HCM City to hold Buddhist music concert

The HCMC Buddhist Church of Vietnam will hold a concert to celebrate Vu Lan (Ghost Festival or Ullambana), one of the main Buddhist celebrations in Ho Chi Minh city at the end of this month.

Called Doi ca thien thu tieng Me cuoi (or Trading the eternity for a Mother’s smile), the event is to bring more Buddhism-related cultural and art activities to the public, a spokesperson of the Church said.

Stressing on the practice of filial piety, Vu Lan or Ullambana is also an occasion when Buddhists donate offerings to the deceased and wandering souls.

Songs with love, hope, sharing and forgiving messages will be performed by top Vietnam’s singers from My Linh, Cam Van, Ha Anh Tuan to Phuong Thanh.

Son Vo, director of the concert said this would be the first time a 3D technique is used in a Buddhist music concert, as LED screen displays will also be installed above the audience to create the best stage effects.

Planning to hold the concert every year on Vu Lan, the Church said it hopes this can develop into a frequent social activity to evoke filial affection through music.

The event will take place at 8pm on July 31 at Lan Anh Stage, 291 Cach Mang Thang 8, District 1 with tickets costing from VND 50,000 – 400,000 each.

Phuong Nam offers 50% discounts for English books

Ho Chi Minh-based bookstore chain Phuong Nam is offering a special discount program for more than 150,000 English books sold at one of their stores.

Titled the International Book Fair, the event gives a 20-50 percent discount to all of the English publications, from children books to many other genres from prestigious international publishers.

The highlight of this event is the medical series Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine 17th Edition which is now 40 percent off its original price.

Thousands of other publications will come at a reasonable VND15,000 – VND25,000 each.

The fair opened yesterday and will last until July 31, at 9am – 21pm30 everyday at Phuong Nam Book Café, 2A Le Duan, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam indie filmmakers strive to find foothold

Amidst Vietnam’s booming film industry which has seen commercial and big-money projects hitting the screens across the country in recent years, young and passionate independent filmmakers have shown they are not intimidated.

More and more independent films made by a community of closely-knit film artists have been produced despite considerable challenges in financing and distributing these films in a young cinema industry like Vietnam’s.

With a recent revival in cinema-going habits after some decades of interruption, the industry had not actually been familiarized with the ‘independent’ concept until a couple of years ago.

In fact, the first of these indie films came to be known in Vietnam nearly 2 decades ago, with the comeback of a generation of overseas Vietnamese directors.

Vietnamese-French Tran Anh Hung with his Oscar-nominated and Cannes-winning The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), Venice’s Golden Lion winner Cyclo (1995) and others is the most acclaimed representative of this wave.

More recent works of this genre are The Buffalo Boy by the Vietnamese-American Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh or the contemporary Owl and the Sparrow by another Vietnamese-American director, Stephane Gauger.

Unlike their predecessors, the newer waves of indie filmmakers, younger and of pure Vietnamese origin have to face many difficulties in bringing their films to the public.

For independent short films, especially an individual project like Ngay Chu nhat binh thuong (A normal Sunday), assistant director Nguyen Thi Da Thuong said the everlasting problem is finding financial resources for production.

Distribution channel is the next problem, Thuong said, as most independent short films would end up being shown in café shops for a small number of audiences.

Short films coming out of independent filmmaking competitions like the international“48 Hour Film Project” or “Online Short Film Competition Yxineff”, both are the most outstanding projects for indie filmmakers in Vietnam last year, seem to have a better fate.

A Good Day To Die, last year’s winning entry of “48 Hour Film Project” was chosen to be screened at the Cannes International Festival last May and at Megastar through the contest organizers’ connection.

Similarly, L.O.V.E, The journey unknown and other winning films of the “Online Short Film Competition Yxineff 2010” have been screened online on the project’s website.

However, “In Vietnam, filmmakers make short films mainly to express their passion,” Thuong shared, as apparently there has not been an easy and sustainable way out for their products.

For indie movies, even established names in the industry like director Phan Dang Di who won ACID and SACD Award at Cannes Film Festival 2010 have to struggle with funding for their next projects.

Like Di, well known directors Nguyen Vinh Son, Nguyen Thanh Van or Pham Nhue Giang, have to find sponsors from international film festivals or cultural foundations.

“Attending one festival may not bring money right away, but making connection with potential investors is extremely important to producers and filmmakers nowadays,” Vinh said.

Money aside, when a movie is completed, there is a high chance it cannot make its way into many cinemas across Vietnam, as such films do not make much profit.

Art films like Adrift by Bui Thac Chuyen, Bi, don’t be afraid by Phan Dang Di or The moon at the bottom of the well by Nguyen Vinh Son all have to derive support from cultural funds or foreign producers.

Kim Ji Soek, director of the Pusan International Film Festival said filmmakers, producers and writers have to send their scripts to international festivals or foreign producers.

“While filming, they have to figure out how to recoup the capital as well,” he suggested.

Culinary contest selects 10 young chefs for int’l competition
 
The Vietnam Young Chefs Cup 2011, the first-ever of its kind, wrapped up in Ho Chi Minh City Friday, selecting 10 winners to represent the country at an international competition held this September here by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WASC).

The 10 representatives comprise the five gold medal winners and five of the 12 silver medal holders.

The Vietnam Young Chefs Cup took place in the city July 20-22. The gold medals went to Sy Kha Du, Tran Xuan Huong, Ngo Kim Long, Kim Van Dung and Nguyen Quoc Lam.

The jury included Swiss chef Norbert Ehrbar, vice chairman, Saigon Professional Chefs’ Guild, which is a member of the World Association of Chefs Societies; Justin Quach Thien Tuong, Executive chef, Vietnam Air Caterers; David Thai, Executive chef of five-star Sofitel Plaza Saigon Hotel; Vincent Tan, Executive chef of five-star Equatorial Saigon Hotel; and chef Vo Quoc, editor-in-chief of magazine Mon Ngon Viet Nam (Vietnamese Delicacies).

The magazine and HCM City-based company Unilever Food Solutions Vietnam co-organized the competition, which saw about 50 chefs competing.

Swiss chef Norbert Ehrbar, the jury head, said the 10 young chefs would undertake additional training to prepare for September’s international competition, which will go under World Association of Chefs Societies standards.

They will then spend more time working with professional chefs in the city to improve their skills.

Chef Ehrbar said the international competition would see its jury members coming from Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland and other countries.

Vietnam’s unique landscapes exhibited in Hanoi  

Some of the world’s most beautiful geological images are currently on display at the Dialogue on Geoheritage photo exhibition in Hanoi.

After a run at the Hanoi Opera House, the show at the Pham Ngu Lao Guest House through July 23 features 56 individual photographs and three photo albums chosen from a photo contest held in May.

The photo show comes as part of the 2nd International Asia-Pacific Geoparks Network, a conference on in Hanoi through July 24 in which countries with UNESCO-recognized geoparks are meeting to discuss the preservation of natural landscapes.

UNESCO recognizes a geopark as a “territory encompassing one or more sites of scientific importance, not only for geological reasons but also by virtue of its archaeological, ecological or cultural value,” according to the UNESCO website.

The global body’s official geopark program seeks to conserve the planet’s geological heritage while encouraging sustainable research and development by the concerned communities.

The photos on show in Hanoi, selected from 2,219 works by 179 artists nationwide, were meant to capture the concept of geological heritage through images. They feature landscapes in Vietnam, including the famous red and yellow sand-dune beaches in the central coastal province of Binh Thuan, Ban Gioc Waterfall in the northern province of Cao Bang, and Ma Pi Leng Mountain and the famous stone fences of the northernmost mountainous province of Ha Giang.

The first prize was awarded to the photo album ‘Vietnamese Stones – Seas’ by Hoang Trung Thuy, second prize was taken by ‘Lithophone’ by Vo Ngoc Lan and ‘Ly Son fairy island’ (Quang Ngai Province) by Nguyen Xuan Vinh.

Third prizes went to ‘Son Tra Cave’ (in Da Nang) by Truong Minh Dien, ‘A new day on top of Fansipan’ (Lao Cai Province) by Bui Quoc Ky and ‘Dragon down’ (Quang Ninh Province) by Do Khanh Giang.

The Dong Van Karst Stone Plateau in Ha Giang Province is the first official UNESCO global Geopark in Vietnam and the second in Southeast Asia.

Hollywood instructor to lead two-day film course in Vietnam  

Dov Simens, a noted Hollywood film teacher, will host a three-day course for local filmmakers from July 26 to 28 at HCMC’s Institute for Culture Exchange with France (IDECAF.)

Simens has been offering a two-day crash course in independent filmmaking for decades.

The course, which costs US$395 internationally, is geared toward those who don’t have enough money to enroll in a four year film course—which can require hundreds of thousands of dollars.    

According to the website of the Hollywood Film Institute (www.hfivn.com), Simens’ course in Vietnam will be available for a special discount price of $295 for local filmmakers and $195 for students.

Attendees who registered before July 1 were also given US$30 discount.

More information about the course can be accessed by calling Phong at 0903 737350 or emailing info@mfcvn.com.  

The course will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at IDECAF, 31 Thai Van Lung St., District 1, HCMC.

Indochina to unite at arts festival  
   
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will showcase their best traditional and modern arts at the 2nd Indochina Art Festival in central Vietnam July 22-26, Vietnam News Agency has reported.

The event in the town of Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province, will feature 340 artists from 12 art troupes, including the Laos National Art Troupe and Cambodian Royal Art Troupe.

The artists will perform new work as well as traditional folk songs and dances. Work highlighting friendship and cooperation among the three Indochinese countries will also be featured, according to organizers from the Performing Art Department and the province’s People’s Committee, who spoke at a press conference Monday.

A street parade and an incense offering ceremony for soldiers who fell in the three countries’ battles for freedom and independence will also be part of the event.

The first Indochina Arts Festival was held in 2007, also in Quang Tri Province, a part of central Vietnam bordering Laos and home to the former Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which once divided the country during the Vietnam War.

17th Vietnam Film Festival to take place in Phu Yen

The 17th Vietnam Film Festival will run from December 16 to December 18 at the Sao Mai Theatre in Phu Yen province.

The information was announced at a press briefing in Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen province, on July 23 by the Cinematography Department and the Phu Yen provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Feature length films, videos, documentaries and animated films will be screened during the festival. There will also be a seminar on movies and an exhibition on the 40 years of the Vietnam Film Festival.

Artists at the festival will offer incense at the Uncle Ho Temple and Nui Nhan War Memorial, participate in charity work and hold exchanges with the audience.

PV