It's a woman's world: A scene from Ngoc Vien Dong (The Pearls of the Far East), which begins screening today across the country. — Photo courtesy of Galaxy

HCM CITY — American-Vietnamese Cuong Ngo's first feature film, Ngoc Vien Dong (Pearls of the Far East), featuring the lives of seven Vietnamese women, will be screened today, International Women's Day.

Produced by US-based Oriental Productions and HCM City-based Wonderboy Entertainment JSC, the film was written by writer Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc, a member of the Viet Nam Writers Association.

Ngoc wrote the screenplay based on dozens of her short stories written since 1974.

The idea for the movie originated from a discussion between Ngoc and the film's director, Cuong Ngo, a graduate in scriptwriting and directing from the University of York in Canada.

The movie features the lives of seven Vietnamese women of different backgrounds, played by film stars Nhu Quynh, Ngo Thanh Van, Truong Ngoc Anh, Hong Anh and Kieu Chinh, and young actress Phuong Quynh. Scriptwriter Ngoc also appears in the film.

The film's cinematographer is the highly skilled Mikhail Petrenko, who was successful in capturing beautiful scenes of Ha Noi, Hoi An and Can Tho.

"Our film is for Vietnamese women," said Ngo after his film's premiere in HCM City on Monday.

On a cinema forum, a fan in HCM City recently wrote: "Ngoc Vien Dong left a very strong impression on audiences, thanks to perfect stories, images and music. It was like a poem in praise of the inner beauty of Vietnamese women."

Although Ngoc Vien Dong has not been shown in Viet Nam, it was screened at the California Independent Film Festival last month.

It won top prizes for Best Music and Best Cinematography, after beating two competitors from Bulgaria and the US.

The film is expected to lure female audiences, their partners and friends, to cinemas.

"We decided to screen Ngoc Vien Dong on Women's Day as a gift to women," said Ngo. — VNS