VietNam Life Style: 11/28/10

Friday, December 3, 2010

Brazilian film week in Hanoi

A week-long festival of Brazilian films starts on Saturday (Dec.4) at the National Cinema Center in Hanoi till Dec.10.

Brazilian cinema started in 1889 with the Rio de Janeiro based film-maker, Afonso Segreto. Since then Brazil has made a name for producing comedies in the 1950s, musical animations and films influenced by the French New Wave of the 1960’s.

The festival which is called “Panorama of Brazilian Movies” will screen seven films that are suitable for all ages including Romance; Os desafinados (Out of Tune ); O auto da compadecida (The Passion of Christ); Meu nome nao e Johnny (My Name is Not Johnny); Noel, o poeta da Vila (Noel-The Samba Poet); Dois filhos de Francisco (Two Sons of Francisco); and the documentary Peoes (Metal Workers) by Eduardo Countinho about the labor strikes of 1979-1980.

All films will be screened in Portuguese with Vietnamese subtitles. Free tickets are available at National Cinema Center, 87 Lang Ha Street, Hanoi or at the Brazilian Embassy, The Apartment T-72, 12 Thuy Khue Street in Hanoi.

Vietnam Fashion Week unveils Spring-Summer designs

Wife of the consul general of France in HCMC, Boivineau Bich Hue inspects a crocodile leather wallet by Ton Phat Crocodile at the fashion-week press conference on Thursday - Photo: Kieu Giang

Twenty Vietnam designers will unveil nearly 1000 of their latest designs at Vietnam Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2011 at the Consulate General of France in HCMC’s District 1 at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Veteran designers like Minh Hanh, Viet Lien, Trong Nguyen and Quang Huy will join colleagues from Viet Thang Corporation - Hong Vuong, Van Khoa and Bich Ha and free-lance designers including Tuan Huy, Duc Hai, Van Vo, Hung Viet, Cuong Thinh, Thanh Huyen, Hien Le Hai Long-The Huy, Le Hang, Minh Minh, Bao Kim, Minh Hoa and Dang Khoa at the parade.

“I have witnessed the development of Vietnam’s fashion industry and I’m truly impressed by the creativeness of young and talented designers,” Gérard Boivineau, the French consul general in HCMC, said at the press conference on Thursday.

“That’s why I and the consulate general of France are honored to host the Vietnam Fashion Week for the second year since the first one in 200,” Boivineau said.

Together with Viet Thang Corporation other local accessory-makers like Vitco shoes, Ton Phat crocodile leather, Phuc Khanh jewelry and shoe-maker Le Huy Tien will be sending their creations down the catwalk.

The collections hail a return of bright colors and checks. Materials like crocodile leather, python leather, precious stones and Viet Thang’s new 3D textiles will make the show uniquely Vietnamese.

The Vietnam Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2011 is organized by the Consulate General of France in HCMC, Vietnam National Textile Garment Group (Vinatex), Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (Vitas) and Vietnam Leather & Footwear Association (Lefaso).

The event will be held in the consulate, 6 Le Duan Boulevard, District 1, HCMC.

Miss Earth committee names judging panel

Hollywood actress Rachel Grant, one of the 10 members of the Miss Earth jury - Photo: Official website of Rachel Grant

The organizing committee of Miss Earth beauty pageant 2010 on Wednesday announced the 10-member judging panel for the crowning night which will take place at the Vinpearl Land in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province on Saturday.

The jury consists of seven international members and three local members. They are Michael Jeffrey Rosentha, well-known photographer in Hollywood and guest judge of the U.S. reality show America’s Next Top Model; Marie J.Y.E.Collart, actress, publicist and spokesperson to American and French Stars; Rachel Grant, Hollywood actress (starring in the movie Die Another Day) and eco and social activist; Ella Bella, Youth Ambassador for the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), Eddy Tan, Vice President, Programming for Fox International Channels (Star World, FX, [V], tvN & Nat Geo Music Asia), Karla Paula Henry - Miss Earth 2008; Nenad Bratic, famous architect of Aedas Interiors Company in Hong Kong.

Three Vietnamese judges are Pham Sanh Chau, secretary general of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, Hoang Dai Thanh,
editor-in-chief of Thoi Trang Tre (young fashion) magazine and Nguyen Nhu Quynh, artist, violinist and dancer, many of her designs were selected for exhibition at the Musée de Mode, Paris in 2010.

84 contestants of the beauty pageant are now training for the dancing and performing skills for the crowning night at the Vinpearl Land musical fountain stage. It is expected that over 5,000 will attend.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

HCMC non-profits hold event for Int’l Volunteer Day

Volunteers from the organizing committee discuss plans for Sunday’s International Volunteer Day event in HCMC - Photo: Courtesy of LIN Center for Community Development

A special event for International Volunteer Day will be held by not-for-profit organizations this Sunday Dec. 5 with 200 volunteers expected to attend.

Event organizers said the event aims to show the NPOs’ appreciation and encouragement for the many ways volunteers help build strong communities.

“Volunteers in Vietnam mainly just want to help and support the community,” said Pham Truong Son, Event Coordinator and Community Liaison at LIN Center for Community Development, one of the organizers.

Son said the 12 NPOs that were organizing the event had thousands of volunteers to thank for the work they have done through their volunteering projects. The event will be special because more than 80% of the NPOs that are organizing the event for International Volunteer Day are Vietnamese, Son said.

The NGOs that are organizing the event are Blue Dreams Volunteer Group, DRD Volunteer Club, Habitat for Humanity Vietnam, Health Volunteers Organization, IVC (International Volunteer Club), LIN Center for Community Development, SIFE Economic University HCMC, Smile Group, Suc tre (Youth Energy) Group, Sunshine Volunteer Group, Tri thuc tre (Young Experienced) Group, Volunteers for Peace Vietnam and the HCMC Women’s Charity Association.

Only two of the NGOs in the organizing committee, Habitat and Sunshine Volunteer Group were international, the Lin community liaison officer said.

The program to be held at the International International School Saigon Pearl in HCMC (92 Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Ward 22, Binh Thanh District) from 8:30 am to 11:30 am will have booths and games plus a forum for volunteers and NPO representatives to share their stories.

It will be much bigger than last year’s small gathering for volunteers, said Dana Doan, full time Advisor to the LIN Center.

Volunteers in Vietnam not only give their time they also provide important skills.

Son said LIN had about 60 active skilled volunteers who were indispensable to the organization, because they provided important services for free that the new NPO could not afford to pay for.

That included online volunteers who help with translating, website design, graphic design and financial management.

Ms. Bao, vice-head of Blue Dreams said, “The event is also a great chance for me and my colleagues to meet our counterparts at other volunteer host organizations to learn new approaches to attracting new volunteers and keeping existing volunteers engaged and motivated.”

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Vietnamese wins Australian education award

K'Chin has been named Queensland's international student of the year.

HA NOI – Vietnamese K'Chin, 21, who underwent life-changing surgery in Australia, has been named Queensland's international student of the year.

Born in a remote village near Da Lat in central-highland Lam Dong Province, K'Chin broke his leg as an infant and spent his first 13 years crawling or hopping because he could not walk.

Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children took him to Australia in 2002 and provided him with both medial treatment and an education.

"I couldn't walk so I just crawled until the age that I could hop on one leg, and I hopped for 13 years," he told an Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter.

Now he can not only walk, he has been nominated his school captain for next year.

"I think that education and being educated is the most important part of our life," said the young man who never went to school in Viet Nam let alone spoke English.

"It's a great honour," he said of the award made by the Queensland Education Department.

"I came to Australia for surgery. It's so wonderful that I am awarded the title."

K'Chin thinks all children should have an education. – VNS

The reality of living with HIV

Speaking for themselves: The exhibition allows visitors to listen to people with HIV tell their own stories. — VNS/Photo

HA NOI — The exhibition Pain and Hope tells the stories of people living with HIV and is one of ten national events being held this year to mark the 20 years since the first case of HIV/AIDS case was diagnosed in Viet Nam.

Since that time, public awareness and education about HIV education have increased considerably, but this was the first time the HIV epidemic has been approached from the perspective of a museum exhibition, said museum director Vo Quang Trong.

"The exhibition aims to encourage wide discussions in society about the HIV epidemic and related issues and create an opportunity for people living with HIV and people working in HIV prevention to share and exchange experiences and professional knowledge, as well as to look back at the response to AIDS by people living with HIV, the Government, and society as a whole in the past 20 years," said Trong.

Through the images and voices of health officers, journalists, volunteers, religious organisations, scientists, and people living with HIV, the exhibition uses the museum language to guide visitors through different stages of emotion experienced by people living with HIV and those working in HIV prevention, he said.

"This is extremely difficult work, but the lessons of the world can't be applied in Viet Nam," said Nguyen Thi Hue from HCM City's AIDS Prevention Committee. "Although peer models are very successful, it depends on the culture of each country. We took things step-by-step. At first, I simply had to obey what my organisation was telling me. Then I began to understand and sympathise with the people."

Materials for this exhibition were gathered from three research sites in the northern city of Hai Phong, the northern province of Dien Bien and HCM City. Materials also came from organisations and individuals in Ha Noi, the northern province of Ninh Binh, the central province of Quang Binh and the southern province of An Giang.

The resulting exhibition has been arranged into sections entitled Pain, Stigma, Will to Live, Joint Forces and Grateful Hearts.

Nguyen Thi Khuyen, 13, a girl from HCM City who lost her mother to AIDS, spoke about her plastic piggy bank displayed in the exhibition.

"My adoptive mother sometimes gives me money to put in a piggy bank, so I take the money out once a year and buy offerings on the anniversary of my mother's death," Khuyen said.

Visitors to the exhibition have left many messages in a guestbook for those afflicted with HIV.

"You are very courageous that you can face the stigma and society's prejudice," wrote one visitor. "Be patient and strong to show how valuable you are."

The exhibition, co-sponsored by the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology and the Centre for Community Health Research and Development, runs through June of next year.

During the event, the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology is also holding ongoing educational activities and events for young visitors to help them experience the exhibition space and more fully understand the HIV epidemic in Viet Nam. — VNS

Disabled Chinese dancers take stage

Illuminating: The Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe performs a dance entitled Goddess of Mercy with Hundreds of Arms and Thousands of Eyes. — Photo courtesy China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe

HA NOI — A troupe of 50 disabled youth performers from China will appear at the Ha Noi Opera House tomorrow evening, with a simulcast on the giant screen outside.

The China Disabled People's Performing Arts Troupe will perform the dances Goddess of Mercy with Hundreds of Arms and Thousands of Eyes and My Dream.

The vocal, musical and dance performances of the troupe cover such styles as ballet, Latin dance, and modern dance, as well as elements from Peking opera and musical drama. New forms, such as sign-language poems and dances by the visually impaired are also included in their shows.

The 110-member troupe was founded in 1987 and was the subject of a documentary film entitled My Dream. It has been honoured by the Disabled People's Sixth International World Assembly as "image ambassadors for 600 million people with disabilities around the world", and by UNESCO as "Artists for Peace".

Tai Lihua, who is hearing-impaired, became a dancer with the troupe at the age of 15 and said she was happy to be a dancer.

"There are hundreds and thousands of outstanding artists in my country," Tai said.

"Disabled artists have been privileged to perform in famous theatres in more than 40 countries. Our country has made this possible for us, and many kind people have helped us realise our dream.

Our success in this special art is an expression of the Chinese culture and humane spirit."

The troupe has presented beauty to the world, said Liu San-zhen, counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Viet Nam. Performers have brought audiences the joy of art, enlightenment of heart and emotional interaction beyond any barriers of language, culture or nationality, said Liu.

The troupe's Ha Noi appearance coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and China. — VNS

Ceremony honours revolutionary historian

HA NOI — A ceremony commemorating the 125th anniversary of the death of historian Pham Than Duat (1825-85) was held at Ha Noi's Literature Temple on Monday, honouring his great contributions to Vietnamese people's revolution against the French colonialists.

Duat, who was born in the northern province of Ninh Binh, died on November 29, 1885, after the French had sent him into exile on the island of Tahiti.

Duat's life was that of a patriotic intellectual. Born into a poor family, he succeeded in royal exams and worked for King Tu Duc as a royal mandarin. He was put in charge of the Temple of Literature and also served as a tutor to princes. He also contributed substantially to an 1884 book of national history that remains a valuable reference source for current historians.

He became embroiled in the revolution, when he was assigned to resist a French invasion by senior mandarin Ton That Thuyet (1839-1913). Duat and his family were captured by the French in July 1885.

Ha Noi to host National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010

HA NOI — The National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010 representing Viet Nam's fine arts industry will open in Ha Noi today.

On display will be representative works from the 2006-10 period to gauge fine arts development during the process of national industrialisation and modernisation towards global integration.

More than 863 works of art by 735 artists including paintings, graphics, installations and sculptures will be displayed to reflect contemporary life and society from different angles.

The exhibition will run until December 15 at the Viet Nam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts, Hoa Lu Street, Ha Noi. — VNS

The sour taste of a different pho

Delicious pho chua from Ban Co Street comes with the chicken broth on the side - Photo: Thanh Hang

The rain was falling when I saw the “pho chua” (sour noodle) street stall was still open. I was so happy that I decided to have two bowls. The stall was normally shut when I went past at 6 p.m., but the owner had decided to close late, so I could get out of the traffic jam and try this new soup that I’d been eyeing off for weeks.

I had been introduced to the stall out of sheer curiosity. My friend promised me a strange taste that I would not be able to find anywhere else in Saigon. He said it originated from Lang Son, on the border. But when I asked him to describe in detail, he only scratched his head. “It’s quite difficult to describe it exactly. It’s kind of a mixture of many familiar ingredients, yet it tastes different from any food I have ever tried,” he said. That was all I could dig out of him, so he said I would have to try it myself.

When the bowl of pho chua was placed in front of me, it was just like he said. I recognized all the ingredients but it was an odd mix.

At the base of the small bowl, there was a thick layer of thin strips of fresh swamp cabbage and shredded cucumber, a combination not found in any other dishes of South Vietnam especially not pho. Pho is usually served with special veggies and herbs, such as culantro leaves, basil leaves and bean sprouts. And instead of the traditional beef or chicken meat, I found boiled pork and chicken offal, some shredded chicken, roasted peanuts, fried onion and spicy crackling on the top.

In fact, apart from the pho (noodle) itself, the bowl of pho chua bore no resemblance to traditional pho. I suppose the secret of this dish is the thick tamarind sauce that is the sour part of the dish’s name. I don’t doubt it’s the smell of the sauce that seduces so many passers-by to become regular customers.

So there I was, ensconced in the cozy house while it rained outside, I scooped up a mouthful of pho together with a small slice of chicken liver, took a slurp from a spoon of hot chicken soup. Then I texted the friend who had taken me there, “Well, finally I understand why you do not hesitate to swim through the flooded streets of Saigon to get here for a bowl of pho chua. It’s so yummy, and I’m so warm and happy now.”

The pho chua stall is at the 242 alley, Ban Co Street, District 3, HCMC. The stall opens from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Festival honours buffalo boys

Revival: Buffalo boys enjoy folk games at a festival in honour of rural children who look after buffaloes at Phong Le Village last weekend.

Hard work: Children with their buffaloes in Phong Le Village. — VNS Photos Van Thu Bich

DA NANG — A unique folk festival celebrating the rural children who look after buffalo has been revived near the central city of Da Nang for the first time in nearly 75 years.

The festival, at Phong Le Village in Hoa Vang District's Hoa Chau Commune, gathered 400 locals last weekend with traditional worship customs and folk games as well as performances of tuong (classical drama).

According to local Ngo Van Nghia, this was the first time the festival had been held since 1936.

"The festival not only praises the buffalo children but also celebrates the solidarity of all the working people in the village and wishes for a lucky harvest and wealth for everyone," Nghia said.

"The festival used to be held every three years," said researcher Van Thu Bich from the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism who was the head of the festival preservation team and vows that it has been re-created exactly the same as the original.

"We will now try our best to hold it every two years in order to preserve the local intangible cultural heritage as well as create a tourism product for tourists visiting Da Nang."

For the revived festival, the village was lit up last Saturday with hundreds of lanterns and models of agricultural tools hanging all over the village. Early morning on Sunday, a procession of the 60 buffalo children travelled around the fields of the village, calling out wishes for a good harvest and creating a atmosphere full of cheer and loud laughter. They then participated in folk games like tug-of-war and catching ducks while blindfolded.

They were chosen from 17 clans in the village to take the central roles in various ceremonies at the festival, such as a procession bearing a likeness of the god of agriculture from a holy islet in the village called Con Than to the village's communal house.

Legend holds that ducks were unable to move their feet off the land when they reached the islet, so the locals were afraid to visit it. One day, a herd of buffalo strayed to the islet and local buffaloes boys brought them back safely. Since then, the islet has been a popular place for buffalo children in the village to gather, and the legend became the centrepiece of a special festival for the children. — VNS

Vietnamese pianists to compete at Chopin tourney in Singapore

HA NOI — Eight young Vietnamese pianists will be competing against 140 others at the First International Chopin Piano tournament from tomorrow to Sunday in Singapore.

The competition, which commemorates the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth, is being organised by the Chopin Society (Singapore) and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

The Vietnamese pianists, who are aged between 10 to 16, will be competing in four of five categories.

Do Hoang Linh Chi, 13, and Hoang Ho Thu, 15, have a lot of experience of international competition, said Ta Quang Dong, a lecturer at the Viet Nam National Academy of Music, who will be accompanying the competitors.

"The contestants can decide for themselves which Chopin pieces they wish to play. The Ha Noi International Piano Contest that was held last September helped the contestants enrich their Chopin repertoire," Dong said.

"The competition is being organised for the first time. It is prestigious though because of the calibre judges."

The judging panel consists of Gabriel Kwok, who has been head of Keyboard Studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts since 1989; Francesco Nicolosi, who is one of the most distinguished pianists of the Italian tradition; Snezana Panovska, a highly acclaimed piano professor, who stems from the Republic of Macedonia; Wojciech Switata, a professor at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice; and Warren Thompson, head of the School of Extension Studies at Sydney Conservatorium. — VNS

VN film wins in Stockholm

Through a child's eyes: A scene from Bi, Dung So (Bi, Don't Be Afraid), which won the best first feature award at the Stockholm Film Festival.

HA NOI — Director Phan Dang Di's first movie, Bi, Dung So! (Bi, Don't Be Afraid), has won Best First Feature at the 21st Stockholm International Film Festival.

His senior cameraman, Pham Quang Minh, won the award for best cinematography. Bi, Dung So! also won best screenplay during the Cannes film festival's critics week, as well as the new talent award at the Asia-Hong Kong Film Festival.

The film is scheduled to open at box offices in Viet Nam next month. It will be broadcast on TV network Arte Channel in France and Germany.

The film narrates the story of a young boy called Bi who lives with his mother, father and aunt in a house in Ha Noi. When Bi's grandfather, who has been absent for many years, suddenly reappears, the family are once again reunited. However, his return turns out to be far from auspicious. Bi's father begins to stay out late, to the point where he stops coming home at all in what appears to be a way of coming to turns with his own loneliness when his own father was absent. Meanwhile, Bi's aunt falls in love with a young man whom she meets on a bus, his father falls in love with a masseuse and his mother behaves as if nothing has changed.

The feature is much more than just a family drama. Director Di represents the lost because he has no way to express complex emotions. The photography borders on poetry and the interesting camera angles and the fascinating film locations, combined with realistic dialogue, turn this film into something extraordinary. Ordinary people become remarkable. The life of the child is nothing short of enchanting, and viewers become intimate witnesses of a family struggling to escape loneliness.

Holly Hunter, who starred in The Piano, headed the jury panel, said she was amazed by power of the scenes and thought the film compelling.

Meanwhile, cameraman Minh's photography was described as poetic and dignified in its simplicity and subtle technical perfection.

The 12-day Stockholm Festival, which ended on Sunday, was launched in 1990. It has become one of the leading film events in Europe. The festival takes place every November and typically features about 180 films from more than 50 countries. — VNS

Vietnam Swans first time victors in Indochina Cup

Vietnam Swans play Thailand Tigers at Saturday’s Indochina Cup in HCMC. The Swans, who took the Cup, won all their matches against Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. - Photo: Adam Martin

The Australian Rules football team, Vietnam Swans, celebrated their first ever tournament victory on Saturday night after beating all comers at the Indochina Cup earlier that day.

The Swans were joined at an over 200 strong party at La Cantine Restaurant in Dong Khoi St, District 1 by Aussie football players from fellow Indochina Cup teams, the Laos Elephants, Thailand Tigers and Cambodian Cobras, plus the Swan’s sister team, the Saigon Shooters, who also won a same-day netball IndochinaCup, and women’s netball teams from Hanoi and Thailand.

At the after-match function Vietnam Swan’s captain, Luke Creamer, said the Australian football Indochina Cup win was, “Epic.”

It was a very hard-fought-for win with several injuries early in the day including a broken jaw, a concussion and a badly split lip.

Before the game started Australian Consul General in HCMC, Graeme Swift, held a minute’s silence for the hundreds of Cambodians, who died in last week’s bridge tragedy in Phnom Penh.

The four Australian football teams played a round robin tournament with six 30-minute games played in total at the fields at RMIT in District 7.

“Not only the Indochina Cup, this is our first-ever tournament win. We’ve won a lot of individual games but never a tournament before,” Danny Armstrong, the Vietnam Swan’s national treasurer said.

Armstrong, who played his last game on Saturday, deciding to retire from playing after more than 30 years of footy, said winning the Cup was a terrific feeling.

“It was time for me to hang up the boots, whether we won or lost, so I asked the boys for a special effort to come up with a win. Couldn’t ask for more.”

Swan’s player, Matt Natalotto, who got his jaw, eyesocket and cheek bone broken in the first 10 seconds of the Swan’s first game against the Cambodian Cobras and had to get airlifted to Bangkok for surgery said from his hospital bed in Thailand on Sunday, “Great win for the Swans who definitely deserved it. So much hard work has gone into the team this year… and years past.”

Natalotto had also planned to hang up his boots after the Indochina Cup, but said that he couldn’t finish off a footy career like that, so he would continue to play at least until the ANZAC match next year once the injuries were healed.

Saul Morgan, captain of the Thailand Tigers, said the Indochina cup was one of the highlights of the Asian Football calendar. Morgan said the Vietnam Swans had organized the cup really well and he looked forward to next year’s Cup being held in Laos.

French guitarist Manu Codjia jazzes Hanoi

French guitarist Manu Codjia, a world famous French jazz guitarist, will perform at the Tuoi Tre Theater, 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street in Hanoi at 8 p.m. on December 10.

The artist and his friends, contrabass player Jérôme Regard and drummer Philippe Pipon Garcia will take jazz fans on a passionate journey of sophisticated melodies from his latest album. They will also perform famous songs by the Jamaican musician Bob Marley and “the King of Pop,” Michael Jackson.

Graduated from the Paris Conservatoire under the guidance of Professor Francois Jeanneau, Manu Codjia began his career playing classical guitar but quickly found his passion in jazz. His first album, ‘Songlines’ (Bee Jazz) was released in 2007 and received enthusiastic praise from both audiences and critics.

He won best guitarist at the 2007 Djangos d’Or Awards, one of the most prestigious honors for jazz in Europe, and the Victoires du Jazz Award for best new instrumentalist of 2008.

Tickets are available at L’Espace Center, 24 Trang Tien St., Hanoi for VND50,000 to VND100,000.

VSIP charity day raises US$100,000

The eighth annual VSIP Charity Day, organized by Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park J.V., Co., Ltd (VSIP) and the park’s management board, raised over US$100,000 for the company’s charity fund.

Thousands of workers from the park turned up for the two day event to enjoy a fun fair, music shows, traditional games and a talent show.

There was also a charity dinner called “Enchanted Night. Under the Sea” that included a Mr and Ms VSIP beauty pageant.

“We hope to strengthen the business relationship with our esteemed partners as well as the enduring co-operation in community outreach. We trust that VSIP’s tenants will always accompany us in social activities not just by donating to the fund, but also by encouraging their workers to join the activities after their hard work,” said Nguyen Phu Thinh, general director of VSIP at the banquet.

Since the inception of Charity Day in 2002, VSIP has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. The money raised in 2008 and 2009, was donated to Tan Binh Primary School for new buildings, Que Huong Charity House and scholarships in Binh Duong province.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Stockholm honours Viet Nam film

HA NOI – Bi, Dung So! (Bi, Don't Be Afraid), director Phan Dang Di's first movie, has won Best First Feature at the 21st Stockholm International Film Festival.

His senior cameraman, Pham Quang Minh, won the award for best cinematography.

Bi, Dung So! also won best screenplay during the Cannes film festival's critics week, as well as the new talent award at the Asia-Hong Kong Film Festival.

The film is scheduled to open at box offices in Viet Nam this month. It will be broadcast on TV network Arte Channel in France and Germany.

The film narrates the story of a young boy called Bi who lives with his mother, father and aunt in a house in Ha Noi. When Bi's grandfather, who has been absent for many years, suddenly reappears, the family are once again reunited. However, his return turns out to be far from auspicious. Bi's father begins to stay out late, to the point where he stops coming home at all in what appears to be a way of coming to turns with his own loneliness when his own father was absent. Meanwhile, Bi's aunt falls in love with a young boy whom she meets on a bus, his father falls in love with a masseuse and his mother behaves as if nothing has changed.

The feature is much more than just a family drama. Di represents the lost because he has no way to express complex emotions. The photography borders on poetry and the interesting camera angles and the fascinating film locations, combined with realistic dialogue, turn this film into something extraordinary.

Ordinary people become remarkable. The life of the child is nothing short of enchanting, and viewers become intimate witnesses of a family struggling to escape loneliness.

Holly Hunter, who starred in Piano, headed the jury panel, said she was amazed by power of the scenes and thought the film compelling.

Meanwhile, Minh's photography was described as poetic and dignified in its simplicity and subtle technical perfection.

Youth dance for HIV cause

Enthusiasm reigns: Young people attend the dance4life programme at the American Club on Saturday. — VNS Photos Doan Tung

Winner: Pham Quynh Anh from Ha Noi's Le Quy Don High School receives first prize for her painting There's No Difference Between You and Me.

HA NOI — Up to 1,000 young people gathered here on Saturday night to dance as part of a worldwide event aimed at drawing the attention of world leaders to the issue of HIV/AIDS.

Local participants in the dance4life programme gathered at the American Club on Ha Noi's Hai Ba Trung Street, and were linked by satellite to similar parties around the world, as young people used their voices and their feet to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and challenge the stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.

Pop singers My Dung and Minh Quan, comedians Xuan Bac and Tu Long, and the Big Toe Dance Crew, together with model and UNICEF goodwill ambassador Vu Nguyen Ha Anh appeared at the event.

Xuan Bac, a well-known television celebrity, has been a supporter of the annual dance4life programme since 2006.

"HIV and AIDS don't discriminate," he said. "Anyone – me, you, everyone – can suffer from it. So I realise that I myself need to live a healthy lifestyle and so do you.... We will dance for better health, better moves, and a better life without HIV and AIDS."

Dance4life Viet Nam is a project of the World Population Foundation (WPF) with an estimated 9,000 students now involved.

"Without a doubt, this is the greatest HIV prevention event that I have ever taken part in," said student Hoai Anh, a member of a dance team performing at the event. "It's exciting and very innovative. I always feel so happy when I join the team to perform somewhere."

A dance4life art contest, with the theme this year of Living Together, also concluded on Saturday, with first prize going to the painting There's No Difference Between You and Me by Pham Quynh Anh from Ha Noi's Le Quy Don High School. Anh beat out over 600 entrants from schools around the country.

Saturday's event received support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Durex and Akzo Nobel Paints Viet Nam, in addition to the WPF. The international programme was founded in the Netherlands in 2003. — VNS

Families to host regional youth in cultural exchange

HCM CITY — More than 320 youngsters from Southeast Asia and Japan will arrive in HCM City early next month for an annual cultural exchange.

The Southeast Asian Youth Programme 2010 (SSEAYP) delegation, which includes 29 from Viet Nam, left Yokohama in Japan by ship on a 52-day journey through six countries that will see the youths return to Tokyo on December 15.

The city unit of the HCM City Youth Union is preparing to receive the delegates and host the annual programme that will include music, home stay, and other events as well as charitable activities. It has chosen 60 volunteers for the purpose.

Some 170 families in the city have volunteered to house the guests during their three-day stay which will expose them to Vietnamese culture.

Le Van Minh, a Youth Union official, said several families have done this on more than one occasion, explaining the ship will be on its 11th visit to HCM City.

The visitors will discuss participation by youth in social activities, including culture, environment, international relations, education, health, food, and community development.

They have been to Malaysia and Thailand and are now in Indonesia. They will next leave for Singapore before arriving in Viet Nam on December 5.

SSEAYP, started in 1974, is a joint initiative by Japan and five founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

It seeks to strengthen friendship, co-operation, and understanding between Japanese and Southeast Asian youths to help build a peaceful, stable, and developed region.

Viet Nam joined the programme in 1996 VNS

Urbanisation increases need for preservation

HCM CITY — Preserving HCM City's architectural heritage is critically important during fast-paced urbanisation as the spirit of the city could be lost, speakers at a seminar said last week.

Nguyen Thi Hau, deputy chairwoman of the HCM City Research and Development Institute, said that the city should compile detailed information about historic structures and important archaeological sites.

Creating plans to excavate historic sites and preserve the area's buildings is urgent, she said.

Professionals are concerned about preserving many of the city's relics, including two important ones, the Giong Ca Vo relic in Can Gio District and Hung Loi Pottery in District 8.

Architect Nguyen Huu Thai told the seminar that a modern city should preserve its past.

The city has 124 national and city architectural heritage sites and archaeological relics, many of which have been damaged or are deteriorating.

Vu Kim Anh, deputy director of the HCM City Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, said rapid urban development threatens the city's historic structures and sites.

But even more importantly, urban managers were not consistent in their ideas about heritage preservation, she said. — VNS

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Three-part exhibit features multiple shades of Ha Noi

Multiple personalities: A painting by Bui Xuan Phai.

HA NOI — An exhibition entitled Ha Noi – City Mirrored in Art displaying works by more than 20 artists who have featured the capital city in their creations opened on Thursday.

The exhibition, curated by Natasha Kraevskaia and Lisa Drummond, both of whom designed their exhibits based on their passion and scientific expertise, will be held in three separate parts.

The first part, to run until December 3, with theme Nostalgic, Utopian, Romantic and Idealised, shows Ha Noi as more of a dreamy than melancholy place, bright and airy rather than dark and muggy. Part one features works by artists such as Bui Xuan Phai, Nguyen Bao Toan, Vuong Thao, Brian Ring, Do Phan and Tran Nguyen Hieu, who have all portrayed Ha Noi as a romantic and nostalgic place.

A jazz concert by Thaerichens Tentett accompanied the opening ceremony in the courtyard of the Goethe Institute.

Ha Noi – Dystopian, Realistic, and Change will be the theme of the second part of the exhibition which will open on December 7. The six-day exhibition will focus on Ha Noi as an urban structure which is undergoing rapid change and upheaval.

Long considered romantic, Ha Noi is becoming a contradictory city which can be viewed critically through the works by Do Minh Tam, Vu Bich Thuy, Nguyen The Son, Vu Dan Tan, Nguyen Nhu Y and others.

The final part of Ha Noi – City Mirrored in Art will display the artistic research conducted by Hamburg photographer Andre Lutzen along the blurred border between private and public life in the Vietnamese capital.

In his series Public/Private Ha Noi, the artist plays with the contradictions and paradoxical harmonies of these two poles.

Opening on December 16, the final part of the exhibition will run until December 30.

Enjoy the exhibit at the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street. — VNS

Buddhist Sangha publishes block calendar for holiday

HCM CITY — A special block calendar featuring Buddhist pagodas across Viet Nam is proving popular amongs monks, nuns and Buddhists countrywide, even though The Year of the Cat is still two months away.

The block calendar is the first to be published by the Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha Central Dharma Executive Council in cooperation with the Loc Tai System Joint-Stock Company and Thoi Dai Publishing House.

It contains 365 tear-off pages featuring quotes from the Buddha and 365 photos of Viet Nam's popular and historic Buddhist pagodas in HCM City and throughout the country, all taken by photographer Vo Van Tuong.

Tuong said he chose the best photos among tens of thousands of photos of pagodas in Viet Nam that he had taken over a 30-year period.

"Apart from old photos, I also spent a month travelling across the country to take new photos for the calendar."

The calendar publishers have issued 30,000 copies of the 4.5 by 20.5-cm calendars and 10,000 20 by 30-cm calendars, priced at VND80,000 (US$4) and VND180,000 ($9), respectively.

"We hope the calendar will be a New Year gift that the Viet Nam Buddha Sangha will give to monks as well as Buddhists across the country," said the Most Venerable Thich Thuong Toan, deputy director of the Buddhist Sangha Central Dharma Executive Council's Economics and Finance Department.

The calendar blocks can be purchased at bookstores at pagodas in HCM City and across the country.

Calendar market

Apart from the block calendar from the Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha, this year's calendars include a wide range of subjects from traditional pictures to well landscapes.

According to calendar sellers in HCM City, local publishers have released block calendars featuring Ha Noi landscapes and historical sites in 3D to celebrate the 1,000 anniversary of the capital.

Tran Thi Hoai, owner of a calendar shop in District 5, said the most prominent calendar for 2011 was Lich su Viet Nam (History of Viet Nam), featuring 365 paintings about Viet Nam's history from the beginning to the reunification day in 1975.

Large and extra-large block calendars sized 25 by 45 and 40 by 60 are also popular this year. They are usually bought for gifts for relatives and friends.

The price of small – and medium-sized block calendars currently ranges from VND6,000 ($0.2) to VND20,000 ($0.5) while larger ones are VND260,000-600,000 ($13-30).

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, local publishers are registered to produce 16.4 million copies of block calendars this year. — VNS

Hue centre fails in bid to buy royal painting

Artist in exile: Chieu Ta (Sunset), an oil on canvas by former King Ham Nghi (1802–1945), went to an unnamed bidder at auction in Paris. — VNS Photo/Courtesy Hue Monuments Conservation Centre.

THUA THIEN – HUE — The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre outbid at an auction in Paris on an artwork painted by former King Ham Nghi of Viet Nam.

A diplomat at the Vietnamese Embassy in France who represented the centre at the auction at Millon&Associes submitted a bid of 8,000 euros (US$11,784) for the Chieu Ta or Decline dur Jour (Sunset), an oil on canvas by King Ham Nghi.

But the highest bid was 8,800 euros ($12,962), said Nguyen Van Phuc, head of the Centre's External Relations Division.

The reserve price was between $1,100 and $1,700.

Phuc said the centre decided to join the auction because it had recognised the historical value of the painting, an art work related to the Nguyen dynasty (1802 – 1945).

A number of Viet kieu (overseas Vietnamese) in France, who wanted to donate the painting to the centre, were unhappy that they could not purchase the painting.

King Ham Nghi, the eighth ruler of the Nguyen dynasty, ascended to the throne in 1884 and ruled for one year, during which he led the Can Vuong resistance movement against the French.

In 1888 he was arrested and exiled in Algeria, where he died in 1943. He was buried in 1965 in Aquitaine, France.

He painted Chieu Ta in 1915 while in exile. It is thought to be influenced by the works of Paul Gauguin, a leading French post-impressionist artist who lived in the 19th century.

Phuc said through the Vietnamese Embassy in France and the Association of Overseas Vietnamese in the country that the centre would contact King Ham Nghi's daughter, Princess Nhu Ly, the owner of many paintings by her father, to ask for transfer of ownership of these art works, to the city of Hue. — VNS

Friday, December 3, 2010

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