Overcoming obstacles: A scene from the film Khoc Nguoc (Crying Inside Out), which won first prize in the short-film competition of the Breaking Down Barriers filmmaking contest.

HCM CITY  (VNS) — The film Khoc Nguoc (Crying Inside Out) from the 17 Production team won first prize in the short-film competition of the Breaking Down Barriers event held on Sunday by HCM City's Disability Research and Capacity Development Centre (DRD).

The film is about a girl who has a mobility impairment due to an accident. She is afraid she will not be able to attend university.

However, she finally overcomes her disabilities with determination and enters the university.

Unable to climb the steep stairs at school, she cries as she tries to reach the doorway.

At the end of the film, the girl asks for help "to climb the steps with my hands", urging authorities to increase access to the physically disabled.

The short film sends a message that people with disabilities can do whatever they want.

Positive thoughts help them take positive action, said film director Huynh Lap, a student at HCM City Academy of Theatre and Cinema.

He said that an environment without barriers would help them integrate into society.

"I have wanted to make a short film on people with disabilities and emphasize the barrier of stairs, which prevents them from doing what they want," he said.

The second prize was given to Giac Mo (Dream) from Dang Huy Tam and his friends, a team of students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Law University and University of Sciences.

The film Chuong Gio (Wind Chime) of Ngo Ngu Binh won third prize.

Also awarded were two creative prizes to Thu Thach Xe Lan (Wheelchair Hardships) from Nguyen Ngoc Tan and the cartoon Fly Butterfly from Duong Minh Loc.

The competition, which began in August, attracted 31 short films. All films were posted on the Facebook fanpage of DRD: www.facebook.com/drdvietnam.

Director Van Cong Vien, one of the competition's examiners, said the candidates' films had good cinematography, and the stories were real and touched audiences' hearts.

Luu Thi Anh Loan, the acting director of DRD, said that short films can give the disabled a voice, allowing them to express their concerns about hindrances in transport, education, work and entertainment.

According to a survey conducted by the centre, only 78 of 1,800 civil architectural works in HCM City districts 1 and 3 are accessible to wheelchair users.

These include office buildings, people's committees, schools, health clinics, cultural houses, pagodas, cinemas, supermarkets, restaurants and hotels.

The number of buses with a low floor for people with disabilities has failed to meet the need, she said.

This is the biggest barrier for the disabled to take part in society. Without transport, they cannot go to school, work or entertainment sites.

A report from the National Coordinating Council on Disabilities in Viet Nam, released in 2012, showed that 4,000 buses are operating in HCM City.

Only 117 buses have low and semi-low floors which allow people in wheelchairs to use. — VNS