Director of the Vietnam Cinema Department Vi Kien Thanh told VietNamNet that the movie won the highest score from the selection council, but he did not reveal the specific score.

The film's production unit, An Nam Films, is in the process of co-ordinating with the Cinema Department to register the film for the preliminary round before October 2.

Based on a novel by renowned Vietnamese writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Glorious Ashes showcases the relationships between three women and their partners in a southern seaside village.

The local film overcame 27 other film projects from around the world to win the US$15,000 prize in the Asian Project Market Category at the Busan Awards in 2017. It also won SG$250,000 from the Inaugural Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant of the Singapore Film Commission and received support from Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua. In 2022, the film won the Montgolfière d’or, or the Golden Hot Air Balloon award, at the Nantes Festival of Three Continents.

Recently, the movie was awarded Best Film in the feature film category and Best Director for Bui Thac Chuyen at the Golden Kite 2023 - the annual awards of the Vietnam Cinema Association.

‘Glorious Ashes’ marks the return of director Bui Thac Chuyen after 10 years. It took him seven years to make the film.

The film does not aim to be grandiose or have a big message, but conquers the audience with delicate emotions conveyed through well-thought-out frames at the hands of a perfectionist director.

Chuyen said after knowing Dao (Island), a set of tales by Nguyen Ngoc Tu, he was strongly impressed by the story about love in Glorious ashes. This is a special story about the relationship between a man and a woman. The woman tries to grab at the man with trifles about everyday stories and stories about the woman he loves.

Soon after contacting Tu and discussing the copyright, Chuyen set out to write the scenario. But he believed that he needed something more. And he knew about Loan in "Cui Muc Troi Ve" (Drifting Firewood), a woman who loves a man who has damaged her future and life. 

Nguyen Ngoc Tu’s literary works leave a strong impression on readers. The way that she relates stories is always very light, but her stories are intense, painful and tormented. 

An interesting original story is a necessary condition for an excellent work. Chuyen said when working on Glorious Ashes, he just needed to add some details to make the story more complicated.

At the Oscars 2024, “Glorious Ashes” will face strong opponents, including “The Taste of Things” by Vietnamese-French filmmaker Tran Anh Hung - who won the Best Director award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for the above movie. 

October 2 is the deadline for countries to register for the preliminary round of Oscars 2024. The 15 films with the highest votes will be announced on December 21, 2023. The 5 movies nominated for the Best Foreign Film category will be announced on January 21, 2024. The 96th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 10, 2024.

My Anh