Vietnamese film wins two awards at Venice Film Festival 2024

On September 6 (local time), the organizers of the International Film Critics Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica) awarded two prizes to the "Rain on the Butterfly Wings" crew, including the Circolo del Cinema Verona award for the most creative film - judged by international film critics under 35 years old - and the highest prize in this category - IWONDERFULL Grand Prize for the best film. In which, the Best Film award is worth 10,000 euros (more than 270 million VND).

At the event, director Duong Dieu Linh said: "Just a few days before the world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the actor asked me: 'How do you feel when you are living your cinematic dream?'. I said that I have been living the dream for the past 5 years while working with a great crew."

The film's main actress - Meritorious Artist Tu Oanh - said she was surprised by the result. "I went up to receive the award with everyone and choked up," the artist said.

During the screening on September 3 (local time), the crew received more than two minutes of applause from the audience and the film received positive reviews from experts. IndieWire gave the film a B, writing: "A captivating debut film. Duong Dieu Linh creates unforgettable images in the work, making her an artist worth following in the boom period of Vietnamese cinema, after 'Inside the Golden Cocoon' and other projects. 'Rain on the Butterfly' really fascinating".

Screen International commented: "The film combines many genres, comedy, fantasy and a little horror". And Cineuropa commented that the director built the film's content well to show the conflict between mother and daughter in a family in Hanoi, reminiscent of "Juliet of the Spirits". directed by Federico Fellini and "Alice" by Woody Allen.

Film Fest Report Page considered the project interesting, presenting the filmmaker's perspective on marital issues. "I believe Duong Dieu Linh has affirmed her position in the new wave of Vietnamese filmmaking," wrote writer Niikhiil Akhiil.

The project is a joint production between companies in Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Set in Hanoi, the story is about a middle-aged woman (played by Tu Oanh) who discovers her husband is having an affair. She decides to seek out magic in the hope of making her husband love her again, but accidentally awakens a mysterious supernatural force in the house.

The cast also includes Le Vu Long, Nguyen Nam Linh, Bui Thac Phong - Tu Oanh's son and director Bui Thac Chuyen. After the Venice Film Festival, the film attended the Toronto Film Festival (Canada) and the Busan Film Festival (Korea).

The work is developed from a number of short films by Dieu Linh, including "Mother, Daughter, Dreams" (2018), "Sweet, Salty" (2019), "Heaven Calls Name" (2019)."(2020) - revolves around female characters. Through it, the director explores themes of femininity, family relationships and cultural traditions.

The International Critics' Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica) is a parallel section of the Venice Film Festival, selecting seven first-time films to compete for prizes. The awards are usually presented the day before the closing ceremony. The event has been taking place since 1984, and is organized by the National Federation of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) in collaboration with the Venice Biennale.

This category discovers many talents around the world, such as Kenneth Lonergan (famous for You Can Count on Me, Manchester by the Sea), Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep, Clean, Personal Shopper). In 2014, the film Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere by director Nguyen Hoang Diep was selected to compete.

Duong Dieu Linh, 34 years old, born in Hanoi, currently living in Singapore. Short film "Mother, Daughter, Dreams""Her short film was entered into the Busan International Film Festival (Korea).

The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film event in Europe, first held in 1932. The 81st edition takes place from August 28 to September 7, with French star Isabelle Huppert as jury president. Among them, films by Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix are predicted by audiences and critics to be candidates for the Golden Lion - the biggest award of the film festival, which will be awarded on the evening of September 7 (local time).