Dustin Nguyen joins Trung so as director

Popular Vietnamese-American Dustin Nguyen presented the movie Trung so early this week and has since received positive feedback from audiences.

Trung so, which literally means a lottery win, is the first film he has directed. Nguyen successfully conveyed a funny and touching story into the movie.

At the premiere, Nguyen said actors and actresses focus on their performance while a director should know how to make the most of characters’ abilities. More importantly, he/she has to balance between budget and appeal of a film.

Writer and playwright Nguyen Manh Tuan wrote the script for this movie based on a true story of a girl selling lottery tickets in the Mekong Delta (starred by Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc). She hands winning lottery tickets to a man who merely nods to buy them without paying her right away. She does that since he usually purchases the last tickets she has just before a lottery draw.

Dustin Nguyen cleverly gave the movie a sense of humor thanks to acts by comedians such as Chi Tai, Thu Trang, Tieu Bao Quoc, Tuyen Map and Le Kham. As scheduled, Trung so will be released nationwide on February 12 with English subtitles.

Giant banh xeo to be set Vietnam record

A biggest banh xeo (Vietnamese traditional pancake) will be displayed in Binh Dien Flower Market in Ho Chi Minh City from February 12-15.

The giant pancake is expected to set a new record in Vietnam Guinness book as the biggest banh xeo ever made in the country on February 12.

The huge “banh xeo” measures 1.9 meters in diameter and weighs 10 kilograms. It was cooked on a 35-kilogram aluminum pan by 40 cooks.

Another record that will also be set on Feb.12, is the biggest number of cooks for the pancake.

The cake’s fillings and toppings include pork, shrimp, minced duck meat, mushrooms, vegetable seedlings, carrots, bean sprouts, mung beans, and spring onions.

Over 4,000 exhibits to be displayed at Spring Flower Festival 2015

Ho Chi Minh City’s Spring Flower Festival 2015 will open at Cong Truong Quoc Te Street in District 3 and Tao Dan Park in District 1 on February 13.

This year’s event themed “Vietnamese characteristics and magnanimity” will feature over 4,000 ornamental plants, bonsai, rock gardens, dried trees, grafted stones, cacti, ornamental fish and various rare flowers.

The event includes musical performances and food fair.

The flower show will also present to the public imitations of the country’s sovereignty landmark made from flowers and fossil shells collected from the archipelago.

The annual festival is a traditional, cultural activity in Ho Chi Minh City. It is held during Lunar New Year, aiming to attract thousands of visitors to the city.

As planned, spring flower festival for Tet will open from February 13-24.

Green kindergarten wins major award for architect Vo Trong Nghia

An environmentally friendly kindergarten in southern Dong Nai Province  designed by Vo Trong Nghia Architects Co. has won a Building of the Year Award conferred by US architecture magazine Archdaily.

Building, "Farming Kindergarten", in Bien Hoa City, won the Educational Architects category.

Three other buildings by Vo Trong Nghia Architects were shortlisted in the awards -- "House for Trees”, in the Houses category, “Son La Restauran” in Hospitality Architecture, and “Green Renovation” for Refurbishment.

Nghia, who is mostly based in HCM City, has been feted as an emerging player in environmental architecture around the world. A major theme of his work is sustainable development and working with the environment to create buildings that focus attention on the need for green space amid rapid urbanisation.

"Farming Kindergarten" was designed to challenge the issues climate change and air pollution in big cities. Rapid urbanisation deprives Vietnamese children of green space and playgrounds, and the building accommodates 500 children of low-income workers at an adjacent shoe factory.

A major feature of the building is its rooftop gardens, which provide food and agriculture experience to the children.

Key to the design is a triple-ring shaped roof that encircles three courtyards encompassing open playgrounds. An experimental vegetable farm has taken root on the roof, growing five different vegetables in a 200 square metre garden.

The building is a continuous narrow strip with flexible windows to take advantage of cross ventilation and natural lighting and features a number of visible energy-saving features that serve to heat and cool the building, and generate solar power for water heating, as well as educate the children, who study how they work.

Wastewater from the neighbouring shoe factory is recycled to irrigate the gardens and to feed the flush toilets.

Korean traditional New Year rituals introduced in Hanoi

The Korean Cultural Centre in Hanoi on February 7 organised a programme to introduce Hanoians with traditional Korean ceremonies and rituals used to welcome the lunar New Year, as well as the traditional dishes Korean people enjoy on the first days of the New Year.

Entitled “Experience the traditional New Year culture of Korea ", the event drew the participation of cultural researchers, food experts from Vietnam and Korea, as well as many Vietnamese young people who love Korean culture.

Master Kim Yeong Mi, a Korean food expert introduced the arrangement and process of setting up the traditional altar of Korean people, as well as the rituals and meanings of the various offerings on the altar, in order to help attendees of the event have a better idea of the worshipping rituals of Korea.

Culinary expert guides participants on how to make some dishes for offerings on the New Year.

Professor Mai Ngoc Chu, chairman of the Korean Research Association of Vietnam, said that Vietnam and Korea have many cultural similarities, particularly seen in the way both countries welcome their traditional lunar New Year. Both Vietnamese and Korean’s celebrate the

New Year at the beginning of spring, according to the lunar calendar, as well as ceremonies worshipping ancestors and family, a custom that is a precious tradition of both nations.

Also included in the programme, a culinary expert guided participants on how to make some simple dishes for offerings on the first days of the New Year, such as salads, fried cakes and numerous others.

Park Nark Jong, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre in Vietnam said that by experiencing the arrangement of the altar of Korean tradition in the Lunar New Year, young Vietnamese people have the opportunity to compare the similarities and differences in cultural traditions of the two

countries, thereby creating consideration and a deep understanding between the two people. The programme also aims to introduce young people with traditional culture, which is fading in the present time, helping them to understand and respect the culture, he added.

Calligraphy in honour of soldiers

A calligraphy exhibition prays for peace for the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation's liberation.

Entitled Requiem on Long Bien Bridge, the exhibition displays nearly 300 artworks by remarkable calligraphers Cung Khac Luoc, Trinh Tuan, Le Quoc Viet and Nguyen Quang Thang.

They use calligraphy to express their love for Long Bien Bridge, which has witnessed war, peace, sacrifice and desire for liberty, while also portraying the beauty of the bridge.

Maison des Arts owner Nguyen Nga organised the exhibition to start the new year and pray for the millions of souls who protected the bridge in past years.

"I also pray for the beloved bridge," she said. "I expect that it will be preserved as time goes by."

Tomorrow, visitors to the exhibition will be treated to a special performance of chau van (spiritual singing) in harmony with jazz.

The exhibition will run until April 3 at Maison des Arts, 22 Hai Ba Trung Street, Ha Noi.

Tet Art Fair presents works by more than 80 Ha Noi artists

More than 80 artists from Ha Noi are presenting their works at the Tet Art Fair that has opened in the city.

The fair features 350 artworks created from different materials, including lacquer, oil on canvas, woodblock, watercolour, ceramics and sculpture.

According to painter Trinh Minh Tien, the fair's founder, the event aims to revive the old habit of buying paintings to decorate houses during the Lunar New Year holidays.

The event is also a chance for art lovers to get close to art by "offering works at reasonable prices".

"None of the pieces cost more than VND20 million (US$950)," he said.

Discussions with famous painters such as Tran Huy Oanh, Le Huy Tiep, Le Thiet Cuong and Trinh Tuan will be hosted at the fair, and workshops on woodblock and watercolour techniques are also on the agenda.

The Tet Art Fair is taking place on the third floor of Hang Da Galleria Market until February 15.

Artisan introduces new paintings made with traditional tools

Artist Ky Huu Phuoc from Sinh Village in Hue has unveiled a new collection of paintings created using traditional methods.

Entitled Thoi Vu (The Crop), the collection has featured four paintings depicting farming activities.

Unlike the traditional Sinh paintings which are linked to ancestral rituals, Phuoc's paintings are mostly decorative.

In 2010, the artisan also introduced the Tro Choi Dan Gian (Folk Games) collection, while in 2007, he presented the Bat Am (Eight Court Musicians) collection.

Originating in Sinh Village in Phu Vang District in about the 15th century, the process involves a woodblock and hand- drawn images on diep

paper — a kind of traditional poonah paper that uses mother-of-pearl to create a sparkling surface — which has been linked to ancestral worship.

Buddhist festival celebrated in HCM City

An exhibition showcasing Buddhist and traditional artworks opened on February 8 in Ho Chi Minh City’s Pho Quang Pagoda as part of celebrations of the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

Themed “Spring of the South”, the event exhibits nearly 900 photos, sculptures, and antiques owned by more than 30 Vietnamese and foreign artists and collectors.

According to Venerable Thich Phuoc Tien, deputy head of the municipal Buddhist Culture board, the festival provides an opportunity for the citizens to have a full understanding of the traditional culture through Buddhist art works.

Over 2,000 years of development, Buddhism has associated closely with Vietnamese nation and culture.

Buddhism constitutes the largest religious community in Vietnam with over 12 million followers, 40,000 monks and nuns, and almost 15,000 temples, monasteries and other places of worship.

The event, organised by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in HCM City, will run until March 5, the 15 th day of the first lunar month.

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