'Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass' submitted for Oscar

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) has selected 'Toi Thay Hoa Vang Tren Co Xanh' (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass), a film directed by Victor Vu, to represent the country’s cinema in vying for the Best Foreign Film prize at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017.

 

According to the Ministry, the film was selected from four candidates, with the two finalists being Victor Vu’s film and Cuoc Doi Cua Yen (“Yen’s life”) by director Dinh Tuan Vu.

The films were assessed by an eight-member jury, who observe the country’s cinematic activities and carried out their evaluations in a careful and objective manner.

 

Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass was produced at the request of the MoCST’s Department of Cinema. Based on the novel of the same name by best-selling author Nguyen Nhat Anh, the film offers a return to childhood through the story of two young brothers in rural Central Vietnam in the 1980s.

 

After its release in 2015, the film became an unprecedented phenomenon in Vietnam’s cinema as its box-office record reached nearly VND 80 billion (US$3.59 million) after one month hitting the big screen. The film won much praise from both arts critics and audiences.

 

The film was Vietnam’s only representative at the TIFF Kids International Film Festival, which is part of the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in April. Besides this, it also bagged the best film award at the second Silk Road International Film Festival in September 2015 and the Golden Kite at the Vietnam Film Festival last year.

 

Hong Kong– and Amsterdam-based Fortissimo Films, which handled international sales for the film, introduced the film at the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival.

 

Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass is Vietnam’s sixth film to be submitted to the Academy Awards since 2007. The previous ones all failed at the first round.

 

The deadline for all submissions is October 3. The nine finalists will be shortlisted next January and the five nominees will be announced later that month. The winner will be announced at the Oscars on February 26, 2017.

 

(Source: NDO)