Hanoi’s first international film festival

A scene in the film Choi Voi by director Bui Thac Chuyen

The first ever Vietnamese International Film Festival will take place in Hanoi from October 17 to 21 to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, reports the Vietnam News Agency.

Le Ngoc Minh, the deputy head of Vietnam’s Cinematography Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, announced the festival on September 7 saying the festival would focus on Asian cinema.

Minh said the festival would promote cultural exchanges and cooperation between international and regional filmmakers by screening the latest films from across Southeast Asia.

Feature films, short films and documentary films produced in 2009 or 2010 that have not been screened abroad before or not been screened in Asia before October 21 can enter. Entries must have not been screened on TV or internet. There will be 10 feature films, 10 documentary films and 10 short films selected.

Films that don’t qualify for the festival will be screened on “World cinematography on Wednesday” or “Contemporary Vietnamese films”.

The judging panel will include five members for feature films, three for short, documentaries and cartoon films and three for the Network of the Promotion of Asian Cinema section. Among them are Vietnamese directors including feature film director Dang Nhat Minh, documentary film director Bui Dinh Hac and film critic Ngo Phuong Lan.

There will be a total of eight prizes awarded, including best feature film, best short film, best documentary, best director, best actor and actress and a prize of the Network of the Promotion of Asian Cinema, plus a media prize.

During the five-day event, there will be three seminars on Vietnam’s film industry. An exhibition of photos, an open air film screening and a meet and greet with actors and filmmakers will also be held.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the festival will be at the National Convention Center in Hanoi and will be broadcast live on VTV3.

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Dong Tam Group helps veterans’ kids study

 

Vo Quoc Thang, CEO of Dong Tam Group, grants scholarships and gifts to veterans’ children- Photo: Le Minh Khue

Scholarships worth VND500 million were granted to 384 children from poor veteran families in HCMC and Long An Province last week.

Dong Tam Group in collaboration with the Veteran Fund under the management of the HCMC Veteran Association granted the scholarships to kids with good school results at Dam Sen Park.

One hundred of the scholarships were awarded to students in Can Giuoc District in Long An Province. Apart from cash, the organizing committee also donated bags and stationeries to the children. This is the first time Dong Tam Group has joined hands with the Veteran Fund to carry out the scholarship program.

The Veteran Fund which was established in December 2009 aims to support poor veterans and people who had contributed to the liberation of the country. The fund also sponsors the veterans’ children who are doing well in their studies in HCMC. It has so far donated 45 houses of gratitude to poor veterans and 2,200 wheel-chairs for the disabled and Agent Orange victims.

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Hanoi indulges in reading habit

Private bookstores on Ha Noi's Dinh Le Street offer a variety of publications at reasonable price for people of all ages

I met Pham Kim Ngan, a 20-year-old student, on a summer afternoon in a bookstore in Dinh Le Street.

"The reading culture is not dying," Ngan said. "Not in Hanoi anyway."

I had to agree with her. There were no parking spaces on the footpath and the bookstore was packed with people.

Dinh Le lies in the bustling Old Quarter, where the city's signature dry-zone mahogany trees spread their canopies to shield the street from the scorching sun. You can find people of all ages circling Dinh Le Street at any hour to find a literary treat for the week.

"It's just another weekend here," said Nguyen Van Trung, a 23-year-old shop attendant.

Walking into one of the 20-something bookstores in Dinh Le Street, I was surprised by the sheer variety of books on display. On both sides as well as in the middle of the cramped room were three gigantic shelves with what seemed to be every genre of books there is, from the great love stories of Wuthering Heights and Gone with the Wind to the valuable business lessons from Rich Dad, Poor Dad or What They Don't Teach You in Harvard Business School.

Ngan lives far from the area, but still comes to her favourite store. She bought her first book there eight years ago and became a regular.

"The shop sells genuine publications at prices 20-30 per cent lower than elsewhere. Shopping for literature in such a cultural hotspot feels great," she said.

Despite 52 years difference in age, Ngan and Pham Quoc Huy, a 73 year-old retired teacher, are on the same page when it comes to store choices. Huy has been shopping for books in Dinh Le Street for ages. As soon as he walks into the shop, the sales girl warmly welcomes him and introduces new titles he might be interested in.

"I always shop here because of the variety of titles and the discount," Huy said.

The street faces Hoan Kiem Post Office while on the other side, in Trang Tien Street, there is the Books and Publishing Corporation.

A few decades ago, there used to be three nationally famous bookstores in the area: Quoc Van (National Language), Ngoai Van (Foreign Language) and Nhan Dan (People). Today, more than 20 stores, providing tens of thousands of book titles, have taken over the street.

A regular customer, Phan Viet Nga, 29, said whenever he felt low, he'd wander around Dinh Le Street. I don't look for any books in particular, but if I'm lucky, I will find one that speaks to me."

Like Nga, some people go to the area without intending to buy anything.

"Looking at the thousands of colourful books and no-less-colourful titles is very cheering," Nga said.

In the corner of the bookstore came a child's laughter. Seconds later, Phan Quang Huy, 6, went running to his mother holding a colourful comic book.

"Mum please buy me this," Huy pleaded.

His mother, La Thanh Truc, was checking out the translated version of Alone in Berlin.
"Too many comic books might be bad for the kids, but how can you say no to those puppy eyes?" Truc said.

"I bring my son here every Sunday afternoon, and every time I secretly hope that he will come running to me with any kind of book other than a comic," she said, "but it is fine, as long as he still loves reading."

As the city heads inexorably towards modernisation, it's nice to know that in the Old Quarter's jungle of buzzing bars and restaurants there are busy shops in Dinh Le Street in which one can indulge in an age-old pasttime: reading.

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Da Lat, Nha Trang link up for tourism

The world-famous beach destination Nha Trang in Vietnam

The charms of the world-famous beach destination Nha Trang and quaint mountain town Dalat could get linked under a plan being hatched by tourism authorities in the two places.

Starting a tour themed “Len rung xuong bien” (jungle and sea) was one of the options officials from Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong Provinces considered at a tourism conference in Da Lat Monday where they also signed a cooperation agreement.

They discussed measures to generally link the two localities by combining promotions, providing specialized training for human resources, and assisting travel agencies.

The agreement will facilitate both destinations to showcase their specialties and handicrafts.

The two provinces will make films and have advertising campaigns to promote their tourism, and organize cultural and sporting events to attract tourists.

They urged tourism companies, hotels, and resorts in both places to cooperate with each other to promote tours to both Nha Trang and Da Lat.

Last year Lam Dong welcomed 1.6 million visitors, including 260,000 from overseas, while Nha Trang received 1.61 million people, including 280,000 foreign tourists.

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Jetstar Pacific terminates Hanoi-Nha Trang flights

With demand plunging in the low season, budget carrier Jetstar Pacific Airlines stopped flying on the Hanoi-Nha Trang route with effect from September 5, newswire VnExpress reported.

An analyst said Jetstar has a policy of not flying on certain sectors during the lean season and resuming in the high season. For instance, it stopped operations on the Hanoi-Danang route twice before resuming when demand revived.

But the carrier has not announced when it will start flying on the Hanoi-Nha Trang sector again.

The analyst said Vietnam Airlines, which has an 80 percent market share, has been cutting fares on many domestic routes and Jetstar Pacific is having a hard time competing with it.

In June 2009 Jetstar stopped flying between Hanoi and Can Tho just six months after it began the service. It has yet to resume flights on the sector.

Currently it flies from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Danang, Hue, Vinh, and Hai Phong.

The airline plans to add 15 Airbus A320 aircraft to its six-strong fleet in 2015 and begin flying on new routes. 

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Vietnam TV show makes it to Asian awards short list

Dreaming star is a show that helps young people achieve their dreams

Photo: Tuoi Tre

For the first time, a Vietnamese television show has been short-listed for the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union Prize and will rub shoulders with the big boys from Japan, Korea, and China.

Ngoi sao uoc mo or Dreaming Star, produced by Vietnam Television, has been nominated in two categories: TV Entertainment and TV special jury prize.

It is a show that helps young people achieve their dreams with the support of individuals who are celebrities in their fields and organizations.

Broadcast for the first time in August 2009 on VTV6, a channel meant for youth, it has showcased the dreams of 50 young people around the country.

The program also features games, live performances, creative video clips, and others.

Shows from Japan’s TBS, Korea’s KBS, Australia’s ABC, and China’s CCTV have also made it to the short list.

The results will be announced at the ABU awards ceremony in Tokyo October 19, with the winners in each category getting a trophy and a cash prize of US$1500.

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Project aims to save dying art of sinh ca

Whistle while you work: Cao Lan ethnic women weave. Today, few young Cao Lan can sing their sinh ca folk songs. — File Photo

TUYEN QUANG — Sinh ca, the unique folk singing of the Cao Lan ethnic group in the northern province of Tuyen Quang, is fading from the group's daily lives, said Tieu Xuan Hoc, 68, of Minh Cam Village.

"Teenagers who couldn't sing sinh ca used to find it difficult to make friends," said Hoc. "This way of singing was once considered spiritual and an essential skill."

Singing sinh ca was a good way for young men and women to understand one another, as they were able to change the words to fit the circumstances.

Many couples in the village who fell in love and later married after meeting at singing festivals included Au Van Chinh, 70, and his wife Ninh Thi Nhan.

Chinh and his wife even now always sing the folk songs to each other.

"I have been singing sinh ca since I was 15," said Nhan. "At that time, I never felt bored as I sang with all my passion. Now that I'm getting old, I want to teach the next generation, but no one wants to learn. I'm afraid that when people of my age die, there will be no one who can sing the songs."

"The songs are now mainly in the minds of old people," said Ma Van Duc, deputy head of Tuyen Quang's Culture Department. "The songs have been taught from person-to-person."

Five books of sinh ca songs sung at night and one of songs sung at weddings had been gathered, Duc said.

He said that the department was implementing a project in Doi Binh Commune to preserve the Cao Lan ethnic group's culture.

"A class for teaching sinh ca has been started, but the number of people learning there remains small," Duc said.

"Studying it myself is difficult, let alone teaching it to my own children," said a member of the class, Ha Van Quang. "It requires both patience and passion."

Another class, taught by award-winning singer Lam Van Cau, teaches sinh ca dances and songs to a group of about 20 teenagers at the cultural house in Cay Thi Village.

"Most young people learn the folk songs and dances very quickly," Cau said. "But the class is held in summer only. If there is no long-term opportunity to use what they have learned, they won't long remember it."

Tuyen Quang Province has a budget of more than VND2 billion (US$103,000) to establish a cultural village for the Cao Lan in Yen Son District.

"The local art troupe has transformed sinh ca into a more up-to-date style to perform at local events," said Duc. "Yen Son District supports a club of elderly people who sing sinh ca. They gather to practise and teach younger people at least once a week." — VNS

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