Director Nguyen Hoang Diep has just been given the medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture Audrey Azoulay.

Director Nguyen Hoang Diep

Diep said she had received a congratulation letter from the French ambassador in Vietnam Jean Noel Poirier but didn't know what it was about. After asking a friend translate it for her, she was shocked.

According to Diep, she was notified about the nomination last year but had almost forgotten about it. She said, "I always feel the word chevalier or knight is something in the fairy tale only. It's unbelievable that I'm given such a magical title for the small work I've done. I've only done one feature film. I feel embarrassed actually."

The French Ministry of Culture also sent her congratulation letter which can be considered as an official decision on the award.

The Order of Arts and Letters was established in 1957 to recognise significant contributions to the French cultural inheritance or to tighten relationship between France and artists from other countries.

Nguyen Hoang Diep was born in 1982 and graduated from the Hanoi Academy of Drama and Cinematography in 2004. Diep has done various short films and documentaries about transgender issues or social evils affecting children. She also directed the popular sitcoms The Quartet of 10A8 or Chit and Pi before directing the first feature film Flapping in The Middle of Nowhere in 2014.

In 2008, Diep established Vblock Media Company to help independent filmmakers. She successfully sourced funds for her first film, Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, from various cinema and cultural funds including World Cinema Fund, Cinema du Monde, Sor Fond, CDEF and A&C.

Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere won the Fedeora Best Film Award at Venice International Film Festival and received favourable reviews at Toronto Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival. It was also admitted to various film festivals in Denmark, France, India and Taiwan.

Diep won Best Director award at International Film Festival Bratislava and went on to won many other awards in Vietnam.