HA NOI — Cuong Ngo, director of Ngoc Vien Dong (Pearls of the Far East), will pick up the Emerging Narrative Feature Film Maker Award at the fifth Geneva Film Festival in Illinois, the US, which runs between March 29 and 31.

Pearls of the Far East centres on the love lives of seven women of differing ages, encompassing expectations and disappointment, the pureness of love and sexual passion alongside childhood and growth.

Based on the stories of Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc, the film, launched in Viet Nam on March 8, will be screened at nearly 20 international film festivals this year. In February, it won the awards for Best Music and Best Cinematography, at the California Independent Film Festival.

Noted actors involved in the project include Truong Ngoc Anh, Nhu Quynh, Hong Anh, Ngo Thanh Van, Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc (the writer herself) and Kieu Chinh.

The annual Geneva Festival, kicked off in 2007, offers an opportunity to young independent filmmakers to gain exposure. This year's event will include 43 movies from around the world, with Pearls of the Far East being the only Vietnamese entry.

It will be screened at 9pm local time on March 30.-VNS