Uncle Ho’s birth celebrated with various activities

A variety of activities are being held across the country to celebrate the 122nd birthday of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890-2012), the beloved national leader who devoted his life to the country’s independence and the happiness of the Vietnamese people.

The Sen Village Festival 2012 opened on May 17 in the President’s home village at Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district in central Nghe An province.

The three-day festival includes numerous cultural activities such as an incense offering to Uncle Ho, a singing contest in Sen village, film screenings and an exhibition about the Party and Uncle Ho, as well as a volleyball competition and other sporting events.

The festival has been held annually since 1981 to express Vietnamese people’s deep gratitude toward their great leader. It also aims to promote President Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts and encourage people to follow his moral example.

* On the same day, a symposium entitled ‘Uncle Ho’s Image on the Stage’ was held in Hanoi by the Vietnam Stage Artists’ Association and the Centre for Research, Preservation and the Promotion of Vietnamese Culture.

The symposium aimed to promote the composition of high-quality pieces on Ho Chi Minh and respond to the ‘Studying and Following President Ho Chi Minh’s Moral Example’ campaign.

Uncle Ho has provided endless inspiration for many literary, artistic, musical and cinematographic works. Numerous theatrical works based on the life and career of the President have also been composed in various media including ‘Tuong’ (classical Vietnamese drama), ‘Cheo’ (traditional opera) and ‘Cai Luong’ (reformed theatre) and have been greatly appreciated by audiences.

Delegates at the symposium agreed that both audiences and stage artists look forward to performances of the works portraying President Ho Chi Minh, which enlighten people from all walks of life about the President’s ideology and morality

* Also on the occasion, an exhibition on the theme ‘President Ho Chi Minh: Party Building and Rectification’ opened at the Dak Lak provincial Cultural Centre on May 15.

The exhibition displays more than 120 documents and photographs featuring the life and career of President Ho as the founder and leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam, as well as his thoughts on Party building and rectification.

The exhibition will last until June 15.

Vietnam’s image promoted on Greek TV

A series of short films introducing Vietnam’s achievements and economic potential will be aired on SBC Television in Greece from May 18-31.  

These films were jointly made by the Vietnamese Embassy in Greece and SBC Television leading up to the Global Summit of Women 2012 in Athens from May 29 to June 6, which will be attended by a Vietnamese delegation led by State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan.

The first trailer of the films, featuring an interview with Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Binh, has been broadcast and attracted a lot of attention from Greek audiences.

It also introduces potential cooperation in trade and investment between the two countries through their co-organization of a Vietnam-Greece Business Forum on May 31, and a conference on maritime shipping on June 6 in Athens.

French rock band to perform in Vietnam

Two performances of the electro-rock band Success from France will take place in Vietnam, on May 29 in Ho Chi Minh City and on May 30 in Hanoi, at 8.00 pm.    

With 3 years of experience and more than 100 concerts under their belts, the band has attracted a huge number of fans from France and throughout Europe.

Success has gained its fame playing a musical mix between rock’n’roll, electro and metal.

Documentary on Truong Son Road to be screened

Ho Chi Minh City Television and Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper have jointly produced a 120 part documentary film series titled “Coming back to Legendary Truong Son”, directed by Viet Binh, which is now ready for screening.

The documentary has been filmed in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and is a factual presentation of events on the legendary Truong Son Road during the war and reflects images of historical sites and the daily lives of ethnic minority groups living along this route.

The film is a long journey with many moving stories of Truong Son soldiers, and showcasing the close relationship between Vietnam and Laos.

The documentary will be screened on HTV7 channel at 10.30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starting with the first part showing on May 22.

Italian writer’s capital appearance

In the framework of the Y-Vietnam 2012 Program, the Embassy of Italy in Hanoi has invited Italian comic writer Daniel Bonomo (GUD) to introduce his works to the Vietnamese public.

The well-known artist and author will be in Hanoi from May 21 to 25, to present his works to the public and share his experiences with local artists and fans.

In particular, GUD will introduce his last work: ‘Gaia Blues’, a book exploring the relationship between nature and earth. The book is a series of images about the journey of a family of polar bears.

In Hanoi, the artist will be meeting students of the Department of Italian Language at the Hanoi University, at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, and at 5 p.m. on the same day he will meet with artists and fans at the ‘Trung Nguyen Creation Rendezvous’ at 36 Dien Bien Phu Street.

He will attend ‘Comics & Marketing: how to promote your brand’ seminar at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, at the Residence of the Ambassador of Italy in Vietnam (Villa 23-10, Dang Thai Mai Street in Tay Ho District and an exhibition of ‘Gaia Blues’ images will take place at United Nations International School’s library from Wednesday to Friday.

The Y-Vietnam  Program will feature a wide range of activities from now to December, including contest ‘Minh that tuyet’ (I am great) for women, an educational seminar by Dr. Maria Montessori, concert ‘Gala Italiano’, documentary films in Hanoi and HCMC,  wine festival, fashion show and Italian fashion week.
 
Hanoi hip-hop artists tour Indonesia

In preparation for their Indonesian tour, Hanoi hip-hop dancers are practicing Nhieu mat (Many faces) under the guidance of choreographers Raphael Hillebrand from Germany and France’s Sebastien Ramirez.

The work is a combination of traditional Vietnamese music and dance with contemporary culture with dancers wearing masks reflecting present social issues.

Initiated in 2008 by the Goethe Vietnam Institute and L’Espace in Hanoi thanks to the support from the Elysee Fund, the work has been a big hit.

This year the Goethe institute also organizes rehearsals for Nhieu mat in Vietnam and will take the dancers to Jakarta and Yogyakarta under a dance festival program gathering talented artists from Southeast Asian nations.

Citizens can watch rehearsals from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily until May 22 at the Hanoi Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.
 
80 artists join traditional music gig

More than 80 artists from Vietnam Traditional Orchestra of Vietnam National Academy of Music will perform at Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street, at 8 p.m. on May 26.

It will be directed by meritorious artists Pham Ngoc Khoi and Nguyen Hong Thai, featuring Hue royal music, ‘New rural’ by Ta Phuoc and To Vu and ‘Lake on the mountain’ by Pho Duc Phuong.

The program will wrap up with ‘Echo’ by Ho Hoai Anh and ‘Sharing one belief’ by Xuan Khai.

Tickets are priced at VND150,000, VND200,000 and VND300,000 and are available at Hanoi Opera House. Call 0913 489 858 or 0983 067 996 for free ticket delivery.
 
Uncle Ho’s portraits made with deep affection

Artist Hoang Dinh Thuan, from the southern province of Binh Duong has made a thousand lacquered portraits of late President Ho Chi Minh to show his respect and love for him.

Thuan, 57, has been working as a painter since 1976 at the traditional trade village of Tuong Binh Hiep , which is famous for its lacquer paintings, and that’s when he first started to create images of Uncle Ho.

His paintings of Uncle Ho, especially his lacquer portraits, have become quite famous. Many individuals and organisations order paintings from him.

They are often used as gifts for diplomats and foreign guests when they visit Binh Duong province.

To meet clients’ demands, Thuan also collects images of Uncle Ho from newspapers, books and documents on Uncle Ho in museums.

According to Thuan, the most difficult aspect of drawing Uncle Ho is how to capture his eyes.

However, being talented is not enough, says Thuan, adding that he had to study Uncle’s Ho teachings, morality and lifestyle to be able to paint him.

Saigonese get chance to see Titanic in 3D
 
To mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, James Cameron has revamped the classic story to give us another chance to see Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) realize that love can conquer all.

The 1997 blockbuster was a massive hit and of course was nominated for 14 Oscars and scooped 11 of them including Best Actress for English rose Winslet, Best Picture and Best Director for Cameron who famous declared with the gold statue in hand ‘I’m the king of the world’.

Cameroon directed, wrote, co-produced, and co-edited the fictionalized account of the sinking of the unsinkable ship on its maiden voyage from England to New York. He promises that he hasn’t tinkered too much with the original but with your 3D glasses on in your local cinema, he promises to bring the famous story to life.
 
European film festival comes to Da Nang

Thirteen movies from European countries will delight movie lovers in Da Nang city from May 18-27, as part of “Europe Days 2012”.

Held for the first time in 2000 by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam and the Embassies of EU member states, the European Film Festival is recognised as one of the most successful multicultural events in Vietnam .

The festival gathers new films with diverse genres from European countries, including Denmark , France , the Czech Republic , Greece , Germany , Hungary , Britain , Poland , Spain and Holland . It kicks off with a Danish film, “In a better world” which won Oscar and Golden Globe Awards for the best foreign film in 2011.

This year’s festival also features six short films for children, reflecting the diverse cultures and characteristics of European countries.

Free tickets for the festival can be collected from Le Do Cinema at 46 Tran Phu street and Da Nang Cinema and Film Distribution Centre at 68 Tran Phu street .

Similar film festivals opened in Hanoi on May 16, and Ho Chi Minh City on May 17.