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With their goal of introducing Vietnamese dishes to international friends, Vo Anh Tuan from Big C
Supermarket, Caravelle Hotel’s Nguyen Van Hung and Nguyen Truong Kim Phung from ABC Bakery took part on the opening day on March 3.
And apart from joining sideline activities during the final round, the Vietnamese team was also invited to visit Baking Center in Lille to exchange baking tips with professional bakers.
Talent contest’s first finalists announced
English teacher Vo Trong Phuc and “Dong Thoi Gian” (The Flow of Time) group have become the first finalists in the “Vietnam’s Got Talent” contest.
At the semi-final night, broadcast on March 6, Phuc performed the song “You’re Beautiful,” originally by famous English singer Jame Blunt; and “Dong Thoi Gian” left an impression with their performance of the well-known classic musical “Notre-Dame de Paris.”
While commenting on Phuc’s performance, actor Thanh Loc, a member of the contest’s jury, said Phuc absolutely changed from the qualifier round.
“You turned from a nomad with a guitar singing on a large file into a professional singer performing on a stage,” Loc said.
While Phuc gained more fans with his good-looks, sweet guitar and cozy singing voice, the group “Dong Thoi Gian” strongly impressed the jury with their musical style, which has not been very popular in Vietnam.
“I think your performance will be one of the performances that people remember most throughout this year’s Vietnam’s Got Talent,” said hard-to-please judge Huy Tuan.
“I want to say thank you for bringing a musical to Vietnamese audiences,” he added.
After the first night, six other semi-final nights will take place every Sunday to pick the 14 best performances for the finale out of 46 remaining performances.
Japan’s disaster films screened in cities
Four Japanese disaster films will be screened this weekend to mark the one-year anniversary of March 2011 earthquake and tsunami The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam will host a film screening and lectures on “A Remembrance of the 3.11 Tohoku Earthquake” in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City this weekend.
The event will show four disaster-related films, including the 2010 “Haru’s Journey,” which provides an insider’s look at Japanese culture through its themes of acceptance, endurance and familial commitment, and the 2011 documentary “Fukushima Hula girls”, which tells the struggle of a group of hula dancers of “Spa Resort Hawaiians” to overcome the March 11 earthquake and re-open the facility in tsunami-hit Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture.
Also screening are “Rock: Wanko’s island” (2011), which tells the true story of a family from the small island of Miyakejima who had to abandon their beloved dog, Rock, when a massive volcanic eruption in August 2000 forced all residents to evacuate the island; and “Quartet” (2012), which was made about a music-loving family in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Urayasu City, which was affected by severe soil liquefactions after the March 11 Earthquake.
There will also be lectures by Japanese professors Toru Takanarita of Sendai University and Taro Igarashi of Tohoku University on the role and activities of architects during and after the March 11 Earthquake. Both lectures will be delivered in Japanese with simultaneous interpretation into Vietnamese.
The Japan Foundation said the event aims to provide the most updated information on the current situation and recovery of the affected areas, as well as lessons and issues learned from this experience.
The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake of the Pacific coast in Japan occurred on Friday 11 March with a magnitude of 9.0. The fourth strongest earthquake in the last centuries triggered a tremendously large tsunami and resulted in 15,854 deaths, 6,023 injured and 3,276 people missing (as of 2 March 2012) in the North Eastern region of the country.
With Vietnamese subtitles and simultaneous interpretation, the program will be held from 8am-12am, March 10 at the Conference Room, The National Library, Hanoi and March 12 at C103 Room, HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh.
Admission is free but registration is recommended.
89-year-old singer makes semi-final round of TV contest
Ms. Tran Thi Tuy, an 89-year-old from Nha Trang, has made it to the semi-final round of a television singing contest organised by HTV.
According to the organisers of HTV's "Tieng hat mai xanh 2012" (Singing Forever 2012), Ms. Tran Thi Tuy, an 89-year-old woman from Nha Trang, has made it to the singing competition's semi-final round.
Ms. Tran was born in 1923 in Nha Trang , Khanh Hoa Province. Together with 89 other candidates she has been chosen to compete in the semi-final round after 300 candidates sang in the first round.
She made a good impression with her sweet voice when she sang "Trang Mo Ben Suoi" (Mysterious moonlight by a stream) on the first round.
Last year, Ms Le Thi Nhung (76 year old), the oldest contestant got into the se-mi final round which was also a phenomenal of this contest.
US musician shows love to Vietnamese women via song
McLaughlin, American musician who was in charge of music for last year’s Mrs. World contest in Florida, has announced a song he wrote when the pageant took place to express his love to Vietnamese women.
“You’re the perfect woman and you’ll always be in my dream,” Gary wrote in his song titled “Perfect Women.”
In the music video which also captured some activities of Mrs. Vietnam Thu Huong who finished third at the pageant, the musician talked about the reason he wrote the song.
“In 2009, I had opportunity to come to Vietnam and experienced everything your country offered. The beauty of the countryside really impressed me but I think I was most impressed by the women of Vietnam. They’re special. They have something different from all women I had ever met,” he explained.
Gary then talks about the special memories he had with a Vietnamese woman named Linh who lives in Vung Tau, and his impression with the Vietnam’s representative at the Mrs. World contest last December.
“Getting to know her (Thu Huong) through the three weeks we spent together brought back all the memories and everything that I love about the Vietnamese women,” he said.
“I want to write a song about the Vietnamese women, and I call it “perfect woman” because I think there is a perfect woman and she lives in Vietnam,” he added.
“For all of the women in Vietnam, this is your song.”
Thua Thien-Hue to host Vietnam-US literature forum
A forum on Vietnam-US literature will be held in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on March 9.
The event marks the 20th anniversary of the first post war meeting between Vietnamese and US veteran writers.
Participants discuss the translation and introduction of Vietnamese literature to US readers over the past two decades and in the future.
Vu Tu Nam, the forum’s initiator, said the affection between the two sides is of great importance.
US writers come to Vietnam to better understand the living conditions of Vietnamese people and the development of the country’s literature and vice versa, he added.
In the past 20 years, the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences at the University of Massachusetts Boston has gathered US war veterans from the Vietnam War, urging the US government to fully normalize relations with Vietnam.
In addition, the US veteran writers at the centre have cooperated with the Vietnamese Writers’ Association to translate and present poems, short stories and articles by Vietnamese writers to the US media.
Festival to feature Brazilian cuisine and music
The Brazilian Festa II will take place on Friday, at Ha Noi's Au Lac do Brazil following the success of November's inaugural event.
Diners will enjoy an animated night of music and Latin dance performances in the unique Brazilian style, special buffet menu featuring Barbecue Churrasco and optional drinks such as Caipirinhas.
The festa, to run from 6-12pm at 6A Cao Ba Quat Street, will also feature special performances from Zamina, DJ Kulture and samba dancers.
American group MEN to hit stage in capital
The Brooklyn-based band and art/performance collective MEN will hit the stage in Ha Noi for the first time on Sunday.
Fronted by feminist electropunk pioneer J.D. Samson (Le Tigre), the group has been winning fans worldwide since its establishment in 2007 with their signature mix of dance, punk and pop.
During their debut performance in the capital at Hanoi Rock City, 27/52 To Ngoc Van Street, from 8-12pm, MEN will be joined by local rock band Go Lim. Tickets cost VND200,000 at the door.
British comedy fans to gather for first show
The first night of the British Comedy Show will take place at Puku Cafe, 16 Tong Duy Tan Street, on Wednesday, March 14. The show will start with QI, then some Black Books and Red Dwarf. Admission is VND50,000 per person and includes one free beer.
French-language film festival at institute
The Institute for Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) will launch a French Language Film Festival from March 16 to April 10.
The festival will feature an animation film L'Illusionniste (The Illusionist), and eight featured films including A pas de Loup (On the Sly), Maman est chez le Coiffeur (Mommy is at the Hairdresser's), Qu'un Seul Tienne et les Autres Suivront (Silent Voice) and A l'Origine (In the Beginning).
The movies begin at 7.30pm at Idecaf at 28 Le Thanh Ton St, District 1. Admission is free.
HCM City to celebrate St Patrick's Day
New World Saigon will celebrate St Patrick's Day on March 17 with a Weekend of Savage Craic, a common term used in Ireland to describe fun, entertainment and enjoyable conversation with good friends, from March 16-18.
Executive Chef Philip Golding and his team will offer brunch and dinner buffets with Irish delicacies. A free flow of green beer, soft drinks, Irish coffee and tea will be served.
Bernie's Bar and Grill is bringing Irish buffet and music from well-known HCM City-based musician Juram to HCM City on St Patrick's Day on March 17.
Filipinos to play at buffet for Women's Day
The Filipino Band in residence will perform at Vinpearl Luxury Da Nang's Gourmet Restaurant for International Women's Day today.
The restaurant, situated on Truong Sa Street in Da Nang, will also host a sumptuous buffet dinner in a relaxed setting to accompany the soothing music.
City company to import 100 movies from US
The HCM City Film Import-Export and Distribution Company (Fafim HCMC) plans to import 100 US films this year, said Nguyen Van Hong, company general director .
It will also import 300 hours of US television dramas.
Last year, the compnay imported 120 foreign films, of which 40 films and television dramas came from the US, including Outlaw Trail, The Rain Maker, The Work and the Glory, Little House on the Prairie, and The Thorn Birds.
Fafim HCMC's partners include world-leading film distributors such as Unviversal, Warner Bros and Vision Film.
Overseas Vietnamese view Hoang Sa film
A documentary film about Viet Nam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago has been shown to the Vietnamese community living around Europe.
The film, entitled Hoang Sa: La Meurtrissure (Hoang Sa: The Painful Loss), was screened in the south of France during early March. It will hit Paris, Germany (Berlin and Cologne), the Czech Republic and Poland later in the month.
The film features the daily lives of Vietnamese fishermen who fish in the archipelago. It was put together last year by Andre Menras, also known by his Vietnamese name Ho Cuong Quyet, president of the France-Viet Nam Friendship Association for the Permanent Education along with HCM City Television.
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