Vietnam filmmaker wins best directing award at Amsterdam documentary festival

She beat the challenge from 11 other nominees to pocket the award and €5,000 ($5,700) cash prize.

The jury also made a special mention of her film as one of the best by a debutant.

The 90-minute long documentary is narrated by a 12-year-old ethnic H'Mong girl living in the northern town of Sa Pa, and talks about the clash between old customs and modern values in a place where children from a traditional culture have access to the outside world.

American entertainment magazine Variety wrote earlier this month that the "extraordinary Vietnamese doc follows a clash of values over a child’s marriage".

Best Directing is the second most coveted award at the festival after Best Film. Diem was also nominated for it, but it was eventually won by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa’s ‘Mr. Landsbergis’.

A total of 264 films from more than 80 countries were entered in the world's largest documentary film festival, which opened on Nov. 17.

The event has been held annually since 1988.