VietNamNet Bridge – Director Cuong Ngo of “Ngoc Vien Dong” (Pearls of the Far East), has won the Emerging Narrative Feature Film Maker Award of the 5th Geneva Film Festival (USA).
The award ceremony will be held on March 30 in Geneva, Illlinois, USA.

The Geneva Film Festival is an annual event since 2007, which aims to honor young independent film makers. This year the festival attracts 43 independent films around the world. “Pears of the Far East” is the only Vietnamese entry.

In February, this movie also won two prizes: Best Music and Best Cinematography, at the California Film Fest in the USA.

The film was launched in Vietnam on March 8. This year the movie will be sent to nearly 20 international film festivals.

Adapted from award-winning stories by Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc, director Cuong Ngo weaves a vivid, timeless and unforgettable tapestry with characters brought to life by a gorgeous cast of acclaimed talent from Vietnam, US and Canada, including actresses Truong Ngoc Anh (The White Silk Dress, 2006), Nhu Quynh (Vertical Ray of the Sun, 2000), Hong Anh (Moon at the Bottom of the Well, 2009), Ngo Thanh Van (The Clash, 2010, The Rebel, 2007), Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc (who also wrote the screenplay based on her own stories), and Kieu Chinh (Joy Luck Club, 1993).

“Pearls of The Far East” is a set of seven love stories by seven women of different ages, who have different lifestyles and different dreams. These are stories about love and being loved, expectation and disappointment, the pureness of love and sexual passion, the childhood and the growth of each character.

Born in HCM City, director/producer Cuong Ngo earned a BFA-Honors in Performing Arts for Theatre & Film in his native country (2002) before pursuing his second degree in Film Production at York University in Toronto; BFA-Honors, with specializations in Directing, Screenwriting & Editing (2009).

Cuong has directed several short films, documentaries and videos including The Hitchhiker Project (2008), and The Golden Pin (2009), which won Best Canadian Short at the Toronto Inside Out LGBT Film & Video Festival, before touring at over 40 international film festivals. Pearls of the Far East (2011) is Cuong’s feature film debut as director, producer and co-editor.

The trailer of “Pearls of the Far East.”

Le Ha