# 15th Vietnam Film Festival

The 15th Vietnam Film Festival was held from November 20 to November 24, 2007 in Nam Định City, Nam Định Province, Vietnam, with the slogan "For a reformed and integrated Vietnam cinema" (Vietnamese: "Vì một nền điện ảnh Việt Nam đổi mới và hội nhập").

## Event

This is the first Film Festival with the participation of overseas Vietnamese filmmakers and foreign collaborative films. There were 113 films in attendance at the Film Festival: 25 feature films, 9 direct-to-video feature film, 53 documentary films, 9 science films và 17 animated films. The jury only awarded 2 Golden Lotus, one for the feature film: "Hà Nội, Hà Nội" and the other for the science film "Sự sống ở rừng Cúc Phương".

### Participation

This is the first film festival where the feature film section has a very high diversity: foreign elements, privately funded films, films by young directors, high-budget films, etc. The participation of 25 feature films comes from 9 units, of which 5 are state owned and 4 are private.
Within the prescribed time limit (from August 16, 2004 to August 16, 2007), a total of private film studios produced more than 15 feature films, 4-5 times more than at the time of the 14th festival.
As expected by the Organizing Committee, September 6, 2007 is the deadline to register to attend the 15th National Film Festival. But after this date, there are only 18 feature films, of which only the film "Dòng máu anh hùng" of Chánh Phương Film, registering to participate. According to Mr. Lê Ngọc Minh - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Cinema Department, some studios mistook the deadline for September 30, 2007, so the organizers postponed the deadline to this date, so after September 6, the Private film studios continue to receive invitations from the Cinema Department.
The 15th National Film Festival Organizing Committee also sent invitations to foreign film delegations such as the US, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Cambodia (including managers, film artists) to attend. Foreign delegations brought films to screen in the outer circle with the nature of welcome, exchange and discussion.

### Jury

The judges were divided into 4 panels with 4 heads including: Đặng Nhật Minh (feature film), Vương Đức (direct-to-video feature film), Trần Thế Dân (documentary and science film), Mai Long (animated film). According to the new regulations of this year's Film Festival, the Head of Jury is also the official spokesman before the mouthpieces about the contents of the Film Festival.
This year, documentaries and scientific films are separated to award the Golden and Silver Lotus Awards, not together as every year.
For feature films, before the first screening of each film, the Organizing Committee will distribute votes to the audience to choose their favorite movies. This is considered an award voted by film festival audiences.

### Activities

Instead of holding the opening ceremony in the hall as usual, the opening ceremony of the 15th Film Festival was held in the square, in front of the Trần Hưng Đạo monument with the participation of thousands of guests and the people of Nam Định city. After the opening ceremony, there will be three large audience interactions with movie artists held at 3 locations: Nam Định City Sports Arena, the square in front of Bùi Chu Church and the square of Phu Day cultural tourist area.
Films participating in the festival will be released in turn at cinemas in Nam Định city: Tháng 8, Kim Đồng, Minh Khai, Student Cinema Center. Movie screenings in the evening will feature artists interacting with the audience. On this occasion, a talk and professional exchange at Vị Hoàng Hotel on the morning of November 22 was held to discuss the direction for Vietnamese cinema in the trend of integration and development, with the participation of many experts. face of international guests.
Festival followed the schedule below:
* November 21: Meeting of delegation leaders, press conference, offering incense at Thiên Trường Temple, outdoor music and opening of the Film Festival.
* November 22: Seminar on Vietnamese films, visit Bảo Lộc Temple and Phổ Minh Pagoda, interact with garment workers of Sông Hồng Company, interact with Nam Định audiences.
* November 23: Visit the memorial house of the late General Secretary Trường Chinh, meet the people of Xuân Trường district, meet Nam Định students, interact with the people of Vụ Bản district, attend the Mẫu temple festival.
* November 24: Visit Đinh - Lê temple relic, visit Nam Định city, closing ceremony of the film festival.

### Inadequacy

At this festival, the organizers distribute tickets to each agency and organization. This leads to the situation when the movie is shown, in one place the audience is all soldiers, in other places it is all workers or students. Thus, if there are lucky movies, they will find their right audience, and if there are unlucky movies, they will have to suffer from the wrong audience.
The film festival also received a series of criticisms about the organization, the lack of respect for the artists, the inadequacy in the judging criteria.
According to the information that the press present in Nam Định received before the closing ceremony, most of the members of the Jury gave their votes to "Mùa len trâu". The belief that "Mùa len trâu" won the award was further strengthened when director Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh won the Best Director award. The result of the Golden Lotus given to "Hà Nội, Hà Nội" surprised everyone present in the final night, apart from the judges. Before that, "Hà Nội, Hà Nội" was never on the list of strong candidates.

## Official Selection
### Feature film

| Original title | English title | Director(s) | Production |
| 2 trong 1 | 2 in 1 | Đào Duy Phúc | Galaxy Studio |
| Áo lụa Hà Đông | The White Silk Dress | Lưu Huỳnh | Phước Sang Film |
| Chiến dịch trái tim bên phải | Right Heart Campaign | Đào Duy Phúc | VFS |
| Chớp mắt cùng số phận | | Lê Ngọc Linh | Feature Film Studio I |
| Chuông reo là bắn | | Trương Dũng | Giải Phóng Film |
| Chuyện của Pao | Story of Pao | Ngô Quang Hải | Feature Film Studio I |
| Cú đấm | The Fist | Phạm Ngọc Châu | Giải Phóng Film |
| Dòng máu anh hùng | The Rebel | Charlie Nguyễn | Chánh Phương Film |
| Đẻ mướn | Giving Hired Birth | Lê Bảo Trung | Phước Sang Film |
| Đường thư | Letter Way | Bùi Tuấn Dũng | VFS |
| Giá mua một thượng đế | | Hồ Ngọc Xum | Giải Phóng Film |
| Giải phóng Sài Gòn | Liberation of Saigon | Long Vân | VFS, Giải Phóng Film |
| Gió thiên đường | Black Forest | Lâm Lê Dũng | Giải Phóng Film |
| Hà Nội, Hà Nội | Hanoi, Hanoi | Bùi Tuấn Dũng, Li Wei | Vivafilm, Yunnan Film Studio |
| Khi nắng thu về | When Autumn Sunlight Comes | Bùi Trung Hải | VFS |
| Mùa len trâu | The Buffalo Boy | Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh | Giải Phóng Film, 3B Productions, Novak Prod. |
| Năm ngày trong đời vị tướng | Five Days in Life of the General | Bùi Cường | VFS |
| Nữ tướng cướp | Gangsta Girls | Lê Hoàng | Galaxy Studio |
| Sài Gòn nhật thực | Saigon Eclipse | Othello Khánh | Feature Film Studio I |
| Sinh mệnh | Being | Đào Duy Phúc | Feature Film Studio I |
| Sống trong sợ hãi | Living in Fear | Bùi Thạc Chuyên | Feature Film Studio I |
| Thập tự hoa | Evergreen | Vương Quang Hùng, Lý Khắc Linh | A Chau Co., Ltd |
| Tiếng cồng định mệnh | | Lê Thi, Nguyễn Khắc Lợi | People's Army Cinema |
| Võ lâm truyền kỳ | | Lê Bảo Trung | Phước Sang Film |
| Vũ điệu tử thần | Dance of Death | Bùi Tuấn Dũng | VFS |
    Highlighted title indicates Golden Lotus winner.

## Awards
### Feature film

| Award | Award | Winner |
| Film | Golden Lotus | Hanoi, Hanoi |
| Film | Silver Lotus | The Rebel The Buffalo Boy Story of Pao |
| Film | Jury's Merit | Living in Fear The White Silk Dress Dance of Death |
| Film | Audience Choice | Hanoi, Hanoi |
| Best Director | Best Director | Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh – The Buffalo Boy |
| Best Actor | Best Actor | Quốc Khánh – The White Silk Dress |
| Best Actress | Best Actress | Đỗ Thị Hải Yến – Story of Pao Ngô Thanh Vân – The Rebel |
| Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actor | Hoàng Hải – Hanoi, Hanoi |
| Best Supporting Actress | Best Supporting Actress | Hạnh Thúy – Living in Fear |
| Best Screenplay | Best Screenplay | Lê Ngọc Minh, Gao Xufan – Hanoi, Hanoi |
| Best Cinematography | Best Cinematography | Dominic Pereira – The Rebel Lý Thái Dũng – Dance of Death |
| Best Art Design | Best Art Design | Lã Quý Tùng – The Rebel |
| Best Original Score | Best Original Score | Christopher Wong – The Rebel Nguyễn Thiện Đạo – Story of Pao |

#### Direct-to-video

| Award | Award | Winner |
| Film | Golden Lotus | not awarded |
| Film | Silver Lotus | not awarded |
| Film | Jury's Merit | Vị giáo sư tinh tướng Những chiếc lá thời gian |
| Best Director | Best Director | not awarded |
| Best Actor | Best Actor | Nguyễn Văn Bình – Đêm vùng biên |
| Best Actress | Best Actress | not awarded |
| Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actor | Mạnh Trường – Mùa thu không cô đơn |
| Best Supporting Actress | Best Supporting Actress | Nguyễn Thu Hà – Mùa thu không cô đơn |
| Best Cinematography | Best Cinematography | Trịnh Quang Tùng – Đêm vùng biên |
| Best Art Design | Best Art Design | Dân Nam – Mùa hạ không quên |
| Best Original Score | Best Original Score | Bảo Phúc – Những chiếc lá thời gian |

### Documentary/Science film
#### Documentary film

| Award | Award | Winner |
| Film | Golden Lotus | not awarded |
| Film | Silver Lotus | Họ hy sinh vì Tổ quốc Những nẻo đường công lý Còn lại với thời gian |
| Film | Jury's Merit | Không chỉ là thương hiệu Lửa thiêng Bài ca trên đỉnh Tà Lùng Ký ức người con gái |
| Best Director | Best Director | Đào Trọng Khánh – Lửa thiêng |
| Best Screenplay | Best Screenplay | Đào Thanh Tùng – Làng đàn ông |
| Best Cinematography | Best Cinematography | Hoàng Ngọc Dũng – Bài ca trên đỉnh Tà Lùng |

#### Science film

| Award | Award | Winner |
| Film | Golden Lotus | Sự sống ở rừng Cúc Phương |
| Film | Silver Lotus | Tìm lại dấu vết một kinh thành |
| Film | Jury's Merit | Mỹ Sơn, miền di sản Hành trình gen |
| Best Director | Best Director | Nguyễn Văn Hướng – Sự sống ở rừng Cúc Phương |
| Best Cinematography | Best Cinematography | Lê Quốc Hùng – Sự sống ở rừng Cúc Phương |

### Animated film

| Award | Award | Winner |
| Film | Golden Lotus | not awarded |
| Film | Silver Lotus | Ếch chia trăng Giấc mơ của Ếch Xanh |
| Film | Jury's Merit | Chuyến đi xa của Tắc Kè Chú Đốm trong thành phố |
| Best Director | Best Director | not awarded |
| Best Screenplay | Best Screenplay | Phong Thu – Ếch chia trăng |
| Best Animator | Best Animator | Phùng Văn Hà – Giấc mơ bong bóng Phạm Ngọc Tuấn – Chú gà đất |
| Best Original Score | Best Original Score | Nguyễn Như Thắng – Giấc mơ của Ếch Xanh |