For the first time in two years, a Vietnamese film is in the running for an Academy Award.
Department of Film officials recently submitted comedy-drama Trúng Số, also known by its English title Jackpot, to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 2016 Foreign Language award, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The film, which was released over Tet this past year, is based on the true story of a poor lottery ticket vendor named Lanh. In 2011, Lanh agreed to sell a number of lottery tickets to a local deliveryman, who arranged to pick up and pay for the tickets later in the day. While he was away, Lanh discovered that one of those tickets was, in fact, a prize winner worth VND6.6 billion (about US$300,000 back then). True to her word, Lanh tracked down the deliveryman and gave him the tickets as promised, despite the fact that she could have easily taken them for herself.
The comedy-drama received the highest score of several films adjudicated by the Department of Film's selection board, reports Zing.
Directed by former child star of 21 Jump Street Dustin Nguyen, who also stars in the film, Trúng Số showcases the talents of local actors Chi Tai and Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc.
Since 1993, Vietnam has submitted 11 films to the Oscars; the only film to receive an official nomination was Tran Anh Hung's The Scent of Green Papaya in 1994.
Vietnamese filmmakers are on a roll lately, with several films garnering international attention on the film festival circuit. Just last month, Victor Vu's state-commissioned film Tôi Thấy Hoa Vàng Trên Cỏ Xanh took home the Feature Films of 2015 award at China's Silk Road International Film Festival.
You can check out the trailer for Trúng Số here.
