The Third Wife is about the struggle of 14-year-old May who enters into an arranged marriage with a much older man in late 19th-century rural Vietnam. (Photo: tiff.net) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The debutfeature by Nguyen Phuong Anh (a.k.a. Ash Mayfair) – a writer-director based inNew York and Vietnam – The Third Wife, won the NETPAC award at theToronto International Film Festival 2018.
The award is presented to the best Asian featurefilm by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC).
Set in late-19th century rural Vietnam, TheThird Wife is the story of 14-year-old May (played by actress NguyenPhuong Tra My) who struggles with family politics, her own agency, and theprospect of motherhood after she becomes the third wife of a wealthy landowner.
The 96-minute feature stars renowned Vietnamesefemale actresses like Nhu Quynh, Tran Nu Yen Khe, Maya, Tra My and LamThanh My.
“Ash Mayfair’s debut feature The ThirdWife signalled the emergence of a young female director-writer whoseaesthetic sensibilities, cinematic language, and extraordinary ability toilluminate the past for contemporary audiences augur well for the future ofVietnamese and world cinema,” remarked the jury.
Before winning the NETPAC award, the filmreceived the Best Art Film Project prize at the Gap Go Mua Thu 2015 (AutumnMeeting) forum for independent film producers, the Non-Hong Kong Project Awardat the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, White Light Post-Production Awardas well as an award from the Jerome Foundation in New York.
The Third Wife will compete in the New Directors category at the SaintSebastien International Film Festival to be held in Spain on September 21-29,and will be Asian premiere at the A Window on Asian Cinema programme at theBusan International Film Festival that will be held on October 4-13.
Ash Mayfair was born in Vietnam and educated inthe UK and the US, receiving a Master of Fine Arts in film-making from the NYUTisch School of the Arts. Her short films include The Silver Man, Sam, Heartof a Doll, Grasshopper, and Lupo. The ThirdWife is her debut feature film.-VNS/VNA
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