Tro Tan Ruc Ro (Glorious Ashes) will represent Vietnamese cinema to participate in the preliminary round of the 2024 Oscars category for international film following an invitation by the US-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
If the work qualifies for the official competition round, it will compete in the Best Non-English Film category.
This work marks the return of director Bui Thac Chuyen after a 10-year absence since Loi Nguyen Huyet Ngai (The Curse of the Blood Wormwood).
| Phuong Anh Dao, playing Nhan, in a scene of "Glorious Ashes". |
Glorious Ashes, adapted from two short stories by novelist Nguyen Ngoc Tu: Tro Tan Ruc Ro and Cui Muc Troi Ve (Rotten Firewood Returns), tells the story of the devastated people of Thom Rom hamlet, a poignant fishing village in Ca Mau province.
Glorious Ashes revolves around the unusual love lives of three women. Their story presents a contrast between the tumultuous feelings inside and the tranquility of the land where they live.
"In my opinion, a movie that evokes empathy and delves into people's lives is a perfect movie. Audiences will embrace such works. I hope Glorious Ashes finds its audience and that they can connect with the movie as deeply as they connect with their own souls," said Director Bui Thac Chuyen.
In October 2022, the film debuted at the Tokyo International Film Festival and made it into the top 15.
A month later, the film won the top award - Montgolfière d'Or (Golden Balloon) - at the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France.
| Director Bui Thac Chuyen at the 'Glorious Ashes’ premiere in Hanoi. Photo: VNA |
In December 2022, the film was officially released to Vietnamese audiences and was warmly received by both critics and the general public.
"Director Chuyen not only captures the cultural richness of indigenous characteristics in Tu's literature but also depicts it in a cognitive space where the characters seem to be internally wounded," journalist and film critic Le Hong Lam wrote on Vietcetera.
Although Glorious Ashes is an art-house film, its box office performance lagged behind other commercial motion pictures, although it still earned over VND4.1 billion (US$178,000).
On September 9, Glorious Ashes won Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography at the Golden Kite Awards, organized annually by the Vietnam Cinematography Association. Chuyen also won the Best Director award.
The only Vietnamese film to receive an official Oscar nomination for Best International Feature Film was Tran Anh Hung's Mui Du Du Xanh (The Scent of Green Papaya) in 1993. Although The Scent of Green Papaya was produced in France, its director requested that it be submitted as Vietnam's representative for the Oscars.
Children of the Mist, by young director Ha Le Diem, is the first Vietnamese documentary to make the top 15 nomination list for the 2023 Oscars.
On September 21, Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung's film The Pot au Feu was selected by France to compete in the 2024 Oscars.
