A scene from the documentary ‘Children of the Mist’. Photo courtesy of Varan Vietnam

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese director Hà Lệ Diễm's Những đứa trẻ trong sương (Children of the Mist) is among 15 entries shortlisted for the Documentary Feature category at the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars), according to a release from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Thursday.

The 92-minute film is created by Varan Vietnam, who made Finding Phong and The Last Journey of Madam Phụng, two of Việt Nam's outstanding documentaries from the 2010s.

Throughout the film, viewers follow Di, an ethnic Mông girl, from her carefree and innocent childhood until the moment she becomes a young woman, caught in the midst of conflicts and collisions in the face of her people's customary "bride-kidnapping".

There are great expectations for Children of the Mist at the Academy Awards, as it has already won Best International Film at this year's Docaviv Film Festival in Israel and Best Directing for Hà Lệ Diễm at the International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA) in the Netherlands.

Earlier this year, another Vietnamese film, 578: Phát Đạn Của Kẻ Điên (578: Magnum), was also submitted for the Academy Awards, but did not make it to the top 15 in the International Feature Film category.

Director Diễm, born in the northern mountainous province of Bắc Kạn, is from the Tày ethnic minority, and is regarded by industry professionals as a director who has a very subtle viewpoint on the daily struggles faced by members of ethnic minorities.

A former TV reporter turned documentary filmmaker, she earned her degree from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities' Faculty of Journalism.

Diễm's second documentary, Con đi trường học, about an HIV-positive single mother from the Dao ethnic group, won the Silver Kite Award at the Việt Nam Cinema Association Awards (Kite Awards) in 2014. VNS