Vietnamese film wins two prizes at Venice Film Festival

The international jury awarded the Iwonderfull Grand Prize, the highest honour in this category, to the Vietnamese entry.

The film also received the Circolo del Cinema Verona Award for the most innovative work.

The judging panel praised the film for both its originality and creativity, highlighting its blend of comedy, social tragedy, and fantasy elements, as well as its nuanced portrayal of the mother-daughter relationship.

Actress Tu Oanh starring in the film shared that she couldn’t hide her joy when Don’t Cry, Butterfly was announced as the winner at the Venice Critics’ Week.

Both written and directed by Duong Dieu Linh, the film is a co-production between Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It follows the life of a housewife who uses voodoo in an attempt to get her cheating husband to fall back in love with her, but instead accidently invites a mysterious presence into the house.

It explores recurring themes of womanhood, family relations, and cultural traditions, all of which are told with a quirky sense of humour and making use of magical realism.

The film is one of seven selected from 700 worldwide to take part in the Venice Critics’ Week.

Held annually in Venice, the film festival is the world's oldest and is one of the Big Five International film festivals worldwide, alongside the Big Three European Film Festivals, the Toronto Film Festival in Canada, and the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.

In 1951, the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) formally accredited the Venice Film Festival. This year marks the 81st edition of the festival, running from August 28 to September 7.

Moving forward, the film “Mưa trên cánh bướm” will represent Vietnam at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival this month and the 2024 Busan International Film Festival in October as part of the A Window into Asian Cinema programme.