Published:  00:00 Monday - March 15, 2010

Hundreds of stars and fans of national cinema joined the 8th Golden Kite awards at the Friendship Palace in Hanoi on March 14 to celebrate the victory of Dung Dot (Don’t burn), which won six Golden Kite awards.

Dung Dot, directed by Dang Nhat Minh, secured titles: Best Celluloid Feature Film, Best Sound Effects, Best Actress in a leading role, Best Décor, Viewers’ Choice, and Best Director. Mr Minh had received the Ho Chi Minh Prize on Cinema in 2007.

Dung Dot tells the story of a mother living in Hanoi, who, in the spring of 2005, came across her late daughter’s diary, kept by a US military officer for 35 years. Her daughter was a young female doctor working at a field hospital of the liberation army in South Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 until her death. The diary caused a sensation when it was published in Vietnam.

This was the first Golden Kite that was awarded to Minh Huong, the main actress in Dung Dot. She said in her acceptance speech: “if it had not been for the heroic efforts of Dang Thuy Tram during the American War, I wouldn’t have had this success today.”

The Best Actor title went to overseas Vietnamese Trinh Hoi for his very first role in 14 Ngay Phep (14 days off).

The eight nominated feature films at the National Cinema Centre and Ngoc Khanh Cinema have been screened free of charge to mark the first anniversary of Vietnamese Cinema day.

The Vietnam Cinema Association and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism co-hosted a conference on Vietnamese Cinema and global integration on March 13, where People’s Artist Dang Nhat Minh emphasized the importance of movie promotion in time of globalization.