HÀ NỘI — Iranian film The Dark Room, directed by Rouhollah Hejazi, won the Best Feature-length Film Award at the Hà Nội International Film Festival (HANIFF) 2018 during the closing ceremony yesterday.

The film, which addresses the urgent world problem of child sexual harassment, left the audience feeling emotional.

Hejazi was born in 1979. He directed his first short film, Start, in 1995, then followed up with ten more, shown at domestic and international festivals. He directed television dramas before making his debut feature film Among the Clouds in 2008, which garnered several awards at festivals around the world. He became a popular name at international film festivals.

The ceremony was designed as an art performance with participation of singers Will, Han Sara and Thanh Lam.

During the festival, local audiences had a chance to enjoy a wide range of Vietnamese and international films. Outdoor screenings of three films from Việt Nam, Argentina and Australia attracted thousands of people.

The HANIFF Campus and the Film Project Market also closed on October 30. In the Campus category, the organising board awarded three excellent students in two categories (cast and director/producer). The Best Student Director/Producer award was given to Crisanto Calvento (Philippines) who expressed his excitement when receiving the award because he has spent just two years in the cinema industry. Before that he worked on television, so this is a great motivation for him.

In the Project Market category, the best project was awarded to the Philippines’s John Denver Trending directed by Arden Rod. The judges’ award was given to Good Morning, and Good Night! from Vietnamese director Chung Chí Công. — VNS

List of HANIFF awards:

Award for Best young Director of Short Films in Competition: Nguyễn Lê Hoàng Việt, film Roomate (Việt Nam)

The Jury Award for Short Film in Competition: Two Children, director Tạ Quỳnh Tư (Việt Nam)

The Best Short Film Award: Su, director Aizhana Kassymbek (Kazakhstan)

Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema: Student A, director Lee Kyung-sub (South Korea)

The Best Leading Actor Award: Christian Bables, film Signal Rock (Philippines)

The Best Leading Actress Award: Phương Anh Đào, film Summer in Closed Eyes (Việt Nam)

Award for Best Director of Feature - length Film in competiton: Piotr Domalewski, film Silent Night (Poland)

The Jury Award for Feature - length Film: Pale Folks, director Vladimir Todorovic (Serbia)

The Best Feature - length Film Award: The Dark Room, director Rouhollah Hejazi (Iran)

The People’s Choice Award for Vietnamese Film in Contemporary Vietnamese Film Programme: My Mr Wife, director Charlie Nguyễn (Việt Nam)