Vietnamese film wins Toronto International Film Festival award

ABO/NDO – Vietnamese film “The Third Wife” has won the NETPAC award at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018.

A scene from the film “The Third Wife”

The award is presented to the best Asian feature film chosen by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC).

The film is directed by Nguyen Phuong Anh (Ash Mayfair). It received its debut screening at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018, held in Toronto, Canada, from September 6 to 16.

Set in rural Vietnam in the late-19th century, The Third Wife is the story of 14-year-old May (played by Nguyen Phuong Tra My) who struggles with family politics, her own agency, and the prospect of motherhood after she becomes the third wife of a wealthy landowner.

The 96-minute feature stars renowned Vietnamese actresses such as Tran Nu Yen Khe, Le Vu Long, Mai Thu Huong, Nguyen Phuong Tra My, Nguyen Thanh Tam and Lam Thanh My.

“Ash Mayfair’s debut feature The Third Wife signalled the emergence of a young female director-writer whose aesthetic sensibilities, cinematic language, and extraordinary ability to illuminate the past for contemporary audiences augur well for the future of Vietnamese and world cinema,” remarked the jury.

Before winning the NETPAC award, the film received the Best Art Film Project prize at the Gap Go Mua Thu 2016 (Autumn Meeting) forum for independent film producers, the Non-Hong Kong Project Award at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, the White Light Post-Production Award, as well as an award from the Jerome Foundation in New York.

“The Third Wife” will compete in the New Directors category at the Saint Sebastien International Film Festival being held in Spain from September 21-29, and will be the Asian premiere at the A Window on Asian Cinema programme at the Busan International Film Festival that will be held from October 4-13.

Ash Mayfair was born in Vietnam and educated in the UK and the US, receiving a Master of Fine Arts in film-making from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her short films include The Silver Man, Sam, Heart of a Doll, Grasshopper, and Lupo. The Third Wife is her debut feature film.

(Source: NDO)