HA NOI (VNS)– The award-winning-movie Mui Co Chay (The Scent of Burnt Grass) won a prize from the Viet Nam Union of Art and Literature Association at an awards ceremony held on Saturday.

In this debut film by Nguyen Huu Muoi, which takes place in 1971, four students join the army and fight on the Quang Tri battlefield in the centre of Viet Nam. The script, by Hoang Nhuan Cam, draws inspiration from the diary of fallen soldier Nguyen Van Thac.

"It's gratifying to see that the film has been highly appreciated. I'm also moved because a portrait of Vietnamese young people, who gave up their youth for the cause of national liberation, has been shown widely to the international community," Cam said.

The film has received many accolades, including the Golden Kite for Best Picture at the Viet Nam Cinematography's Association awards in March 2012 and a Silver Lotus at the National Film Festival (the Golden Lotus was not awarded) last year. It was also nominated for the 85th Academy Awards in the category Best Foreign Language Film.

The Union awarded 72 prizes for outstanding work produced in 2012, including eight prizes exclusively for those working in arts and culture associations that belong to the Union. — VNS

associations that belong to the Union. -- VNS