The poster of the documentary Me Toi (My Mother). Photo VNA/VNS

HÀ NỘI – The documentary Mẹ Tôi (My Mother), directed by journalist Việt Văn from Lao Động (Labour) newspaper, has been named among the June 2025 finalists of the Sweden Film Awards, according to the event's organisers.

The Sweden Film Awards are the first monthly and annual international film competition in Sweden, accepting entries from around the globe and offering awards in various categories, including documentary, comedy, experimental, and horror films.

Each month, winning films in the main categories are publicly screened and automatically qualify for competition at the Sweden Film Awards' annual festival.

According to the organisers, films are ranked in three tiers: winner, finalist, and semi-finalist. In June, 24 films were named finalists across various categories. My Mother was selected as a finalist in the First Documentary Film category.

This 37-minute film, directed and filmed by Việt Văn, with Đặng Thu Hà as screenwriter and producer, captures the twilight years of Associate Professor Dr. Lê Thị Đức Hạnh, a 91-year-old mother and literature scholar. Living in a modest and cramped room, her life is filled with simple worries and humble wishes that reflect the deeply human experience of ageing. Through her story, the film explores themes of maternal love and the fragile, uncertain nature of life at an age often described as "a flickering candle in the wind."

Previously, My Mother won the Best Short Documentary and Best First-Time Director awards at the Cine Paris Film Festival. It was also selected for screening at the Golden Short Film Festival (Italy) and the First-Time Filmmaker Sessions Volume 5, part of the Lift-Off Film Festival (the UK), where it was streamed on Vimeo for two weeks from May 19 to June 1, 2025. — VNA/VNS