Vietnamese short film wins award at Cannes Film Festival

The film beat out nine other films to win the "Directors' Fortnight" category - a branch of the Cannes Film Festival, established in 1968 to honor art films that do not compete for the main awards. On his personal page, director Pham Thien An thanked the crew and jury. "The film could not have been made without you," he said.

Director Thien An (left) and a crew member received the award.

Be awake and ready(Stay Awake, Be Ready) tells the story of a car crash that happened in front of a sidewalk pub, accidentally connecting the stories of 3 young men. The work is part of a series of short films supported by funding in a contest organized by a Vietnamese distributor.

Director Hong Anh - who guided Thien An in the competition - said he was happy with the victory. "The 7-minute film was shot with just one shot. I highly appreciate An's ability and technique in staging and filming. He is a talented filmmaker and will go far in his career."

The scene of the pub in the work.

AbovePolyester, the director said he came up with the film idea while out drinking. "I saw a boy who worked as a fire blower for fun, after each performance he went to each table to ask for money and sell candy. He overheard many stories every night. I imagined the story of him and 3 young men at a drinking party, then the motorbike accident happened." Every scene on screen was calculated in advance. The crew spent 4 days rehearsing with the main actors, 1 day preparing the camera and 5 hours for the extras to practice.

Thien An said he is preparing a movie project, of which this short film is the opening scene. He was born in 1989 and won second prize in the "48 Hour Short Film Making" contest in 2014. In 2018, the short filmSilence(The Mute) was screened at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival and was selected to compete at nearly 15 international film festivals such as Winterthur, Tampere, Hong Kong, Encounters, Aspen.