Landmark cartoon offers poetry in motion

The first Vietnamese-made stop-motion series Xin Chao But Chi (Hi Pencil) will be brought to cinemas this June, offering a feast of entertainment to children for free.

The series, which was broadcast on TV last year and attracted young audiences, is produced by Huynh Thanh Thanh and Pham Phuong Anh, featuring 60 short cartoons telling the story of how a pencil adapts to life with a family of pens.

Looking sharp: Characters in Hi Pencil, the first stop-motion cartoon in Viet Nam. — Photo courtesy xinchaobutchi.com

The series was developed from the namesake five-minute cartoon which won a prize from the United Nations in the Plural+ Video Festival held in the US in 2011.

In creating the stop-motion cartoon, the female producers used 1,000 photos and put clay on the pens to make them look like human beings. They also used handmade props and backgrounds for the cartoon, spending three sleepless days and nights finishing the series.

Since gaining the support of Dien Quan Media Company last year, the 22-year-old girls launched Xin Chao But Chi Studio and developed the award-winning short into a 60-episode series with educational messages for audiences on soft skills, protecting the environment and morality.

The series will be shown in four 20-minute screening shifts every Sunday morning from 10am to 12pm at BHD Star Cineplex Icon 68, 2 Hai Trieu Street, HCM City, starting on June 9. It will be dubbed by young actors such as Ngoc Trai and Tuong Vy.

The screening will form part of the Enjoying Summer with Pencil event to be held on June 1 at the city's Children House at 169 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street.

Now in its second year, the festival is held annually to celebrate the International Children's Day.

Free tickets for the screening can be collected at the event, from Xin Chao But Chi Studio at 39 Dinh Cong Trang Street, or at the cinema.

French institute presents romantic films in June

Two romantic movies by French American director Julie Delpy will be screened at the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France in June.

Two Day in Paris and Two Days in New York will be shown along with Brodeuses (A Common Thread), J'aime Regarder Les Filles (18 Years Old and Rising), and 38 Temoins (38 Witnesses).

The films, with Vietnamese subtitles, will begin at 3pm on Saturdays.

The institute is at 28 Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1. Tickets cost VND15,000.

Spotlight on wars in Viet Nam

Hundreds of pieces of military equipment belonging to Vietnamese soldiers as well as photos depicting the war against invading French colonialists and the American War have gone on display at the Museum of Living History in Montreuil commune in Paris's eastern suburbs.

Pieces of history: Hundreds of pieces of military equipment belonging to Vietnamese soldiers as well as photos depicting the wars against invading French colonialists and Americans have gone on display at the Museum of Living History in Montreuil commune in Paris's eastern suburbs. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

Entitled Indochina-France-Viet Nam, the ongoing exhibition offers visitors a chance to learn about the determination of the Vietnamese nation to fight for independence.

Most of the items on display, including uniforms, soldiers' canteens, home-made hats, belts, and cartridge-boxes, are from the collection of the French historian and photographer Alan Ruscio.

The exhibition also showcases many anti-war posters released in France to support Vietnamese people, as well as articles about the war published in Paris Match and Humanite.

Different periods of Vietnamese history are reflected, including the French in Indochina at the end of the 1920s, and the Vietnamese in France from 1914 to 1945.

Held by the French Association of Living History in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in France, the exhibition is to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and France and of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords to end the American War in Viet Nam.

Japan’s unique “Winter Garden”

A Japanese contemporary art exhibition titled ”Winter Garden” will be held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from June 8 to July 21.

The event is organized by the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam in co-ordination with the General Consulate of Japan in HCM City and the Embassy of Japan in Hanoi.

Curated by art critic Midori Matsui, the “Winter Garden: The Exploration of the Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art” displays 35 drawings, paintings, and video clips by 14 Japanese artists from the late 1990s to the first decade of the 21st century.

Among them are three video clips by Koki Tanaka, who has been selected as an outstanding Japanese artist to take part in the 55th International Art Exhibition themed “La Biennale di Venezia” in Italy from June 1 to November 28.

VN studio chosen to light up Da Nang's Dragon Bridge

ASA Lighting Design Studios has been chosen as the lighting designer for Cau Rong, or the Dragon Bridge, Da Nang's new landmark.

"We are thrilled to be involved with this unique project," Dr Tran Van Thanh, design director of ASA Studios, said.

"The dragon is a legendary creature in Vietnamese culture, but no one has ever seen a real dragon in life.

"Using lights to portray the image of a dragon that fits everyone's imagination is a challenging job, so we will carefully study the dragon in Vietnamese culture."

It is designed to be an open system that allows endless changes in the lighting scenario to fit any script or event.

The default scene would be golden illumination, slowly changing to four other carefully picked colours – silver, green, light blue, and blue.

The system should be linked and synchronised easily with other entertainment systems.

The Dragon Bridge linking downtown Da Nang with Son Tra – Dien Ngoc, a popular tourist area, will be a new symbol of the city and attract tourists at weekends to enjoy shows.

The 666m steel bridge, whose arches made up the body of the dragon, was unveiled on the 38th anniversary of Da Nang's liberation on March 29.

It was designed by US-based Louis Berger Group and cost VND1.7 trillion (US$80.9 million) to build.

Yoon Eun Hye shows off beauty in Hanoi

Korean star Yoon Eun Hye posed for a Harper's Bazaar photo shoot at the Hanoi Opera House during her trip to Vietnam to attend the opening of a Burberry shop.

A famous model, singer and actress in the Republic of Korea (RoK), Hye is known as the “Queen of Advertising” with a number of contracts to represent exclusive fashion and cosmetics brand names.

She is also the first Korean model to be photographed for the Vietnam edition of Harper's Bazaar, which will be published in July 2013.

A glamourous, elegant series of Yoon Eun Hye’s pictures at the Hanoi Opera House and Sofitel Metropole hotel will be released in the sixth edition of Harper's Bazaar in the RoK on June 24.

Dancenter prepares to mix it up

The District 2-based dance centre Dancenter will present Inspiration a dance show featuring jazz, hiphop, ballet, tap, contemporary, and belly dances, on June 8 and 9 at the HCM City Youth Cultural House.

They will be inspired by nature, a poem, a mythology and choreographers and dancers' own stories.

Tickets costing VND100,000 – VND200,000 are on sale at Dancenter and The Refinery in District 1.

The cultural house is at 4 Pham Ngoc Thach in District 1.

Art market opens up at VinGallery

VinGallery in District 2 will host an art market where visitors can buy works and meet artists working there on June 8.

Works going under the hammer will include paintings, photographs, handmade jewellery, fashion accessories, sculptures, and decorative items.

There will be games for kids including paper craft, jewellery craft, and face painting.

The event will run from 10am to 4pm. VinGallery is located at 2 Le Van Mien Street.

Practical European cooking classes to begin

If you want to learn how to cook well-known European dishes, you can join a new cooking class at the Ha Noi-based CitySmart Hospitality Education (CHE) on Hoang Hoa Tham Street.

Classes are taught by experienced international trainers and chefs including Australian Peter Lester who is widely recognised in Viet Nam for his victory on the Iron Chef Vietnam show in 2012.

Trainees can learn international recipes including pizza, pasta, cake, bread, ice-cream and pastry using Vietnamese ingredients readily available here in Ha Noi. All the necessary ingredients and equipment are provided.

To book your place or ask for further information about the classes, email info@CHE.vn or call 0437286161/0984286161.

Party time to mark world children's day

Foreigners' kids are invited to join a party for International Children's Day on Saturday.

Hosted by the International School of Vietnam (ISV), the party will feature a lot of fun activities such as swimming, a football match, treasure hunt, BBQ, performers and more.

Kids may invite their parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and friends to join them from 3pm to 8pm at the ISV campus, 6-7 Nguyen Cong Thai St, Dai Kim Urban Area, Dinh Cong, Hoang Mai District.

RSVP today at isvietnam2013@gmail.com or Tel. (04) 39334116, 0932336568.

Ukecellosax trio to perform this weekend

The trio Ze Champagne Unicorns, often referred to as "the world's finest Franco-Scots-Canadian ukecellosax band", will have their performance at The Hanoi Social Club (THSC) on Saturday.

Theirs is a blend of culture and musical instruments.

The club is at 6 Hoi Vu Street. Ticket costs VND100,000. The perfromance starts at 8pm.

National art contests aim to highlight new talents and inspire the public

The HCM City Literature and Arts Association is organising a national contest in eight categories to unearth fresh talents, encourage interaction among artists and enable the public to enjoy new works.

The association hopes the competition will focus attention on achievements recorded as well as challenges faced by the country in almost four decades after the end of the American War.

It has invited talented experts in those fields to judge the works of both professional and amateur writers and artists participating in the contests.

Submissions of high-quality will be introduced to the public through print publications, association officials said.

Those interested in participating should send their works to the contests' organising board at 99, Nguyen Van Troi Street, Phu Nhuan District, HCM City.

The deadline for submissions will be June 30, and the prize winners will be announced in August.

The association had already launched two writing and art contests focusing on the nation's farmers and their lives.

VN Buddha statues set Asian records

The statue of Maitreya Buddha in the Mekong province of An Giang has been recognised by the Asia Book of Record as the largest in Asia.

The statute is installed in the Chua Phat Lon (Large Buddha Statue Pagoda), located 710 metres above sea level on Cam Mountain in An Hao Commune, Tinh Bien District.

The pagoda was built on a 2.2ha area between February 2004 and December 2005. The statue is 33.6 metres high from the base to the top.

At a ceremony held this morning (May 29) to mark the recognition, Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury, General Director of Asia Book of Records, said the organisation will also recognise a statue of the Buddha attaining Nirvana, located in Binh Thuan Province's Linh Son-Truong Tho Pagoda, as the longest such monument in Asia.

Situated on the Ta Cu Mountain, this statue is 49 meters long and 11 meters high. It was built between 1963 and 1966.

A ‘Monkey Party' to boost Sea week

A Monkey Party will be held at Hon Lao Island, known as Monkey Island, 2.4km off the coast of Nha Trang on Wednesday, June 5.

The event is being held to mark national Sea and Island week. It will the first such party for the 1,200 monkeys that inhabit the island.

"From a few hundred monkeys in 1991, we have bred the number up to 1,200 monkeys," Nhieu said. ‘For the party, we have prepared trays of fruit and a stage for music and dance performances from 8am.

"We want to send a message that environmental protection pays off," she said.

The 35ha island hosts around 1,000 tourist a day. A fleet of 17 power boats and three speed boats will be standing by for the 10-minute trip to the island at a cost of VND70,000 (US$3.30) return each.

The island is also an ideal place for camping with tents along beaches and bungalows.

VNN/VOV/VNS