HA NOI – Bi, Dung So! (Bi, Don't Be Afraid), director Phan Dang Di's first movie, has won Best First Feature at the 21st Stockholm International Film Festival.
His senior cameraman, Pham Quang Minh, won the award for best cinematography.
Bi, Dung So! also won best screenplay during the Cannes film festival's critics week, as well as the new talent award at the Asia-Hong Kong Film Festival.
The film is scheduled to open at box offices in Viet Nam this month. It will be broadcast on TV network Arte Channel in France and Germany.
The film narrates the story of a young boy called Bi who lives with his mother, father and aunt in a house in Ha Noi. When Bi's grandfather, who has been absent for many years, suddenly reappears, the family are once again reunited. However, his return turns out to be far from auspicious. Bi's father begins to stay out late, to the point where he stops coming home at all in what appears to be a way of coming to turns with his own loneliness when his own father was absent. Meanwhile, Bi's aunt falls in love with a young boy whom she meets on a bus, his father falls in love with a masseuse and his mother behaves as if nothing has changed.
The feature is much more than just a family drama. Di represents the lost because he has no way to express complex emotions. The photography borders on poetry and the interesting camera angles and the fascinating film locations, combined with realistic dialogue, turn this film into something extraordinary.
Ordinary people become remarkable. The life of the child is nothing short of enchanting, and viewers become intimate witnesses of a family struggling to escape loneliness.
Holly Hunter, who starred in Piano, headed the jury panel, said she was amazed by power of the scenes and thought the film compelling.
Meanwhile, Minh's photography was described as poetic and dignified in its simplicity and subtle technical perfection.
The 12-day Stockholm Festival, which ended on Sunday, was launched in 1990. It has become one of the leading film events in Europe. The festival takes place every November and typically features about 180 films from more than 50 countries. – VNS
