The Golden Kite Award (usually called the Oscar of Vietnam) has officially announced the winner. The Talent (original titled Thần Tượng) by first-time director Nguyen Quang Huy surprised everyone with six awards, including "Golden Kite for Best Feature Film", "Best Director:", "Best Supporting Actor", "Best Cinematography", "Best Production Design" and "Best film voted by the Press".
The impresario-turned-director Nguyen Quang Huy also defeated veteran directors such as Charlie Nguyen and Victor Vu. With its story revolving about friendship and rivalry in the music business, The Talent isn't really the taste of the Vietnamese Cinema Department, which always honors war films made by government funding. But that musical drama won anyway, leaving a question mark about the unusual choice of the judges.
Here is the full list of winners:
Golden Kite Award: The Talent
Silver Kite Award: Young Teo (Charlie Nguyen), Battle of the Brides 2 (Victor Vu)
Best Film Voted by the Press: The Talent
Best Director: Quang Huy (The Talent)
Best Actor: Thai Hoa (Young Teo)
Best Actress: Kathy Uyen (How to Fight in 6-inch heel)
Best Supporting Actor: Ngo Kien Huy (The Talent)
Best Supporting Actress: Thuy Linh (And He'll Return)
Best Cinematography: The Talent
Best Production Design: The Talent, The Legend Maker
Best Sound Effect: The Legend Maker
Best Music: The Legend Maker, The Race
Special Prize for War Film: The Legend Maker
Below is the trailer for the winning Vietnamese film: