Award-winning film premiered in Vietnam

Romantic drama Cham (Touch), a Vietnamese film that has won several international awards, has been officially launched in Hanoi.

The film by Vietnamese-American director Nguyen Duc Minh is set in a nail care salon. It is about a special friendship that develops between a shy Vietnamese-American manicurist, Tam, and an American mechanic, Brendan.

She not only cleans his greasy hands, but also gives advice on his marriage, which is on the rocks.

Touch has won several awards, including Audience’s Choice for Best Feature Film at the Vietnamese International Film Festival, Best Story Line and Best Cinematography at the Boston International Film Festival, Best First Feature at the Santa Rosa International Film Festival, and Jury Award at the Atlanta Asian Film Gala.

Porter Lynn starring manicurist Tam won her Best Actress Award at the Boston International Film Festival for her moving performance. Several talented actors also acted in the film such as John Ruby, Melinda Bennett, Long Nguyen, and Hiep Thi Le.

New stamps featuring bears aim to promote wildlife protection

The Ministry of Information and Communications on Sunday published a set of bear stamps that will be available at post offices across the country.

The set includes four stamps covering two bear species in Viet Nam: moon bear (Ursus thibetanus) and sun bear (Ursus malayanus). Both species are listed in the Vietnamese Red Book as endangered species.

"The publishing of these stamps contributes to the conservation of bears as well as other endangered wildlife in Viet Nam," said Nguyen Vu Khoi, CEO of the non-profit organisation Wildlife At Risk (WAR), which provided technical support for publishing the stamp set.

"Everyone can join WAR to save bears by not using bear bile and other bear products," Khoi said.

On the occasion, WAR also published a set of six postcards called "Save our bears".

According to the Forestry General Department, more than 4,000 bears, mostly moon bears, are being kept for bile extraction. The figure is much higher than bears found in the wild.

Ivory Coast female band to rock Hanoi, Hue  

Artist Manou Gallo and her female rock band from Belgium will make their Vietnam debut at Hanoi’s Youth Theater on April 5 before performing at the Hue Festival 2012 a few days later.

According to a press release from the Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation to Vietnam, 40-year-old Gallo hails from Divo, a small city in the Center-Western region of the Ivory Coast, the cradle of the roots of the Djiboi people.  

In 1984, at the age of 12, Manou took part in her first show and joined band Woya the same year. Very soon, Woya became famous in the whole Western African region.

In 1997, Gallo came to Belgium for the first time where she joined “Zap Mama” band and founded the band “The Djiboi” in 2001.

In late 2002, Manou co-produced “DIDA”, her first CD, with Michel Seba, Bilou Doneux, Patrick Dorcéan and Poney Gross from Zig Zag World. “DIDA” received unanimous international critical acclaim.

The years 2003 and 2004 saw her projected onto the international scene with showcases some major music events, including the Womex in Seville, Spain, the MIDEM in Cannes, France at the “Voices of the World” in 2004, sharing the stage with guests like Mariza, Ilenes Barnes and Stacey Kent, and the Mercat De Musica in Vic, Spain, the same year.

"In 2006, overcoming her shyness, transgressing her cultural barriers, her education, her roots, while exploring inside herself the necessary resources, the female rocker composed her second album “Manou Gallo” in collaboration with Patrick Dorceau," the press release says.

In 2008, the artist, who has given hundreds of concerts in the most well known European festivals, created her new semi-acoustic band: the “women's band”.  

Last year, Manou performed a series of concerts around the world (Canada, Portugal, Hungary, France, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Togo, and Kenya) and started production of the new CD of the Zimbabwean band Mokoomba that will be released this year.

For reservation (free tickets), please contact ticket@walbruvietnam.org.

Tickets are being distributed at: The Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation to Vietnam, Room 505 – 5th Floor – DAEHA Center, 360 Kim Ma Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

Tél: (+ 84) (4) 3.831.52.40 & 41.

Youth Theater is located on 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street, Hanoi.

French bands to play in Hanoi  

The French cultural center in Hanoi L’Espace will organize a baroque concert on April 10.

The Stradivaria Ensemble will perform Stabat Mater, a baroque masterpiece by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1726), with conductor Daniel Cuiller at 8 p.m.

The band consists of a soprano, a contra-tenor, a violinist, a viola artist, a cellist, a positive organist and a flutist.

Tickets priced at VND100,000 (US$5) are available at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street.

Smooth, another French band who plays a mixture of pop, electro and soul, will perform at the center on April 5 at 8 p.m.

The band has a lead singer who also plays the guitar and the keyboard, a bass singer, and a drummer.

Tickets cost VND120,000 ($6) apiece.

L'Espace members and students enjoy half prices in both concerts.

Thai funk DJ returns to Hanoi  

Thai funk artist Maft Sai of Bangkok-based Zudrangma Records will return to Hanoi with his "Isaan Dancehall" night at the ATK bar on April 7.

A press release from CAMA (Club for Arts and Music Appreciation), organizer of the event, said the night will begin at 8pm.

Maft Sai set up Zudrangma Records, a vehicle to show off his love for traditional Thai sounds Molam and Luk Thung, after returning to Bangkok from residencies around London, the release says.

It says his "Paradise Bangkok live shows showcased, for the first time in a Bangkok club setting, the vintage sounds of Luk Thung and Molam alongside live shows from national artists such as Waipod Petchsupan."

The nights attracted a young, hip audience, as vintage Thai Funk was played alongside music from Jamaica, West Africa, Asia and beyond, to create a truly unique mix that is Maft Sai’s signature sound, the release says.

It says the Zudrangma repertoire has since expanded to include a new concept, Isaan Dancehall, "where tough basslines and heavy percussion from Kingston to Khorat represent the sounds of the world wide dancehall, designed to move any crowd around the globe."

The night in Hanoi is for just 80 people. Tickets are available now at ATK, 73a Mai Hac De Street, Hanoi.

Music show in Russia commemorates renowned Vietnamese musician

A music show to commemorate the 11th death anniversary of famous Vietnamese musician Trinh Cong Son (April 1) was held by the Vietnam Literature and Arts Association (VLAA) in Russia on March 31.  

The show drew nearly 100 Trinh Cong Son fans, including staff from the Vietnamese embassy, representatives from Vietnamese associations, students and people living and working in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, as well as popular singers from the VLAA.

Musician Pham Hong Ha gave a brief presentation about Son’s career saying that with a large amount of 600 songs composed in 20 years, the late musician created a unique genre known as ‘Trinh music’ which will live forever in the hearts of international and Vietnamese music lovers.

His 20 selected songs performed by amateur singers from the Vietnamese community in Russia received thunderous applause from the audience.

Hue Festival 2012 media centre debuts

The Press Centre for the Hue Festival 2012 was inaugurated at the Thua Thien-Hue provincial Journalists Association on April 2 to assist both domestic and foreign reporters during the biennial event.

The centre is equipped with computers and high-speed internet connections, printers, photocopiers, as well as incorporated programs for photo, audio and video editing, that will be available free of charge to reporters covering the event.

Over 500 journalists have already registered to work at the festival, which will take place from April 7-15 this year.

The festival organizers also held a training course for more than 60 students from colleges in the city who have volunteered to support communications and logistics throughout the festival.

The liaison officers, who were chosen for their good command of foreign language and interpersonal skills, as well as a solid knowledge of Vietnamese culture and history, will accompany and work with international diplomatic corps and art troupes participating in the festival.

Vietnamese students win first prize in French language contest

Vietnam’s Hue University College of Foreign Languages won the first prize in the knowledge show in the final round of the French language contest held by the Francophone University Agency (AUF) in Vientiane in Laos on March 31.

The Lao team won first prize in the talent show with a short play entitled “The tradition of Bun Pi May”.

Around 30 contestants from the National University of Laos, the Royal University of Law and Economics Phnom Penh (Cambodia), the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, the Can Tho University and Hue University College of Foreign Languages participated in the event.

They demonstrated their knowledge of French language by answering questions and acting in a short play to introduce a traditional fairy tale of each country.

The event offered an opportunity for students to improve their dynamism and introduce their country’s traditional culture.

Addressing the contest, Lao Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, Sengdeuane Lachanthaboune, and Director of AUF’s Asia-Pacific Office, Olivier Garro, said that the contest is among the activities marking the Francophone International Day 2012 which have been implemented in Francophone community countries.

Vietnam’s image highlighted in Italy

 The Vietnamese embassy in Italy, in co-ordination with Lotus Gallery, has organized an exhibition entitled “A Glimpse of Vietnam” in Florence, Italy on March 30.

On display are 50 works on silk, paper, and canvas, as well as lacquer paintings of the people and landscape of Vietnam.

The show also features 83-year-old artist Mai Long demonstrating traditional Vietnamese silk painting.

The exhibition, which will last until April 6, aims to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Italy in 2013.

The exhibition will then travel to Venice from April 12-18 and finally to Rome in late April.

Hung Kings worship ritual – a spiritual cultural heritage

Millions of people across the country annually flock to the sacred Nghia Linh mountain in the northern midland province of Phu Tho on the anniversary of the death of the Hung Kings, which falls on lunar March 10, to pay tribute to the legendary national founders.

The worship ritual originates from ancestor worship rituals in Vietnamese families and has become a significant cultural festival for the people. It helps to link the past and the present and foster strong sentiments of Vietnamese people for their families and country.

The ritual is significant in the mind of Vietnamese people as it confirms that they have the same father and mother. The origin reminds Vietnamese of their unity and mutual affection.

It is said that Hung Kings taught people how to plough and grow rice and granted vitality to land, houses, trees and livestock.

Therefore, the worship ritual demonstrates the moral saying, “When drinking the water, remembering its source”.

In recent times, more attention has been paid to the Hung Kings worship ritual.

According to the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies, about 20 percent of temples, communal houses and shrines relating to the ritual were destroyed by time, war and bad weather.

The community has requested the restoration of the sites for this important festival, as well as related festivals and sacrifices.

Nguyen Ba Khiem, Deputy Director of the Phu Tho Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, says many villages have voluntarily contributed money and human resources for the restoration of worship sites.

In several villages, the elders have themselves collected legends on the Hung Kings and given them to researchers and heritage officers.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also established a data bank on the Hung Kings Temple Festival to serve research and restore related customs which had almost been lost.

Pho Tho province is completing a dossier on the Hung Kings worship ritual to seek UNESCO recognition as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

It has also launched an action plan to protect and develop the worship ritual.

Under the plan, Phu Tho completed an inventory of its ritual and expanded the inventory to other localities nationwide and Hung Kings worship sites in foreign countries.

The northeastern province also conducted research on ceremonies and customs relating to the ritual while teaching about the ceremonies for future generations.

The province successfully organised a seminar on ancestor worship ritual in modern life and Hung King’s worship ritual in Vietnam, bringing together over 400 scholars from the US, France, Japan and China and nearly 100 domestic scholars.

Nguyen Xuan Cac, Director of the Hung Kings Relic Site, said the annual Hung Kings Temple Festival aim to build and develop a modern Vietnamese culture with national characteristics.

In an effort to preserve the ritual, the National Cultural Heritage Department and the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies have coordinated with the Ministry of Education and Training to add Hung Kings worship ritual legends into school curricula at all levels.

Vietnam catches up on 3D animation

With the local animation industry dominated by foreign cartoons and comic books, Vietnam has recently seen a generation of young artists who can make sensations with their 3D animated works.

Last May, a 3D cartoon titled “Duoi Bong Cay” (In the Shade of the Tree), made by group of students aged from 18 to 28 who call themselves Colory, has become a sensation when it recorded over 300,000 views just one week after its release.

Telling a simple but emotional story about four characters named Chuot (Mouse), Ech (Frog), Kua (Crab) and Ran (Snake) and their friendship, the 7-minute movie has impressed audiences with lively characters, a funny plot and cute voices.

The movie, which took its creators five months to finish, was shown for free at Ho Chi Minh City-based BHD cinema as pre-shows.

“Duoi Bong Cay” also won the jury’s ward Golden Heart, the audience’s award Red Heart and Best Director for Doan Tran Tuan Anh at the Vietnamese online short film festival YxineFF in December.

The movie has so far reached more than 1 million views on YouTube.

7 months after the “Duoi Bong Cay” sensation, local netizens continued to get excited with a comic book titled “Dat Rong” (The land of Dragon) made by the 3D Art Group in Hanoi.

The 30-episode series tells the story of Phong, an orphan who is smart and good at parkour – a French street art that involves moving around or over obstacles at speed.

10 young artists of 3D Art Group said it took them around 24 months of hard work to finish the series. Through “Dat Rong,” they wanted to show readers how beautiful Vietnam is via the places the main character goes to such as Hanoi, Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, My Son holy land and Sai Gon Harbor.

A trailer posted on YouTube to promote the book has received positive comments.

The group said they might think about adapting the comic into a cartoon in the future.

Meanwhile, the recent animated sensation is the 3D cartoon version of the renowned Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen’s tale “The Little Match Girl.”

Keeping the original name of the story, the 7-minute-12-second movie made by True – D Animation Studio moved audiences to tears with its main character, a little girl who has wide, innocent eyes selling matches on a cold New Year’s Eve.

The sweet and touching background music is an important factor making the movie a success.

The 1-minute 23-second trailer from the movie received more than 26,000 views with almost 800 likes from YouTube users only three days after being released on the site.

What surprises people is that the group of 10 members has not taken any advanced classes on making 3D cartoons. They just learned it from the Internet and shared experiences with one another.