'I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass' Wins Golden Lotus Award

The film adapted from Nguyen Nhat Anh's novel, directed by Victor Vu, won the highest award at the 19th Vietnam Film Festival.

The closing night of the 19th Vietnam Film Festival took place from 8pm on December 5 at Hoa Binh Theater (HCMC).

The film I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass won the most important award – the “Golden Lotus” for feature films. This result is not surprising because in the list of competing films, the work of director Victor Vu was clearly more prominent than the remaining candidates. When it was released in early October, I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass received countless compliments from critics and created a box office phenomenon with 80 billion VND nationwide.

"I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass" won the most important awards of the 19th Vietnam Film Festival. Photo: Ly Vo Phu Hung.

In addition to the highest title, I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass also brought Victor Vu the title of “Outstanding Director in a Feature Film”. This is the second consecutive Vietnamese film festival that the overseas Vietnamese director has received this title. In 2013, Victor Vu was honored as “Outstanding Director in a Feature Film” at the 18th Vietnamese Film Festival held in Ha Long, with the film Scandal: Secret of the Red Carpet.

On stage this year, Victor Vu said: “This is a special and meaningful film project for me. I was born and raised in America, with no memories or experiences of Vietnam in the 1980s. The film helps me understand more about my homeland, culture and Vietnamese people.”

The director of photography of I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass – Nguyen K'Linh – was also awarded the title of “Excellent Cinematography”, sharing the award with veteran cinematographer Vu Quoc Tuan of the films The Prophet and Yen's Life. The fourth award that I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass received on the closing night was “Audience-voted Competition Film”.

The “Silver Lotus for Feature Films” went to two state-run films – The Village Children and Yen’s Life. Three films – The Returned, The Nine Contractors in Siam and The Lottery – received the “Jury Choice Feature Film” award.

Director Victor Vu speaks on stage after receiving the award for "Outstanding Director for a Feature Film". Photo: Ly Vo Phu Hung.

Yen's Life was the most successful film at the 19th Vietnam Film Festival. In addition to the Silver Lotus award for feature films, the film also won the awards for Best Actress (Do Thuy Hang), Best Cinematography (Vu Quoc Tuan), Best Art Designer and Best Music in a Feature Film (Le Cat Trong Ly).

Sharing on the sidelines of the red carpet, director Le Cung Bac - a member of the jury for the feature film category - said that the jury worked very impartially to select results that were equal in quality to the number of films this year, as well as meeting the expectations of the public.

The closing night stage was elaborately staged, with eye-catching lighting and colors. However, the program script was quite boring. The awards were given out hastily and in a flash, and the recipients had little chance to speak. Even the best male and female lead actors (NSUT Trung Anh - Thuy Hang) or best supporting male and female actors (Thanh Duy - Kim Hien) were absent.

The most emotional moment of the closing night was when singer Ngoc Hien performed the song Thang Cuoi – the soundtrack of the movie I see yellow flowers on the green grass – with the support of three child actors on stage. When Thinh Vinh, Thanh My and Trong Khang stepped out, the entire audience applauded incessantly to applaud the three “little angels”.

The most memorable moment of the closing night was when singer Ngoc Hien (right cover) sang "Thang Cuoi" - the soundtrack of the movie "I see yellow flowers on green grass" - with three child actors of the movie. Photo: Ly Vo Phu Hung.

The 2015 Vietnam Film Festival took place from December 1 to 5 in Ho Chi Minh City with many activities honoring and affirming the position of Vietnamese cinema. From hundreds of films submitted for the competition, the Festival's selection committee selected 125 films in various genres to be included in the categories. The feature film category introduced 35 films in the competition category (20 films) and the Panorama program (15 films). Of these, 21 works were rated 16+.

After four days, the free cinema complexes in Ho Chi Minh City were overloaded with audiences. Immediately after the information about free tickets was distributed, hundreds of people lined up to have the opportunity to enjoy the films that were widely popular in 2014 and 2015. In this season, the Film Festival organizers focused on bringing works to the audience. Therefore, there was a subcommittee in charge of distributing free tickets. When viewers came to the cinema, staff would guide them on how to enter the cinema, and give them film voting forms for the audience to evaluate the works they had just watched.

This year’s festival also featured activities such as the exhibition “Vietnamese Cinema accompanies the country”, the workshop “Building the brand and position of Vietnamese Films”, the workshop “Support policies and preferential measures to develop the film industry”. Many exchanges also took place with the topics “Film artists with students”, “Film artists with the armed forces”, “Meeting artists participating in film works celebrating the 30/4 national reunification day”.

The 20th Vietnam Film Festival will take place in Da Nang in 2017.

Awards for feature films of the 19th Vietnam Film Festival

“Golden Lotus”: I see yellow flowers on green grass

“Silver Lotus”: Children of the Village, Yen's Life

“Jury Prize”: Nine in Siam, The Return, Winning the Lottery

“Best Director”: Victor Vu (film I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass)

“Outstanding screenwriter”: Nguyen Thu Dung - Dang Thai Huyen (film The Returner), Dinh Thien Phuc (film Thau Chin O Xiem)

“Best Actor”: Meritorious Artist Trung Anh (film The Village Children)

“Best Actress”: Do Thuy Hang (film Yen's Life)

“Best Supporting Actor”: Huy Cuong (film Children of the Village), Pham Tran Thanh Duy (film Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere)

“Best Supporting Actress”: Kim Hien (film Beauty)

“Excellent Cinematography”: Vu Quoc Tuan (films The Prophet, Yen's Life), Nguyen K'Linh (films I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass, Scandal: The Return of the Halo)

“Outstanding Sound Design”: Water 2030

“Outstanding Art Designer”: Children of the Village, Yen's Life

“Best Music in a Film”: Yen's Life

“Best Film Voted by Audience for Feature Film Competition”: I See Yellow Flowers on Green Grass

“People's Choice Award for Panorama”: You Are My Grandma

According to VnExpress