A short stop-motion movie made by two Vietnamese students has just won the top award at the worldwide PLURAL+ Video Festival held by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, under the aegis of the United Nations.

Huynh Thanh Thanh (L) and Pham Phuong Anh, Photo: Tuoitre

Following the contest’s topic of the themes of migration, diversity, identity and integration, the 5-minute movie, titled “Say Hi to pencil”, tells the story of how a pencil adapts to life with a family of highlighters who always want to kick him out.

The film was created by two students at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Pham Phuong Anh and Huynh Thanh Trang.

In creating the movie, the girls used 1,000 photos and put clay on the pens to make them look like human beings.

It took them almost three sleepless days and nights to finish the movie.

“Though we only slept around four hours within three days, those days were pretty meaningful to us,” the two said about their passion for the movie.

The two girls, both 20, are part of a group named “Sleepingcatfilm”. They said the knowledge they acquire from the news media gives them many ideas for films.

Their first movie, “Green Journey”, was also a stop-motion film with 2,000 photos. It brought them the first prize at the nationwide Student Amateur Filmmaking Festival last March.

The young girls have won many other awards, including the third and consolation prizes at the city’s Student Filmmaking Contest this year with the movies “Khi Yeu (When we fall in love), and “Xin loi” (Sorry), respectively.

“We’re planning to make a movie about the life of laborers”, the girls share.

Formed in 2009, the PLURAL + Video Festival aims to empower young people to speak out on the issues of migration and diversity while being heard by others all over the world.

Source: Tuoitre