Vietnamese drama “Skin of Youth,” centered on a transgender protagonist in 1990s Saigon, has won the Golden Peacock for best film at the 56th International Film Festival of India in Goa, marking a landmark victory for both Vietnamese cinema and trans-led storytelling at the government-backed event. The award, presented at Friday’s closing ceremony, carries a cash prize of ₹40 lakh for the film’s team.
Directed by Ash Mayfair, “Skin of Youth” follows San, a transgender sex worker who sings at a nightclub and saves for gender-affirming surgery, and Nam, an underground cage fighter trying to support both San and his young son. Set against Saigon’s criminal underworld, the film tracks the couple’s attempts to secure a future while facing violence and discrimination.
Festival materials describe the film as a Vietnam–Singapore–Japan co-production, tagged in the IFFI catalogue under “DeGendered” and “Films by Women.” In a festival conversation released by India’s press bureau, Mayfair called the project “an act of remembrance and affection,” saying it drew on the experience of a transgender younger sibling and aimed to capture questions of dignity, rights and fear that many in the community recognise.
“Skin of Youth” rose to the top of a 15-film international competition judged by an international jury chaired by Indian filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The jury praised the work for its performances, cinematography and design, calling it gripping from the first frame. Other major prizes went to Indian director Santosh Davakhar, who won best director for the Marathi thriller “Gondhal,” with acting honours for Jara Sofija Ostan in the Slovenian film “Little Trouble Girls” and Ubeimar Rios in the Colombian drama “A Poet.”
The win caps a strong festival run for “Skin of Youth.” The film, handled internationally by Bangkok-based sales outfit Diversion, previously picked up a Special Jury Award at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival and has drawn attention for its stylised portrait of underground fighting rings, nightclub performance and queer romance.
Its recognition in Goa arrives during a wider surge of trans narratives on major festival and awards stages. Earlier this year, musical crime drama “Emilia Pérez,” about a Mexican kingpin’s transition, scored a record 13 Oscar nominations for a non-English-language film and brought the first best actress nomination for a transgender performer, Karla Sofía Gascón, while also drawing scrutiny from some Mexican media and parts of the trans community. Against that backdrop, IFFI’s top prize for “Skin of Youth” signals growing space for trans-led stories within Asian festival circuits and underlines how juries are responding to work that links intimate character drama with contested political realities.
