HCM CITY – Vietnamese rapper Đen Vâu was granted two Mai Vàng (Golden Ochna) Awards at the 29th annual ceremony taking place at the HCM City Opera House on Thursday night (January 18).

The Mai Vàng Awards have been given by Người Lao Động (Labourer) Newspaper since 1991. The awards honour artists in the fields of film, music and theatre, and organisations who have made great contributions to the nation's cultural and arts activities in the year.

Đen won the award for favourite singer for his single Nấu Ăn Cho Em (Cooking for You), featuring young singer Pia Linh.

The music video was filmed in Mường Chà District in the northern province of Điện Biên where the rapper and his friends have collaborated to build a boarding school and cook lunches for local ethnic small students. It garnered more than four million views only after four days of its release.

All of the profits from this song have been spent on building schools and supporting disadvantaged children in Điện Biên.

Den also won the award for artist of the community.

The Mai Vàng award for favourite movie was given to Lật Mặt 6: Tấm Vé Định Mệnh (Face Off 6: The Ticket of Destiny) by film producer and director Lý Hải.

The work features a fight for a winning lottery ticket among a group of six young men. It earned over VNĐ200 billion (US$8.1 million) after two weeks in cinemas.

The movie’s leading actress Diệp Bảo Ngọc received the award for favourite actress, while the favourite actor award was given to Nhan Phúc Vinh from TV drama Đừng Làm Mẹ Cáu (Don’t Make Me Angry), which highlights motherhood.

The 36-episode drama Mặt Trời Mùa Đông directed by Trần Bửu Lộc was named the best TV series.

The film is a remake of the drama series Winter Sun of Turkey telling stories of love and revenge. It features young actors Steven Nguyễn and Quỳnh Lương, along with veteran actors Đại Nghĩa and Mỹ Uyên.

The HCM City-based Đại Việt Theatre’s cải lương (reformed opera) play Cô Đào Hát (True Actress), directed by Meritorious Artist Hoa Hạ, won the award for favourite theatre play.

The play depicts the career of Thanh, who works and devotes her life to expand her art, cải lương, a traditional genre of southern theatre which began in the early 1920s in the Mekong River Delta region.

It features cải lương stars Meritorious Artist Quế Trân and Võ Minh Lâm, who also got the award for favourite theatrical actor.

Lê Khánh, who played the leading role in the play Giáng Hương (Women in the Theatre) staged by the private Thiên Đăng Drama Troupe, was named favourite theatrical actress.– VNS