Vietnamese movie wins Special Jury Award at 71st Berlinale
Vietnamese movie “Vi” (Taste) by director Le Bao has surpassed 11 other films to win the Special Jury Award in Encounters category - a competitive section devoted to new cinematic vision - at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
A scene of "Vi" (Source: cineuropa.org)
Berlin (VNA) – Vietnamese movie “Vi” (Taste)by directorLe Bao has surpassed 11 other films to win the Special Jury Award in Encounters category - acompetitive section devoted to new cinematic vision - at the 71stBerlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
“Vi” is the only Vietnamese movie to join the festival,which takes place in two stages, from March 1 to 5 and from June 9 to 20, 2021.
“Vi” is about a Nigerian football player playing in the Vietnamese footballleague. After he breaks his leg, he is forced to leave the team and find a jobin a sex parlour to provide for his wife and son back home.
Bao got the idea for the film years ago based on his high-school memories. Atthat time, he saw black men on buses while going to school. Bao was obsessed bythese men who seemed to have overcome some significant challenges.
First-time filmmaker Bao has composed a delicate, sensory meditation thatconjures up many a thought in the viewer’s mind.
In “Vi” the actors are amateurs, including the call girls.
Earlier, the film won the “Most Potential Project” award at the SingaporeInternational Film Festival in 2020.
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Berlinale has developed a new festivalformat for its 71st edition and is delighted to thus be able to hold thefestival for both the industry and the general public.
From June 9-20, the Summer Special will give the generalpublic the opportunity to see the majority of the 2021 selected films in Berlincinemas in the presence of filmmakers./.
VNA
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