Model show jury touch down in VN

Daniel Boey, the popular juryman of Asia's Next Top Model, will participate in the final round of Viet Nam's Next Top Model, which will be held here this weekend.

Boey and his team, including Dominic Jacob Shimin Clarke, Audrey Ong Yu Jing and Yeo Yong Huat, are due to arrive in Viet Nam today to supervise the production planned in HCM City, manage the contest's backstage operations and act as stylist for the shooting section.

Dubbed as Singapore's godfather of fashion, Boey was also described as one of the most influential people there in 2009 by CNNGo.

Cha Mi, Van Kien, Mau Thanh Thuy and Tuan Viet are the top 4 in the Viet Nam's Next Top Model contest. The finale will be broadcast live on Viet Nam Television Channel 3 (TVT3) at 9pm this Sunday.

Nominations open for architecture prize

Nominations have begun for Ashui.com's Architect of the Year award, voting for which will take place from December 22 and 31.

The award, which has been announced for the second year, seeks to honour outstanding architects with talent, vision, and practical achievements and who have made contributions to the sector.

There will also be awards for best building, architects doing outstanding research and writing about architectural issues, outstanding communal architecture work, and young architects.

According to Ashui.com, the annual award underlines the role of architecture in society, helps improve the architecture industry in Viet Nam, and encourages Vietnamese architects to create environment-friendly buildings.

The 2013 winners will be announced on December 31.

Canadian singer to soothe Park Hyatt Saigon

The Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel has announced that Michele Kaye will be the new resident singer in Park Lounge from January 21 until April 14.

Canadian performer Kaye brings to the stage a style as distinctive and engaging as the classic characteristics of Julie London and Doris Day. She pays homage to them with her own creative, playful take on timeless classics.

Having performed in Asia’s most prestigious hotels and on board the world’s top cruise lines, Kaye has mesmerized audiences with her sultry voice and magnetic stage persona for more than a decade.

She also composes original pop music. In 2007, she composed and recorded “Angora,” an extended play (EP) that was nominated for a Toronto Independent Music Award. She toured with her album to Japan, where she collaborated with Japanese musicians and even played the keyboard for Japanese pop singer Monica Wu. She continues to compose original music as well as tour internationally as a jazz vocalist.

She will perform in Park Lounge nightly, except Tuesdays, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:45 p.m.

US helps Hue heritage preservation

The US Department of State will use non-refundable aid to fund part of the US$30,507 Trieu To Temple preservation and restoration project in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hue Citadel.

The Hue Relics Preservation Centre has committed VND30 million to the project, which will focus on reinforcing the temple’s wooden frames and preserving and restoring its altars.

The US-based Alliance for Children has also announced it will give Thua Thien-Hue Province non-refundable aid funding for VND1.3 billion initiative supporting local children with disabilities.

The 2014-16 project aims to help disabled children learn the necessary skills for self-sufficiency and independence, reducing the pressure on their families and society.

Film industry needs copyright watchdog

A professional body is needed to protect property rights for films made in the country, said the Head of the Vietnam Cinematography Association.

"The country's film industry needs to have an organisation similar to the Vietnam Centre for Protection of Music Copyright, which came into being 10 years ago," People's Artist Dang Xuan Hai told a recent workshop on copyrights in the film industry in Hanoi.

The one-day workshop was organised by the association following the Government's Decree 131/2013/ND-CP on the punishment of administrative violations of copyright and related rights.

The decree, which took effect on December 15, regulates that any individual or organisation that infringes upon the copyright of movies and TV series will be fined VND250 million (US$12,000) and VND500 million (US$24,000), respectively.

According to the Deputy General Director of the culture ministry's Copyright Office, Pham Thi Kim Oanh, the lack of public awareness about copyright laws in Vietnam was the reason copyright violations are continuing to occur.

"Some individuals and organisations intentionally infringe, even though they understand the scope of their rights and duty," she said.

Agreeing with Oanh, People's Artist and noted director Dang Nhat Minh chipped in, saying "None of the sectors in the arts and literature areas have to witness the open and widespread violations of copyrights as does the film industry."

"The music sector has found a way of protecting their copyright, but the cinema sector hasn't," the director of Dung Dot (Don't Burn) said.

"It's a headache for the industry workers. We make films, but sometimes we don't even know where or when our films are screened. The current regulations seem to protect investors, rather than the producers."

This has become such a serious issue that this workshop was the third held during the final months of the year.

A newly-released film is promptly uploaded illegally onto the internet for the public and those seeking profits through advertisement.

Further, as soon as imported feature movies are screened in the cinemas, DVDs of the movie are immediately put on sale on open markets or by street vendors.

"We pour a huge amount of money into importing movies. It's really dangerous if the violation continues," said Nguyen Van Nghiem, CEO from the Studio A Film Co.

"In the meanwhile, many local filmmakers have to mortgage their vehicles and homes to make films. If their works are reproduced, they should feel heart-broken," he added.

High-technology company CNC, reported Vietnam recorded 33 million internet users, while about 14 million users watched online videos in 2012.

"We lose hundreds of billion of Dong each year in music, cinema and television – too high as compared to VND40 billion (US$1.9 million) we earned from copyright payments in music last year," said CNC representative Dao Viet Dung.

Therefore, Oanh, from the culture ministry's Copyright Office, stressed the newly-created document was meant to stop the piracy, creating a legal corridor for the protection of copyright in the cinema industry through specific regulations and punitive tools.

Contemporary circus show returns to capital city

The Lang Toi (My Village) circus show with acts reflecting the daily lives of Vietnamese villages will return to Hanoi at the Kim Ma Theatre on December 20-21.

Lang Toi is a contemporary circus performance, which combines traditional circus skills and theatrical techniques to convey a story or theme. Daily life is told through the movement of performers in villagers' costumes, giving an illusion of the peaceful life of a Vietnamese village.

Villagers awake as the rooster crows… the daily market starts with the cries of sellers and chatter of market-goers, the children play jump rope while their parents work in the rice paddies… Taking a break from their work, farmers smoke bamboo pipes under the tropical sun.

In the evening, lovers meet on suspended high wires under the glistening light… At the heart of the spectacle, one can hear the sound of traditional musical instruments playing a melody that vibrates with the pulse of life created by the pace and rhythm of acrobats and jugglers… taking the audience to the centre of this transformed space, to see the reflection of life in a remote village.

The show came into being in 2005 under the direction of Nguyen Lan, Le Tuan and Nguyen Nhat Ly who sought to create a distinct Vietnamese style of circus act that also applied modern expressionist techniques.

Lang Toi was first performed abroad at Quai Branly Museum in Paris in 2009. Since then the show has toured internationally, visiting countries such as France, Belgium, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, China, Singapore and the Republic of Korea.-