HÀ NỘI — Kỳ Nam Inn has checked in with international acclaim as the movie by Leon Lê was awarded the Shooting Star Award at the 45th edition of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF45).

Kỳ Nam Inn is a tender drama that follows a young translator and an older widow from opposing sides of the conflict as they navigate unspoken grief, desire and duty amid the rhythms of everyday life in HCM City.

"Each character in Kỳ Nam Inn is distinct and fully realised, their presence vital to the story’s emotional fabric," said the jury board. "The film manages to say so much with so little, offering audiences of today a poignant glimpse into another time and social order."

Through its beautiful weaving of poetry, music and literature, Kỳ Nam Inn not only tells a story, it reminds audience of the quiet power of artistry rooted in humanity.

Award-winning Liên Bỉnh Phát and Đỗ Hải Yến film two leading roles in the movie. Phát currently won Best Leading Actor at the Golden Bell Awards, Taiwan’s most prestigious entertainment award.

Yến won Best Leading Actress at the Việt Nam Cinematography's Golden Kite for Pao's Story in 2005. She starred as leading role in The Quiet American alongside Academy Award winners Sir Michael Caine and Brandon Fraser.

Kỳ Nam Inn is the second movie of Phát and filmmaker Leon Lê. His first motion picture Song Lang (Tap Box) won the Golden Lotus, the State’s most coveted prize for a cinematic work at the 21st Việt Nam National Film Festival (VNNFF).

Lê won best director while Song Lang grabbed the Samir Farid Prize for best feature film at the third edition of the Sharm El-Sheikh Asian Film Festival (SAFF).

Born in 1977 in Việt Nam, Lê moved to the US when he was 13 with his family and carved out a successful career in musical theatre on Broadway in New York as an actor before starting to write and direct short films.

Kỳ Nam Inn was part of HIFF45's New American Perspectives Programme. The 2025 Shooting Star Award panel includes Academy Award-nominated producer Diane Quon and producer and co-founder of Third Culture Content.

The movie will be released in Việt Nam on November 28. — VNS