Women's documentaries hit screen

Hanoi (VNA) - Three short documentary films on women are being shown at a cinema theatre in Hanoi on the occasion of International Women's Day, which falls on March 8.

All the films, Me Con Ha (Ha and Her Mother), Sao Binh Khong Lay Chong (Why is Binh not married?) and Con Di Truong Hoc (I Go to School), have been made by young female directors.

Me Con Ha and Sao Binh Khong Lay Chong made a strong impression on audiences when they were premiered last year. The two films are among the films produced by a filmmaking project of the Centre for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD), which was sponsored by the American Embassy in Vietnam.

Me Con Ha was directed by Pham Thi Thu Le when she was a student of Pham Hong Thai High School in Hanoi. It is about a 12-year-old girl who is adopted by a female drug addict. The little girl is constantly beaten by her foster mother's lover.

The film, which is very moving, shocked audiences when it was shown.

Le said it wasn't easy to shoot the scenes as domestic violence required very delicate handling. "I had to be very patient and sensitive," she said. "The audience can feel how I shivered with fear while holding the camera."

It won the Best Documentary award at the 2015 Golden Lotus Bud Awards.

Pham Minh Ha's Sao Binh Khong Lay Chong tells the story of a single woman who comes under pressure from her family and neighbours to get married.

Con Di Truong Hoc by Ha Le Diem won the Silver Kite Award from the Vietnam Cinematography Association in 2013. There was no winner of the Golden Silver Kite award.

The film features an HIV-positive Dao ethnic woman who carries her little son on bicycle to kindergarten every day.

The screenings began at 7pm on March 5 at TPD, 51 Tran Hung Dao Street. Film directors and the actors will interact with the audience after the screenings. The event has been jointly organised by TPD and Vietnam Hagar International.-VNA