Belgian gala night to raise funds for AO children

A charity gala night was held by the Vietnam Association for Children Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin in France (VNED) and the Vietnam-Belgium Friendship Association in Brussels on November 12.

The event, aiming to raise funds for AO children in Vietnam, attracted large numbers of overseas Vietnamese and Belgian friends.

Famous composer Trinh Cong Son’s songs, performed by singers Thuy Tien and Richard Fuller and solo guitarist The Vinh, received thunderous applause from the audience.

Participants were moved into tears by the stories of handicapped artists, who have managed to overcome difficulties and become useful citizens.

Similar gala nights will be held until December 9 in nine European cities including Lille, Brussels, Frankfurt, Paris, Aachen, Strasbourg, Lausanne, Zurich and Stuttgart.

Thai action flick to premiere in Viet Nam

Angels, a Thai action film written, produced and directed by Wych Kaosayananda, will premiere in Viet Nam next Friday, allowing Vietnamese audiences to see the film before their Thai brethren.

The film will be screened at 20 cinemas nationwide.

Angels marks the return of famous Vietnamese actor Dustin Nguyen to the genre of action films.

The film tells the story of a former special forces officer turned mercenary on a mission for revenge after his daughter turns up floating dead in Bangkok canal.

Besides romantic scenes on the Chao Phraya River and HCM City's downtown area, Angels will take audiences into Thailand's other famous places.

Kaosayananda who also directed Fah (1998) – the most expensive Thai movie of all time, lived and studied in Pakistan where his father – famous Thai diplomat Kaosayananda – was posted in Islamabad as an ambassador.

Nam Thanh enters Top 12 Talent Challenge

Vietnamese representative to the Mr. World 2012 Truong Nam Thanh has entered the Top 12 Talent Challenge.

The jury board and other contestants were deeply impressed by his mixed performance of magic and dancing.
Thanh owed this success to his intensive practice with dance instructor John Huy Tran and conjuror Ali Tung.
The top 12 will show off their talents again in the next few days.

Vietnam to host 4th Int'l Circus Festival

The 4th International Circus Festival will be held in Hanoi from November 15-21.

It will involve 10 art troupes from Russia, France, Laos, Cambodia, Hungary, the US, Cuba, Greece, Mongolia, Ukraine and Vietnam.

This year’s festival has attracted the highest number of artists (185) compared to the three previous ones in 1997, 2004 and 2010.

Vietnam’s young artists will present six new performances.

Contemporary dance honours peasant life

The Mist, a seven-act contemporary dance that celebrates the daily life of Vietnamese peasants, will be performed in HCM City today and tomorrow.

The dance is choreographed by Tan Loc and performed by the Arabesque Dance Troupe led by artist Ngo Thuy To Nhu.

The acts, called On the Field, Fragrance from Pagoda, Seasons, Nights, Bumper Harvest, Silk and Rice, show the diligence and dedication of Vietnamese peasants as they perform the grunt work of providing the nation with basic necessities.

Each verse, melody and chant used in The Mist highlights the beauty of rural life, which has been an endless source of inspiration for works of poetry and art in Viet Nam, organisers say.

They say that The Mist is an expression of deep gratitude to the Vietnamese peasant.

Fashion show to bring Vietnam, Italy closer

A fashion show featuring Italian architecture is scheduled to open in Hanoi on November 16, as part of activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam – Italy diplomatic ties in 2013.

Jointly held by the Italian Embassy in Vietnam and the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, the event is a highlight among cultural exchanges in fashion, architecture, painting and music during November, the Italy – Vietnam Fashion and Gastronomy Month.

Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Lorenzo Angeloni said the show gives the two countries’ designers and artists a chance to share experience and increase mutual understanding.

Participants will be able to enjoy Italy’s landmark architectures like the Gothic-styled Duomu Cathedral in Milan, the 50,000-seat Colosseum in Rome, the largest work ever built during the Roman Empire, and Pisa Tower in Tuscany, a symbol of the country’s prosperity.

Popular Vietnamese designer Minh Hanh will bring her collection using traditional brocade to the event.

Vietnamese, Lao museums share experience, skills

A delegation from the Museum of History of the Lao People’s Army led by its Deputy Director, Lt. Col. Bou Thasaysanith visited the Tank and Armour Museum in Hanoi on November 11.

They exchanged experience and professional skills with Vietnamese colleagues during the tour.

The Lao officials were briefed on the history of the museum and its achievements as well as the development of the Vietnam People’s Army over the past 53 years.

The visit helped further the solidarity between the two armies and the two museums of Vietnam and Laos.

Vietnam, Japan discuss traditional wooden architecture

Vietnamese and Japanese experts have gathered for a workshop on traditional wooden architecture in the preservation of architectural relics in the former imperial city of Hue.

The workshop, the first of its kind, was jointly organized in Hue on November 12  by the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC), the UNESCO World Heritage Institute at Japan’s Waseda University and the Japan Architects’ Association.

Participants said that traditional wooden architecture plays an important role in the Hue monument architectural system, stressing that thorough understanding of materials, manipulating methods, structures and factors that affect wooden architectural works is an important foundation for the conservation and restoration of relics.

The two sides shared experiences and proposed measures to conserve wooden architectural works, as the Hue relics are badly affected by global climate change.

Waseda University is coordinating with HMCC to study the restoration of the war-torn Can Chanh Palace, which was the second largest - after Thai Hoa Palace - in the Imperial Palace.

The ODA-funded project is estimated to cost US$10 million and is expected for completion in five years.

Project supports Vietnamese-Danish children’s literature

A wide range of activities comprising the second phase of the Vietnamese-Danish project to help enhance the creativity of Vietnamese authors and artists and provide children access to new books will be held nationwide from November 13-17.

An award ceremony for the 2011-2012 children’s writing campaign of writing has been organised to coincide with the release of a number of new books published by Vietnam’s Kim Dong Publishing House in 2012.

Danish writer Merlin Mann and artist Jan Kjaer will run a workshop on creating graphic novels with students from Hanoi Architectural University. They will also discuss their series of Taynikma Legends comics with pupils from the Hanoi Experimental Secondary School.

The project plans to help establish junior reader clubs and organise storytelling trains to visit children across the country, enabling them to meet with the writers and artists whose work they enjoy.

All newly released and popular Vietnamese and Danish titles published by Kim Dong will be discounted for the child members of these clubs.

The project, which runs from 2011-2015, is being jointly implemented by the Danish Writers Association, the Danish Embassy in Vietnam, and the Kim Dong Publishing House.

VNN/VOV/VNS