Vietnamese film about child marriage wins award at Haniff

Director Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat thanked the Organizing Committee for giving him the opportunity to introduce the film to domestic and international audiences. "The film is about Pao, a H'Mong boy, who got married according to traditional customs at the age of 14. At 18, Pao fell in love for the first time, constantly lost between two choices: personal love and family responsibility. This is also the story of my best friend - Pha - the male lead in the film. I would like to thank everyone who worked with me to make the film," Thanh Dat said.

Giang A Pha (the film's male lead, playing Pao) said he was happy and surprised with the result. When he attended the ceremony, he didn't know he would be walking the red carpet and didn't dress formally. Pha is Hmong so he didn't have much difficulty acting in a film inspired by his own life. Pao's Forest competed with 19 short films from other countries.

In the feature film category, for the first time, the Best Actor award was simultaneously awarded to 7 actors from Sri Lanka's Maariya troupe. They include: Mahendra Perera, Priyantha Sirikumara, Hemal Ranasinghe, Darshan Dharamaraj, Ashan Dias, Suran Dissanayaka, Dasun Patirana. The film's director, Aruna Jayawardana, received the award on behalf of the artists. However, he did not have time to speak. Miss Intercontinental 2022 Bao Ngoc presented the award. She said she admired film artists because they had to transform into many characters, lives and sacrifices for their roles.

Hoa hậu Bảo Ngọc trao giải Nam chính xuất sắc cho đại diện đoàn phim Maariya. — *Miss Bao Ngoc presented the Best Actor award to the representative of the film crew "Maariya"*

The film tells the story of Wiillie, Bennet, Anthony, Oscar, Daiya and Tenny, who work together on a fishing boat. They accidentally meet Malan - a man who intends to cross the border to Australia - by taking advantage of the honest fishermen. The seven artists have equal roles in the film.

The Best Film award went to Paloma from Brazil. Director Marcelo Gomes tells the story of Paloma - a transgender woman - and her journey to overcome prejudice and find happiness. She works hard and saves enough money to get married in a church, but is rejected by the priest. The film raises issues of gender discrimination and religious injustice towards the LGBT community. Kiki Sena (as Paloma) won the Best Actress award. Although highly regarded by experts before the awards ceremony, Bone Marrow Transplant only won one "Best Director" award for Hamid Reza Ghorbani (Iran). The jury assessed that the films competing this year were diverse and had rich themes.

Thứ trưởng Văn hóa, Thể thao và Du lịch Tạ Quang Đông (trái) trao giải Phim dài xuất sắc cho đại diện đoàn phim Paloma. — *Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong (left) presented the "Outstanding Feature Film" award to the representative of the film crew "Paloma"*

The only Vietnamese representative in the feature film category - Hoa Nhat Minh by director Dang Nhat Minh - was awarded a certificate of merit by the Organizing Committee for its contribution to the construction and development of the city. The Vietnamese Film Award for the audience's favorite film in the Panorama of Contemporary Vietnamese Films Program was given to Bo Gia.

The awards ceremony lasted an hour and a half, without many highlights. Apart from Vietnamese director Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat, the winners did not speak. One of the most emotional performances was the song Hoa Sua (composed by musician Hong Dang), performed by Pham Thu Ha. The song was the soundtrack for the film Hanoi in the season of birds making nests (1978). Previously, the opening ceremony was also held simply. Mr. Vi Kien Thanh, Director of the Department of Cinema, said that due to the impact of the pandemic, the Organizing Committee received less sponsorship money than the 5th Hanoi International Film Festival (2018).

The 6th Hanoi International Film Festival took place from November 8 to 12, gathering 123 works from 56 countries and territories. Among them were 11 feature films, 20 short films, 7 films in the Korean Cinema Spotlight program, 63 films in the World Cinema Panorama program and 22 contemporary Vietnamese films. 11 feature films and short films competed for the awards of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor/Actress.

The Hanoi International Film Festival was first held in 2010, and has continued to take place every two years under the abbreviated name of Haniff (Hanoi International Film Festival). This film event has had the participation of many international stars such as two Hong Kong actors Daniel Wu and Cheung Ka-hui (2010), Korean actress Kim Min Hee (2012), actor Go Soo (2014), David Wenham (2018, who participated in The Lord of the Rings series). In 2020, Haniff was not held due to Covid-19.

Main Awards of the 6th Haniff

Outstanding Movie:Paloma (Brazil)

Jury Award:Woman in the Attic(Poland, Sweden)

Outstanding Actor: Mahendra Perera, Priyantha Sirikumara, Hemal Ranasinghe, Darshan Dharamaraj, Ashan Dias, Suran Dissanayaka, Dasun Patirana (Maariya, Sri Lanka)

Best Actress: Kiki Sena (Paloma, Brazil)

Best Director: Hamid Reza Ghorbani (Bone marrow transplant, Iran)

Best Short Film:Pao's Forest(Vietnam)

Best Short Film Director: Surya Shahi (The bus wheels, Nepal)