HCM City to celebrate Japan-VN Day

Traditional and modern aspects of Japanese culture will be highlighted through several activities during the Japan – Viet Nam Day celebrated in HCM City tomorrow, Nov 13.

The annual event is organised by the General Consulate of Japan in HCM City and the city's Youth Cultural House to promote cultural exchange and understanding between the two countries.

Among this year's events will be a discussion with cuisine expert Takako Fujita from the Fujita Japanese Cuisine School.

Fujita will talk about Japanese traditional and modern cuisine as well as the history of sushi, and also show visitors how to make good sushi.

Vietnamese singer Nhat Tinh Anh and music bands Mat Ngoc and V Music will take part in the event.

A major attraction for city youth at the event is the Cosplay performance in which participants dress up in elaborate costumes worn by popular characters in Japanese comics.

The cultural day will also feature Japanese traditional games and origami demonstrations, as well as exhibitions on Japanese traditional costume – Kimono; and photos of the country and its people.

The event will be held at the Youth Cultural House, 4 Pham Ngoc Thach Street, District 1. Admission is free.

Veteran composer to be honoured

Bai Ca Hy Vong (Song of Hope), a song by veteran composer Van Ky, will highlight a music show to be broadcast on VTV tomorrow, reviewing the composer's long career.

Ky, who is 83 and has 400 songs to his credit, has written quite a few about the capital city. He said he loved Ha Noi because it had a hidden beauty, was full of poetry and contained the country's soul.

Born in 1928, in the northern province of Nam Dinh, Ky's first work came out of a broken heart. He'd fallen in love with a girl from Ha Noi who'd been evacuated to his district in 1946 during the resistance war against the French. After she returned to the city, Ky enshrined his love in his first song Trang Xua (Old Moon), although he didn't yet know how to write a single note of music.

Ky fought as a soldier in the resistance war, but was subsequently recognised for his musical talent and sent to study music. He began his music career in Ha Noi in 1955, with significant songs like Bai Ca Hy Vong (Song of Hope) and Troi Ha Noi Xanh (Blue Sky of Ha Noi).

Over 50 years after composing Song of Hope, the composer's complete faith in the nation's victory still strikes a chord in listeners, while Blue Sky of Ha Noi has long been used as the theme song for the Ha Noi Television and Radio.

Ky has also successfully composed symphonic works, with his 1984 Suite for Symphony Ko Nhi performed in the former Soviet Union and East Germany. He was one of the founders of the Viet Nam Musicians Association in 1957 and won its Music Prize in 2001.

Last year, Ky wrote a new song, Bay Len Viet Nam (Viet Nam, Let's Fly) to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi.

"When I begin to write a new song about Ha Noi, I write so fast because my love for the city fills my soul," Ky said. "I want to travel more and compose more."

Tomorrow's broadcast, at 8pm on VTV3, will also honour other well-known and developing composers who are drawing the music map in Viet Nam.

Museum honours literature

Addition: The opening ceremony of Tagore's new presence in the museum was one among hundreds of cultural activities all over the world to celebrate the poet's 150th birthday anniversary. (Photo: VNS)

On Thursday, the first bust of a foreign writer was displayed when a copper bust of Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was placed at the museum.

"Though the museum's main mission is praising Vietnamese literature, we spare a certain space for world famous writers," said poet Huu Thinh, chairman of the Viet Nam Writers Association. "The humane ideology expressed through world-known works helps connect people in the world and directs us to the values of truth, goodness and beauty."

The opening ceremony of Tagore's new presence in the museum was one among hundreds of cultural activities all over the world to celebrate the poet's 150th birthday anniversary.

Earlier this week an international conference on Tagore's life and career was held at Ha Noi's Melia Hotel. "We are proud to have a great poet like Tagore," noted translator Thuy Toan. "His works express great universal ideas and are distinguished examples of the blend between eastern and western cultures, as well as bridges between the past, present and future."

The new museum is located at 275 Au Co Street in Tay Ho District.

Work kicks off on VN's largest ever film studio

Khang Thong Group, investor of the Happyland Entertainment Complex project in southern Long An Province's Ben Luc District, began work yesterday on the country's largest studio.

The Happyland Studios, with a total investment capital of US$400 million, is an important part of the $2 billion Happyland Entertainment Complex project, which started construction in February.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Huynh Vinh Ai, deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the ministry had listed the Happyland project as a major tourism area in the country's tourism master plan to be submitted to the Government for approval.

In the context of the ongoing financial crisis and economic slowdown, the international-scale Happyland project was a bright spot that would attract tourists and investors, contributing to the country's cultural and economic development, Ai said.

Apart from producing films, television programmes and music performances, the studios, built to international standards, will introduce to visitors the historical landmarks in the movie history, special effect techniques that have been used, and games for all ages.

It is expected to be completed in 2014.

The 338ha Happyland Entertainment Complex project expects to attract 14 million visitors every year.

The group also signed investment co-operation agreements with four foreign parties on yesterday. These included a $2 million contract with the US-based Hill International on Happyland Flyover Bridge project and a $11 million contract with Thailand's STFE Group on a power station project.

Lucky couples tie the knot during group wedding

Eighty poor couples got married in a group wedding organised yesterday by the HCM City Youth Union's Support Centre.

Before the party at the upmarket White Palace Wedding and Convention Centre in Phu Nhuan District, the couples paraded the city's main streets in flower-bedecked cars, visited local sites, and paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his statue in front of the HCM City People's Committee.

Each couple received a gift of VND2 million, a pair of wedding rings, and wedding costumes.

Cambodian artists set to perform in Viet Nam

Cambodian performers will appear in HCM City and the southern province of Vinh Long during November 16-23 as part of the Cambodian Cultural Week 2011. Performers will present traditional dances such as apsara, Suoy panpine and Kdoeurng Mortar in free shows at the municipal theatre on November 17 and at Military Zone 7 Cultural House on November 18, as well as the city square in Vinh Long City on November 19 and in Vinh Long Province's Tam Binh District on November 20.

HCM City plays host to lively lunar meditation show

Painter Si Hoang will hold a moon meditation at Long Thuan Garden House in HCM City's District 9 from 2pm-9pm today. Participants will also have an opportunity to attend an exhibition of ao dai (traditional long dress) and enjoy performances of cai luong (Vietnamese reformed theatre) by veteran actress Bach Tuyet, who will perform extracts from the popular play Thai Hau Duong Van Nga (Queen Mother Duong Van Nga).

Artist's contribution recognised by Aussies

Art director and producer Le Quy Duong was awarded the Australian Alumni Award for Culture, Arts and Education yesterday, Nov 11.

Duong's works, well known in Viet Nam, have helped people appreciate Viet Nam's history and culture since he returned to Viet Nam in 2005 after finishing his studies at the University of New South Wales.

He has won a number of international awards including Queensland Literary Award for Best Stage Drama in 2000; third prize at the Hartley – Merrill International Competition in Film Writing at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003, and the Australia Council's Grand Award in Writing for Performance in 2004.

Most of his theatre work has been done in Australia and other foreign countries for nearly 15 years but Duong has now brought his experimental theatre programme to Viet Nam.

While his productions have earned acclaim among critics and audiences at international art festivals in Viet Nam and Australia, he is also known for organising and directing domestic art festivals such as Hue Festival, Binh Dinh Festival, and Nha Trang Beach Festival.

"It's great to receive the award because it is a recognition of my work," Duong said at the award ceremony last night in Ha Noi.

Duong and five others including Dr Vo Tri Thanh, Nguyen Van Duyen, Tran Phu Son, Dr Do Ngoc Thuy and Patricia Franklin were awarded prizes for major contributions to Viet Nam in fields such as education, arts and culture, innovation and research, business and sustainable social development.

The Alumni Awards celebrate the achievements of Vietnamese alumni of Australian universities and colleges and encourage them to contribute more to Viet Nam's economy and society.

"The award recipients and so many other talented alumni are a testament to the benefits of studying in Australia," said Allaster Cox, Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News