screening exchanges and outdoor fashion show, HANIFF Campus, project market, exhibition: Vietnam Landscapes in foreign movies along with two Workshops on Film production cooperation among ASEAN member states and “Indian Cinema: Cooperation and Development” in the last five days, that was the source of extremely valuable power that HANIFF 2016 has created. This strength helped the international film colleagues firmly believe in HANIFF and Vietnam cinema and further believe in the country and people of Vietnam.

As host country, Vietnam has two representatives in the feature-length category, which went home with major awards.

"Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass" movie. (Source: Internet)

“Jackpot”, directed by Dustin Nguyen, is about a released convict who wins a big lottery prize. The film won The People’s Choice Award for feature-length film. “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass”, a film by director Victor Vu on teenage love, took the Jury Special Mention for feature-length film. The two films previously won various awards at home and were selected to represent Vietnam in the best foreign language film category at the 2015 and 2016 Oscars, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Best Feature- length Film Award went to “Remember”, a 2015 Canadian-German drama thriller film directed by Antom Egoyan. Its leading actor, Christopher Plummer, also went home with The Best Leading Actor Award.

The movie tells the story of Zev (Christopher Plummer) and the revenge he seeks against a Nazi officer who murdered his family. What follows is a remarkable cross-continent road-trip with surprising consequences. Plummer, 86, won “Best Leading Actor” award.

“Remember” also took the prize for Best Original Screenplay at the fourth Canadian Screen Awards 2016 and the Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Award at Venice Film Festival 2015.

A scene of “Remember”. (Photo: Internet)

The Filipino film “Ordinary People” won Best Leading Actress and Best Feature-length Director. The film tells the story of a couple who earn their living stealing on the streets.

The HANIFF Campus brought together domestic and foreign professional filmmakers, filmmaking students, producers and directors seeking partners and investors.

At a master class for directors, Le Quynh Anh, Ha Nguyen Quang Thai and Nguyen Luong Dieu Hang won with two film projects “Do not answer” and “House pet”. Dao Thu Hang won with the script for “Balance Point” at a class for screenwriters. Nguyen Ha Le from the production class won with her film project “Blood Line”. Her work has also been selected to compete in the Berlin Film Festival next year.

“Young directors have a chance to present their own film projects to top investors and top experts in the field, improve their presentation skills. Along with the presentation of their projects, participants get to hear opinions, suggestions and guidance from professionals to complete their products. The Project Market programme provides participants with an environment to gain funds from important sources such as the World Cinema Fund to complete their projects,” director Nguyen Le Hoang Viet said.

Two prizes of the Project Market went to feature-length film project “One Summer Day”, directed by Zay Yar Aung of Myanmar and a short film project “Roommate Service” by Vietnamese director Nguyen Le Hoang Viet./.

List of awards

The Best Feature – length Film Award: Remember

– Director: Atom Egoyan (Canada)

The Best Short Film Award: Three Variations of Ofelia

– Director: Paulo Riqué (Mexico)

The Best Leading Actor Award: Christopher Plummer

– Film: Remember (Canada)

The Best Leading Actress Award: Hasmine Killip

– Film: Ordinary People (Philippines)

Award for Best Director of Feature – length Film in competiton: Eduardo Roy Jr.

– Film: Ordinary People (Philippines)

Award for Best young Director of Short films in Competition: Pham Ngoc Lan

– Film: Another City (Vietnam)

The Jury Award for Short Film: Heart of the Land

– Director: Kaika Astikainen (Finland)

Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema: The Green Carriage

– Director: Oleg Asadulin (Russia)

The People’s Choice Award in Feature – length Film competition: Jackpot

– Director: Dustin Nguyen (Vietnam)

The People’s Choice Award for Vietnamese Film in Contemporary Vietnamese Film Program: Taxi, What’s Your Name?

– Director: Do Duc Thinh – Dinh Tuan Vu (Vietnam)

The Jury Special Mention for Feature – length Film: Yellow Flower on the Green Grass

– Director: Victor Vu (Vietnam)

The Jury Award for Feature – length Film: One Way Trip

– Director: Choi Jeong-yeol (South Korea)

( Compiled by VNF )