HA NOI — The documentary Arieu Ping of the Pa Co, a film on the traditional festival of the Pa Co ethnic group, won the first prize in the category of documentaries, sports broadcasts and promotional films at the closing ceremony of the sixth Festival of International Tourism and Sports Cinema and Television, held at the Ha Noi Opera House on Saturday.

"The festival received many more entries of better quality than in previous years," said the head of the festival organising board, Nguyen Xuan Vinh. "In each genre, we saw good entries and several which should have been more creative. However, all reflected the characteristic features of sports and tourism films."

Opening last Wednesday, the festival presented 70 films on sports and 75 films on tourism submitted by 25 domestic and 36 foreign film production companies and television networks.

The organising board divided the entries into two categories: documentaries, sports broadcasts and promotional films; and scientific and educational films.

The tourims promotion film Four Countries – One Destination, tracking an itinerary through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam, was also honoured, along with the sports films Piedra De Luiz, produced by Spain's Salomba Ventures, and Referee, produced by Sweden's Freedom from Choice.

In the category of scientific and educational films, the organising committee honoured Vuot Len So Phan (Overcome Destiny), a film depicting the incredible effort of paraplegic Vietnamese athletes, and Wrestling, a film produced by Switzerland's Elite Film Productions. — VNS