A much raved-about Vietnamese movie which had claimed prizes at several international film festivals has won three more such awards.
“Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung” (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere), the debut feature film by Vietnamese director Nguyen Hoang Diep, earned the Special Mention award at the 29th Fribourg International Film Festival that wrapped up on Saturday night in Switzerland.
The film also took home the Prix du Jury œcuménique, which honors works of quality that touch the spiritual dimension of humans’ existence.
The Prix du Jury des Jeunes, which is given away by a jury made up of six members aged from 18 to 24, also went to “Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung.”
The Fribourg International Film Festival Association is the founding body of the fest.
Founded in 1987 and based in Fribourg, the non-profit organization aims to promote understanding among different cultures in the world, and gives preference to films that stimulate reflection and provoke discussion, according to the festival’s website.
This year’s festival ran from March 21 to 28.
“Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung” earned the jury’s Special Mention at the Festival of the Three Continents, or “Festival des 3 Continents” in French, in December last year.
The film drew huge crowds at the 3rd Hanoi International Film Festival in November 2014 and the 2014 AFI FEST in Hollywood, which closed in mid-November last year.
AFI FEST is the American Film Institute's annual celebration of international cinema from modern masters and emerging filmmakers.
The high-profile film garnered the jury’s award for feature films at the festival.
“Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung” was named Best Film at the International Critics’ Week – a program for debut films at the 2014 Venice International Film Festival held in September.
The film earned its 33-year-old director the Best Director prize, one of the major awards given away at the 16th International Film Festival Bratislava in Slovakia, which concluded in mid-November last year.
Produced by VBlock Media, a Vietnamese company, in coordination with French, German and Norwegian partners, “Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung” was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and competed at several other major international film fests, including Busan and Toronto, in 2014.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!