Vietnamese filmmakers win Singapore film fest prizes

A Vietnamese short film and two directors won awards at the 32nd Singapore International Film Festival.

Truong Minh Quy’s « The Men Who Wait » was awarded the Best Southeast Asian Short Film at the festival held Sunday.

The jury remarked that the film « beautifully draws us in where the superimposition of space between men living on the margins are left waiting, wanting. A cinema that is as unapologetic and bold as it is painfully real and ephemeral. »

The film is about three anonymous men who seek gratification in different ways on a slag heap once trodden by coal miners.

The Youth Jury Prize was awarded to « Grandma’s Broken Legs » by Huynh Cong Nho. Lauded as a film that « democratises filmmaking », the jury praised the Vietnamese director for « his daring vision which blurred the line between fact and fiction and perfectly embodied the notion that the personal is political. »

The Fellowship Prize was awarded to Pham Hoang Minh Thy’s second project, « Daughter of the Mountain God. » Thy earned the award alongside Paul Rembert Patindol from the Philippines.

The film festival awarded it to the Thy for the « testament to the power of film and a celebration of hope » in her movie.

« The film has received the award as it serves to remind us of the roots of filmmaking and the innocent joy at the core of image-making, » the jury said.

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) was held Nov. 25 to Dec. 5, introducing over 100 films by filmmakers from all over the world.

By Long Nguyen – VnExpress.net – December 6, 2021