Two Vietnamese films get six award nominations at ASEAN fest

By An Nguyen April 25, 2019 | 09:12 pm PT

A scene in the film "Like An Old House". Photo acquired by VnExpress

An artist-gangster love story and a mother's 30-year wait for her son have won five and one nominations respectively.

Two Vietnamese films have won six nominations at the ASEAN International Film Festival & Awards (AIFFA) held in Kuching, Malaysia, organizers announced Thursday.

Song Lang (The Tap Box) which tells the unusual love story of a cai luong (reformed theater art) artist and a gangster, received five nominations including Best Director for Leon Le, Best Supporting Actor of actor Issac, Best Film Editing, Best Screenplay and Best Director of Photography.

Leon Le won Best Director award at the Sharm El-Sheikh Asian Film Festival in Egypt last month.

Co Can Nha Nam Nghe Nang Mua (Like An Old House) directed by Mai The Hiep is among the five films that will compete for the Best Film Award. Other nominations belong to Crossroads: One Two Jaga (Malaysia), Ave Maryam (Indonesia), Signal Rock (Philippines) and Mi (Myanmar).

Like An Old House, released in 2017, depicts the life of a mother who waits for her son for 30 years after he flees home, facing false charges of murder.

The biennial ASEAN International Film Festival & Awards (AIFFA) was launched 2013 to celebrate Southeast Asian movies.

This year marks the 4th AIFFA festival, which runs from April 25 to 27. In addition to showing films and giving awards, the festival also hosts several other activities for discussing the development of Southeast Asian cinema.

At the last AIFFA, Vietnamese film Dao Cua Dan Ngu Cu (The Way Station) by Hong Anh won three prizes including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director of Photography.