Vietnamese movie "Father and Son" won prize at Fajr International Film Festival

The 36th edition of Fajr International Film Festival, the longest running film event in the Middle East, named its winners during a ceremony on Thu. night at Vahdat Hall, Tehran.

The curtain fell on this year’s edition, on 26 April. Vahdat Hall hosted the awards ceremony, attended by Iranian and international filmmakers and guests. The paternal themed film “Father and Son” (Cha cong con), directed by Luong Dinh Dung, has been honoured with Best Asian Film title, according to MNA.

Director Luong Dinh Dung.
Director Luong Dinh Dung.

The Fajr International Film Festival is an Iran's annual film festivals, held every February and April in Tehran, Iran. The festival, started in 1982, is under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Iran. It takes place every year on the anniversary of the Iranian revolution. 

Organizations contributing to the event include the Farabi Cinema Foundation, Iran film foundation, Press TV, HispanTV and Iran's multi-lingual film channel IFilm (TV channel). From 2015 on, the festival has been separated into a national festival in February and an international one in April, with the national one being notable for premieres of the most important domestic movies.

In 2016 and 2017, the “Father and son” film won many prizes at international cinema festivals, including the Excellent Full-Length Movie title at the Canadian Diversity Film Festival and the Best Cinematography title at the Barcelona Planet.

The “Cha cõng con – Father and son” film directed by Luong Dinh Dung has participated in many international cinema festivals.
The “Cha cõng con – Father and son” film directed by Luong Dinh Dung has participated in many international cinema festivals.

The Father and Son film, adapted from a story with the same title, released in 1995, was directed by director Luong Dinh Dung.

The movie tells a story about the life of a boy named Ca (Fish), and his lovely father, whose whole life is onboard in the river. Ca always dreams of touching clouds up in the sky and of visiting fancy lands as in fairy tales, told by the blind old man living nearby.

But, Ca, who has a fatal disease, does not have enough time to be mature or to wait till his father could catch enough fish for money to heal him….

The movie’s screenplay with the touching story has been edited for free by Hollywood screenwriter - Pilar Alessandra as the screenwriter was so fascinated by the story.

The “Cha cõng con – Father and son” film directed by Luong Dinh Dung has participated in many international cinema festivals.
The “Cha cõng con – Father and son” film directed by Luong Dinh Dung has participated in many international cinema festivals.

According to the directing board, they officially started shooting the film in Ha Giang province in 2013 but they had to delay their work not so long after the starting as the flooding context.

The shooting was restarted in 2015 and completed in 2016 in Bac Me, Ha Giang while some of scenes were done at The Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion with the participation of a majority of amateur actors, excluding Tran Hanh and Ngo The Quan, who were offered the Artist of Merit titles.

The main character of the film, Ca, was played by Do Trong Tan, an orphan boy from the Viet Tri SOS Children's Village.

By Phung Nguyen

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