Folk singing festival 2011 begins

Vietnam Television has launched the 2011 Folk Singing Festival to discover new original folk melodies peculiar to each region as well as prominent folk singing voices.

Participants in the festival will include artists aged between 18-30 (from both professional and amateur art troupes) who are capable of rendering different original folk tunes, and artisans aged 18-80. The People’s and Eminent Artists are ineligible for the contest.

Photo: VOV
Each province or city is permitted to submit two or three typical performances; each province in mountainous areas or primarily inhabited by ethnic minorities can send in up to five entries.

The final of the festival will take place in six regions: the northern delta and midland, the northern mountainous areas, the north central region, the Central Highlands, the south central region, and the southern region.

Flamenco performance welcomes New Year

Vietnamese leading musicians and guitarists, including Luong Xuan Dinh, Le Duc Son, and pianist Nguyen Tuan Nam, will perform at the Flamenco show on January 24, 2011 at the Hanoi Opera House.

The event was the Vietnam National Academy of Music’s gift to the music fans on the occasion of the New Year.

The audience will enjoy the young and exciting night with world-famous Flamenco by musicians Armik and Rosenberg.

Highland’s Gong preservation project

The Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts was assigned to planning the highland Gong culture preservation project by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Director of the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts, Nguyen Chi Ben, said the project should be completed by March, 31, 2011.  

The Gong culture is the property of ethnic minorities such as Ba Na, Xe Dang, M’nong, Ko Ho, RoMam, Ede, and Gia Rai in five central highland provinces of Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dac Nong and Lam Dong. 

This heritage features the local people’s spirit and mind and expresses their daily lives, however, it has been losing prevalence amongst the people. 

According to 2010 statistics, the number of Gong in Kon Tum province decreased by 30 percent and in Gia Lai by 50 percent over 2005.

Japanese cartoon festival to be held in Ha Noi

An array of eight famous Japanese animated films will be screened at the National Cinema Centre on January 12-16.

The event is being jointly held by the Japanese Culture Department, the Japanese Cultural Exchange Centre in Viet Nam, the Cinematographic Department and the National Cinema Centre.

The festival will especially feature Spirit away directed by Miyazaki Hayao in 2001, which won the Golden Bear award in 2002 and was among the Oscar competitors for best animated feature film at the 75th annual Academy Awards ceremony.

Spirit away tells about the adventures of a 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, who is accidentally thrown into a "spirit" world. While working at a bathhouse catering to spirits and gods, she tries to rescue her parents from a spell that transformed them into pigs.

Prior to the event, popular voice actress Mitsuki Saiga, guitarist Kazuya Nishikawa and several film makers will engage in an exchange with Vietnamese audience.

Cartoon pilgrims may get free tickets at the Japanese Cultural Exchange Centre at 27 Quang Trung Street, Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi, as from 2pm on January 5.

Opera House to count down to New Year's Eve

A special New Year's Eve countdown party will be held outside the Ha Noi Opera House at 9pm on Friday to usher in the new year with entertainment and countdown clocks facing in four directions.

The programme, sponsored by Heineken, will feature performances by singers My Linh and Nguyen Duc Cuong and music by DJs Jonathan Glaser from Sweden, Tempo from the US and Tuan Kruise of Viet Nam.

TV festival celebrates individual contributions

Individual contributions were recognised for the first time at the 30th annual television festival that ended on Sunday in the southern city of Can Tho.

The Best Director award went to Bui Quoc Viet for Dam Laây Bac (Marsh), produced by VTV's Television Film Production Centre.

Best Actor was awarded to Huynh Cong for his role as Huynh Van Nghe in Vo Ngua Troi Nam (The South's Heroes), produced by HTV's Television Film Company.

Actress Ho Thanh Ngoc won Best Actress for her role as Lua in Me Chong Nang Dau (Mother and Daughter-in-Law) by Vinh Long Television.

Best Cameraman went to Nguyen Thanh Phuc for his work on Vo Ngua Troi Nam.

There were more than 750 entries at the festival, including documentaries, reports, TV series, theatre and musicals.

Seminars were also held at the festival on digital television and children's programming.

VNN/VNS/VOV