Published:  00:00 Wednesday - September 30, 2009

The film selection council and the Vietnam Cinematography Department, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on September 29 decided to choose “Don’t Burn” directed by Dang Nhat Minh to represent Vietnam at the 82nd Oscar Awards in the US.

Following the film selection council’s assessment, “Don’t Burn” satisfies all the conditions set by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to compete for Best Foreign Film. The film was on general release from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009 and shown in Vietnam for a week. The movie is also praised for its quality and content and has English subtitles.

The Cinematography Department received the invitation to send a film to the AMPAS on September 26. In previous years, the invitation was often sent to Vietnam in mid-July. This year, the letter came late. The Vietnam Cinema Agency had asked the AMPAS several times for the invitation. The AMPAS said that the letter of invitation had been sent a long time ago by post.

Following this, AMPAS allowed Vietnam to register its movie by email. As the deadline for registration is October 1, the film selection council had to meet on September 29 to choose a movie.

Recently, “Don’t Burn” beat 24 rivals to bag the Fukuoka Audience Award, the only prize at the Fukuoka International Film Festival in Japan.

The results of the 2010 Oscar nominations will be announced on February 2, 2010 and the awards ceremony is scheduled for March 7, 2010 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, US.