Vietnam wins best film, director awards at Asian film fest

By Ngoc Dinh   March 10, 2019 | 11:28 pm PT
Vietnam wins best film, director awards at Asian film fest
A scene from the The Tap Box. Photo acquired by VnExpress
Vietnamese entry The Tap Box has won the Samir Farid Prize and Best Director award at an Egypt film fest.

The Tap Box was the only Vietnamese film to participate and compete for awards at the third Sharm El-Sheikh Asian Film Festival (SAFF) held in Sharm El Sheikh city, Egypt, from March 2 to 8.

Competing with 12 other entries, the Vietnamese film claimed the Samir Farid Prize, and Leon Quang Le won the Best Director award.

Sharm El Sheikh Asian Film (SAFF) is an annual event hosted by the Noon Foundation for Culture and Arts in Sharm El-Sheikh City, Egypt. This is the only film festival for Asian films in Egypt.

This year, SAFF administered awards in nine categories, including feature films, documentaries, animation, short film and student films. A total of 58 films from 26 different countries jointed this year’s festival.

The Tap Box (2018), titled Song Lang in Vietnamese, centers around the relationship of a cai luong artist (Vietnamese reformed theater art performer) and a debt collector in the 1980s in Ho Chi Minh City.

Leon Quang Le, 42, had been a Broadway musical theatre actor in New York before turning to directing films.

The film has participated in various international film festivals including the Tokyo International Film Festival where the film’s main actor, Lien Binh Phat, won the Tokyo Gemstone award for new actors.

The film is set to be screened at the San Diego Asian Film Festival held from April 12 to 17 and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in May 2019.

The trailer of the film. 

 
 
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