2020 Oscars: Vietnam Selects ‘Furie’ for International Feature Film Category

Vietnam has chosen the actioner Furie as its submission for the international feature film category at the 2020 Oscars.

The film stars and was produced by Veronica Ngo (Star Wars – the Last Jedi) and tells the story of a former gangster fighting to retrieve her daughter from the clutches of child traffickers.

The Le-Van Kiet-directed production showcases the unique skills of Vietnam’s national martial art known as vovinam and became the country’s biggest-ever box office earner with a collect of $8.6 million (200 billion dong) from its domestic release.

Produced by Studio 68, it was also distributed across 600 cinemas in the U.S. by Well Go USA Entertainment, adding $600,000 to its coffers, while it also picked up a streaming deal with Netflix.

Vietnam has been submitting films to the Oscars since 1993 when Tr?n Anh Hùng’s The Scent of Green Papaya picked up a nomination. That film remains the only Vietnamese production to make the shortlist in the foreign — or now international — category.

The 92nd Academy Awards are set to take place Feb. 9, 2020.