Director Leon Le and producer Ngo Thanh Van (second and third from right) receive the Golden Lotus Award for the film Song Lang (The Tap Box) (Photo: VNA)Ba Ria-Vung Tau (VNA) – “SongLang” (The Tap Box), a film about the art of “cai luong” (reformed opera) haswon the Golden Lotus, the country’s most coveted prize for a cinematic work.
The award ceremony was held on November 27night in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, wrapping up the21st Vietnam National Film Festival (VNNFF).
The film, directed by Leon Le (whose realname is Le Nhat Quang) and produced by Ngo Thanh Van, reflects the 100-yearhistory and development of “cai luong” through the career of Linh Phung, ayoung performer who makes sacrifices to pursue his dream.
The film stars pop singer and actor Isaac,winner of the Rising Star of Asia’s Star Awards at the 21st Busan InternationalFestival in 2016, and young actors Tu Quyen and Lien Binh Phat.
Apart from the Golden Lotus for the film,director Le also received the Excellent Director award. Sound director Vu ThanhLong, art director Ghia Pham and actor Isaac received the prize for ExcellentSound Director, Excellent Art Director and Excellent Supporting Actor,respectively.
The film received praise from the jurythanks to its art, content and message. It was honoured at variousinternational events such as the third edition of the Sharm El-Sheikh AsianFilm Festival (SAFF) and the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018 (TIFF).
The competition programme presented 16feature films, 29 documentaries, nine scientific films and 20 animations.Meanwhile, the panorama programme presented 14 feature films and 16documentaries.
In the Documentary Category, the GoldenLotus awards went to “Chong Chenh” (Totter), produced by Vietnam Television(VTV), reflecting the hard life of Vietnamese women who married local men inChinese Taipei.
In the Scientific Film Category, no entrymet the criteria to receive the Golden Lotus. The Silver Lotus awards went totwo films of VTV – A Fight against SARS and Plastic Pollution in the Ocean.
In the Animation Category, the Golden Lotuswent to “Nguoi Anh Hung Ao Vai” (A Modest Hero), produced by the VietnamAnimation JSC Company.
“The film festival is an important event ofthe national cinema industry,” said Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports andTourism Ta Quang Dong.
Since it was established by President HoChi Minh in 1953, the cinema industry has made great contributions inpreserving and promoting cultural values, spreading the State’s guidelines andreflecting people’s thoughts, he said.
The22nd Vietnam National Film Festival will be held in 2021 in the centralprovince of Thua Thien-Hue./.
VNA
