Netting a prize: A scene from the 2012 Golden Kite nominee for best documentary film, Day Hang Khoi (Fishing). — Photo courtesy HTV

HCMCITY — Movie critics are tipping one of three documentary films produced by the HCM City Television Film Studio (TFS) for the national Golden Kite award this year.

As many as 41 documentary films and TV series have been nominated in the documentary category for the Golden Kite awards, which are presented annually by the Viet Nam Cinematography Association.

The three documentaries sent by the TFS, one of the region's leading State-owned film companies, are: Day Hang Khoi (Fishing), Nguyen Van Troi – Tinh Yeu Va Cuoc Song (Hero Nguyen Van Troi – Love and Life), and Mot Doi Nghien Cuu Hoang Sa (A lifetime Research on Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands.

The 24-minute Nguyen Van Troi – Tinh Yeu Cuoc Song, made by scriptwriter and director Nguyen Hoang, targets the youth in particular.

The film is a short history of the life of Nguyen Van Troi, a national hero in the American war – who was executed by the US-backed Sai Gon regime in 1964.

It recounts Troi's time as a young revolutionary in Sai Gon, before he was captured while trying to assassinate US Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara, who was visiting Sai Gon (now HCM City) in May 1963.

It includes conversations with his wife, Phan Thi Quyen, who joined the revolutionary movement after Troi's death.

Director Nguyen Hoang said he and his crew wanted to make a quality documentary film that would appeal to young audiences.

"We hope our production provides young people with useful lessons about life, love, honour and ambition," said Hoang.He said that his crew had worked hard to bring the story to life realistically. The biographical film is a frontrunner for the best documentary film award, critics feel.

Before being submitted for the Golden Kite awards, the film was well received by audiences when it was released early this year on HTV9 channel.

Another Golden Kite nominee, Mot Doi Nghien Cuu Hoang Sa, focuses on the work of historian Nguyen Nha, who spent 30 years researching and collecting documents that prove Viet Nam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.

The 28-minute film, directed by Pham Xuan Nghi, provides a deeper understanding of Viet Nam's history. Many of its scenes were filmed in Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

Critics say the 20-minute Day Hang Khoi seems to be aimed at the jury rather than the public with its special visual and sound effects.

Directed by Le Vu Hoang, the film is about the lives of fishermen living in a fishing village of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tra Vinh.

The 2012 Golden Kite awards will be granted to works in six categories: feature films, TV series, documentaries, cartoons, scientific films and cinematography research.

A jury panel that includes dozens of veteran directors and cameramen such as Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat, Nguyen Vinh Son and Nguyen Huu Phan will choose the winners from more than 90 nominations.

The award presenting ceremony will take place in Ha Noi on March 17. — VNS