Several films from other countries won prizes at the 3rd Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF), which wrapped up in the Vietnamese capital on Thursday night, and the most important award went to a Russian movie.

>> Vietnamese films heartily embraced at ongoing Hanoi int’l festival 

A Russian film titled “Two Women” was named the winner of the Best Feature Film prize – the festival’s most important – and took home an award of US$5,000 at HANIFF’s closing and award presentation ceremony last night.

The film also earned Anna Astrakhantseva the Best Leading Actress award.

“The Coffin Maker,” a film from the Philippines, pocketed the Best Leading Actor prize and Award of Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, a platform for the discovery and promotion of cinema in Asia.

“Waiting for Colors,” a 12-minute Indonesian film, won the Best Short Film award.

Iranian director Shahram Mokiri won Best Director for a feature film titled “Fish and Cat,” while director Ruslan Akun from Kyrgyzstan bagged the same award for a short film – “Herding.”

The organizer also gave away the Best Young Actor award to child actor Matthew Sunderland for his role in a New Zealand film, “Weight of the Elephant.”

Jury awards for feature and short films went to two Vietnamese flicks, “Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung” (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere) and “Ngoai Kia Co Gi” (What’s Out There) respectively.

“Dap Canh giua Khong Trung,” a critically acclaimed film by Vietnamese director Nguyen Hoang Diep, won a prize at the 2014 Venice International Film Festival in September, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and competed at several other international film fests this year.

Held for the first time at the festival, the Project Market, which closed on Tuesday, saw the “Honey Giver among the Dogs” project by Bhutanese creator Dichen Roger win the highest prize and an award of $10,000.

A special prize with no monetary award went to expat Vietnamese director Siu Pham’s film project, “A Shade of Paradise.”  

“The Asian films competing at this year’s festival – particularly independent films from Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines – are indicative of a notable stride Asian filmmakers are making,” observed Filipino director Peque Gallaga, a member of the feature film jury.

“The films’ storylines are logically recounted, which is a major difference from the previously produced Asian flicks. The films don’t abuse special effects and thus boast stunning, natural cinematography. All of these good things cherish in us hopes about a new era of the Asian film industry,” the director said.

Held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the 3rd HANIFF ran in several places in the capital city from Sunday last week.    Four hundred and eleven films had been submitted to the organizer for the festival but only 130 flicks from 32 countries and territories werechosen, according to the organizer.

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