VietNamNet Bridge – Russian film Two Women won the best feature film award at the third Ha Noi International Film (HANIFF) that closed in the capital city yesterday, Nov 27.

Top prize: Russian actress Anna Levanova, representing the crew of Two Women, receives the Best Feature Film award at the third Ha Noi International Film yesterday.

Directed by Vera Glagoleva, the film is based on a play by Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. Set in the Russian countryside at the end of the 19th century, it tells the story of the wife of a rich landowner who falls in love with her son's tutor.

The film has garnered high praise for its humanistic and artistic values, winning several awards at film festivals across Russia.

The Best Short Film was won by the 10-minute Indonesian film Waiting Colours.

The film festival marked new successes for Vietnamese cinema.

The 99-minute-film Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung (Flapping from the Middle of Nowhere), a dark and sensual drama on the intricate emotional consequences of sexual intimacy, directed by Nguyen Hoang Diep, won the special jury prize for best feature-length film. The corresponding award for short films went to the 14-minute entry, Ngoai Kia Co Gi (What's Out There), directed by Nguyen Diep Thuy Anh.

Leading actors

Allen Dizon of the Philippines won the best leading actor title for his performance in the film The Coffin Maker, and Anna Astrakhntseva of Russia was chosen the best leading actress for her role in Two Women.

Director Shahram Mokri of Iran was named best director for his feature film Fish and Cat, while Ruslan Akun of Kyrgyzstan walked away with the best young director award for his short film Herding.

This year, 52 films in different categories from the Asia-Pacific region were shown at the festival. Twelve films from the region competed for the best feature film award, including two Vietnamese films Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung and Nhung Dua Con Cua Lang (The Children of the Village).

Themed "Cinema: Integration and Sustainable Development", the festival, the biggest cinematic event of the year, aimed to honour works of excellence, said Hoang Tuan Anh, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The five-day event has served as a platform for bringing together renowned directors, producers and actors from many countries, and to highlight young film talents in the Asia-Pacific region, he added.

Over the last five days, the festival screened 130 feature films, documentaries and short films from 32 countries and territories at five cinema complexes in Ha Noi.

The fourth festival is expected to be held in 2016.

Young talents

South Korean Il Shin and Vietnamese Nguyen Thi My Trang and Nguyen Minh Tien yesterday received prizes at the Talent Campus of the HANIFF.

The young student winners were adjudged the best in training courses on scriptwriting, photography directing and film directing.

Shin attended the campus for the first time and won over the tutors with three scenes that she directed after taking the film directing course.

Trang was adjudged best scriptwriter for What's with Coffee Today while Tien was recognised for his efforts at the training.

The winners each received a cash prize worth US$300. The Goethe Institute in Ha Noi will sponsor Trang at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 2015.

The outstanding students were selected from 30 participants, including 25 from Viet Nam and one each from Japan and South Korea, as well as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

The participants had the opportunity to seek funding from important sources to carry out their film projects. The sources include the World Cinema Fund, Motion Picture Association of America, CJ E & M and other funds from numerous countries.

They could also get closer to international cinema markets and look for opportunities to participate in film production with international filmmakers.

"The HANIFF Campus has contributed to the youth for the festival. We believe that this is the place to discover and cultivate talents," said Ngo Phuong Lan, general director of the Cinema Department, a permanent member of the Steering Committee and director of this year HANIFF.

VNS/VNN