FVH trip to famed poet’s birthplace

The Friends of Vietnam Heritage (FVH) will organise an excursion to the birthplace of famous Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Khuyến on Sunday, October 28.

The day trip will be to Vị Hạ Village, Yên Đổ Commune (now known as Trung Lương Commune) in Hà Nam Province, about 65km from Hà Nội.

Nguyễn Khuyến, born Nguyễn Thắng, was also a famous Confucian scholar and teacher in the 19th century. He was both a prominent lyrical poet and an outstanding satirical poet. He reached the pinnacle of Nôm literature. He was the first Vietnamese poet to put realism into classical poems.

Among his best poems are a collection of three poems about autumn – Thu Vịnh (Versing on Autumn), Thu Điếu (Fishing in Autumn), Thu Ẩm (Drinking in Autumn), which express sadness and loneliness, and Vịnh Tiến Sĩ Giấy (Versing on ‘Paper Doctor’), which ridicules incapable scholars. In addition, he was one of a few upper-class poets who wrote in praise of poor farmers.

The trip will take tourists to visit his family home which is now a fascinating ‘life’ museum in his honour, cared for by an old family member. It is a beautiful old wooden house which tells the story of his life and is a great way to understand more about the history and society of Việt Nam at that time. The house is set in a tranquil environment with gardens and a pond.

The trip will also include a visit to the village communal house. After lunch, the group will visit Phủ Giầy Temple in Nam Định, dedicated to Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh.

The excursion will start at 8.30am and end at about 6.30pm. Cost VNĐ330,000/person. 

‘Museum of Empathy’ hosts music night

A special music night entitled Ngửa Tay Hứng Chiếc Lá Rơi (Catching the Fallen Leaves) will be organised by Bảo Tàng Thấu Cảm (literally translated as the Museum of Empathy) at Manzi Art Space on Friday.

The performance will feature guest performers Hồ Trâm Anh, Mademoiselle, Doãn Hoài Nam and Mạc Mai Sương.

According to the organiser, Ngửa Tay Hứng Chiếc Lá Rơi is a chance to embrace and treasure the little things in life, and to say goodbye to the passing autumn. They expect that the intimate stories told through music can touch the soul of every audience.

Tickets cost VNĐ250,000 and can be bought directly at HUB Café, 122 Ô Chợ Dừa Street or booked online by messaging Bảo Tàng Thấu Cảm’s fanpage at www.facebook.com/pg/BaoTangThauCam

The performance will start at 8pm. Manzi Art Space is at 14 Phan Huy Ích Street. For more information please email baotangthaucam@gmail.com or dial hotline 0965833068. 

Winter Melodies Classical Music in City

The Winter Melodies Classical Music Concert will be held from 6:30pm to 8pm on October 27 at Salon Saigon on 6d Ngô Thời Nhiệm St in HCM City’s District 3.

Salon Saigon is happy to present “Winter Melodies”, a unique experience that encompasses classical music and visual arts in an inspiring artistic venue. 

The concert programme is curated by Saigon Classical, an organisation that aims to bring Vietnamese classical performers to the public and create a platform for classical music lovers in the city.

Tickets are VNĐ200,000 for Salon Saigon members and students, or VNĐ450,000 per person. 

Star Live Halloween Indie Rock in HCMC

The Star Live Halloween and Indie Rock event will be held from 7pm to 10pm on October 31 at the Star Academy of Art on 16A Lê Hồng Phong Street in HCM City’s District 10.

The Star Live Halloween and Indie Rock is a combination of music and Halloween disguise.

The guests such as Đạt Maniac, Cam, Klaf, Anesthetic Youth, The A Plan are famous in the indie music scene.

The best Halloween costume will receive a prize of VNĐ1 million cash.

Tickets are VNĐ250,000 per person. 

Wicked Halloween party at AB Tower

The Wicked Halloween party will be held from 7.30pm to 10pm on October 31 at the AB Tower on 76A Lê Lai Street in HCM City’s District 1.

The customers will enjoy a Halloween party with free-flow drinks sponsored by WeWork, as well as free face painting and DJ Music.

Entry is free. 

Phu Sa Lab debut new live performance

A new live performance entitled The Gossip will be presented by the experimental music centre Phu Sa Lab starting on Friday, October 26.

According to Phu Sa Lab, the performance is “when a jazz storm meets a tropical monsoon”. The concert will feature jazzman Quyền Thiện Đắc, Jew’s harp artist Nguyễn Đức Minh and Đàn Đó Band.

The musical creations were written by Đắc and Minh for indigenous instruments of the Northwest, the Central Highlands and Chăm regions. The Western saxes will be presented by themselves and other artists including Đinh Anh Tuấn, Trần Kim Ngọc, Nguyễn Quang Sự, and Đỗ Nguyễn Mai Khôi.

Entry fee: VNĐ700,000/person with 1 complimentary light meal and drink. To book, email: jolie@phusalab.com or call 0961518822. Phu Sa Lab is at 21/52 Tô Ngọc Vân Street, Tây Hồ District.

The Gossip will also be staged on November 2, 16, 23, 30, and December 7, 14, 21, 28, at 7pm.

National Ca Tru Festival to take place next month

Ca Tru singing troupes from 13 provinces and cities nationwide will gather in the central province of Ha Tinh early next month for the National Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) Festival 2018.

The event will be held from November 1 - 5 by the Vietnam National Academy of Music, the Department of Culture Heritage and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Tinh. 

Speaking at a press conference in Hanoi on October 24, Pham Minh Huong from the academy said the festival is an opportunity to review all achievements in preserving Ca tru, as well as the vitality of the art genre at present. 

The event will contribute to affirming that Vietnam has fully implemented and achieved practical results as committed to UNESCO for the protection and promotion of the value of Ca tru cultural heritage.

After the festival, Vietnam will compile the dossier to gain UNESCO recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity instead of the current status of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, Huong said. 

Troupes attending the event come from Hanoi, the northern localities of Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Thai Binh, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, and Phu Tho,  the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh, and Ho Chi Minh City.

The opening ceremony of the festival will take place on November 1, while the ceremony to honour artists will be held in the evening of November 5.

Ca tru was recorgnised by UNESCO as a world Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO in 2009. It is one of the most uniquely Vietnamese genres of folk music in the Vietnamese treasury of traditional music.

Ca tru features a female singer accompanied by a small group of musicians. The art genre appeared in the North around the 15th century and thrived until the early 20th century. Since then, it has decreased in popularity due to the spread of modern recreational and cultural activities.

Today, this kind of singing is practised in 15 provinces and cities throughout Vietnam. The recent festival is part of the national programme to preserve and develop Ca tru.

Blockbuster “The Immortal” captures Vietnam’s beautiful spots

A scene in "The Immortal" (Photo: zingnews.vn)

Vietnamese pristine plateaus, magnificent caves, gorgeous beaches, and great mountain ranges are idyllic setting of the blockbuster “Nguoi bat tu” (The Immortal) by famous Vietnamese US director Victor Vu, which is set to come out on October 26.

As “The Immortal” tells the story of Hung, who has lived through three centuries with hatred and an ambition to change the human history, it took the film crew three years to find suitable contexts and design brackground to fit various historical periods.

Not just a romantic and thrilling film, “The Immortal” will take its audience to exquisite landscapes in Hanoi, Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Quang Binh, Ho Chi Minh City, Tien Giang and Dong Nai.

Most of the scenes were shot in Quang Binh province with breathtaking Tu Lan cave, Ho Chi Minh Road, and Da Nhay beach, among others.

Also, the film will give the audience an insight into old villages of Cuu (in Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi), and Nom (Hung Yen province) as well as ancient villas in Tien Giang and Dong Nai provinces.

Cultural element like traditional customs, lifestyles, architecture, music and costumes will be highlighted through the film.

Following the “Toi thay hoa vang tren co xanh” (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass) in 2015, which helps lure more tourists to Phu Yen province, Vu’s new blockbuster is expected to better promote the national tourism images, especially excellent landscapes in Quang Binh province.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, Quang Binh has a 116.04-kilometre coast line with sprawling beaches like Nhat Le, Bao Ninh, Quang Phu, Da Nhay and Hai Ninh. In addition, the locality is home to attractive such tourist destinations as the UNESCO World Heritage Site Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Pak and the world’s largest cave- Son Doong.

The province has worked to develop exploring tours to Chay River-Dark Cave-En Cave, Sinh Ton (Survival) Valley- Thuy Cung (Aquarium palace) cave, Thien Duong cave, Phong Nha cave, among others. 

In the first nine months of this year, the province welcomed more than 3 million visitors, up 18.4 percent from the same time last year. Among them, over 129,700 are foreigners, a year-on-year surge of 27.2 percent. The province raked in 3.3 trillion VND (140.9 million USD) from tourism revenue, 19.5 percent higher than the 2017’s January-September period.

Earlier, US director Jordan Vogt-Roberts also chose Quang Binh as setting for his blockbuster “Kong-Skull Island).

Cải lương show celebrates 30 years of HCM City Theatre Magazine

Veteran and young actors will perform in a live show of vọng cổ (nostalgic tunes), cải lương (reformed opera) and tuồng or hát bội (classical drama), traditional theatre genres in the southern and central regions, at Lê Hoàng Stage to celebrate 30 years of the HCM City Theatre Magazine on October 26. — Photo courtesy of the producer

A theatre show featuring dozens of veteran and young talents in cải lương (reformed opera) will take place at the Lê Hoàng Stage in HCM City to celebrate 30 years of the HCM City Theatre Magazine. 

The show will feature cải lương stars Minh Vương, Phượng Loan and Cẩm Tiên, who played a role in the theatre’s development in the south. 

For more than 30 years, these artists have performed in hundreds of plays and TV shows and trained many young talents of different generations.

They will offer performances of vọng cổ (nostalgic tunes), cải lương (reformed opera) and tuồng or hát bội (classical drama), traditional genres of theatre in the southern and central regions. 

Extracts from famous cải lương and tuồng plays, such as Loạn Chiến Phượng Hoàng Cung (War of Throne) and Thái Hậu Dương Vân Nga (Mother Queen Dương Vân Nga), both productions featuring historical events and characters, will also be featured. 

Meritorious Artist Loan will perform in Thái Hậu Dương Vân Nga.

She will play Mother Queen Nga, who served as Queen Regent of Đinh Dynasty after her husband, Đinh Tiên Hoàng, was assassinated in 979, but her son was still 6 years old.

Young actors Trường Giang and Thúy My will also be featured.

The show will begin at 8pm on October 26 at Lê Hoàng Stage in 144 Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street, Bình Thạnh District. Tickets are available at the theatre’s box office. 

Talented screenwriter contest sees 10 finalists

Director Đinh Tuấn Vũ and the top 20 contestants of the 2018 Nhà Biên Kịch Tài Năng (Talented Screenwriter) contest. — Photo courtesy of CGV Vietnam

Ten people have been selected to compete in the finale of the Nhà Biên Kịch Tài Năng (Talented Screenwriter) contest next week.

The finalists will present their scripts to prestigious Vietnamese film producers on October 24 to win a cash prize of VNĐ60 million (US$2,600) and a year of working with Vietnamese–American director Charlie Nguyễn.

Charlie is popular among Vietnamese audiences for his action and comedy films, such as Dòng Máu Anh Hùng (The Rebel), Để Mai Tính (Fool for Love), Cưới Ngay Kẻo Lỡ (Love Puzzle), and rock music film Fan Cuồng (Fanatic).

The top three finalists will take part in a short filmmaking course in South Korea.

The awards ceremony will be held on October 25 in HCM City.

Nhà Biên Kịch Tài Năng is co-organised by CJ CGV Vietnam and Korea-based Centre for Media Literacy and Education. It aims to nurture rising talents in the Vietnamese cinema industry.

This year’s contest saw 4,023 entries. The organiser and professional filmmakers selected the 20 best contestants to study screenplay writing and filmmaking with five coaches.

The coaches include director and screenwriter Kay Nguyễn, director Đinh Tuấn Vũ, director Lý Hải, screenwriter Trần Khánh Hoàng, and the filmmaker partners Đức Thịnh and Thanh Thúy.

Director Vũ said: “This year’s contest saw inspirational and unique ideas. We found it difficult to choose the best 20.”

“I am impressed with topics from the young contestants. They worked hard and accepted risk to create quality screenplays,” he said.

Vũ said the Vietnamese film industry would see more quality movies in the near future. 

‘Museum of Empathy’ hosts music night

A special music night entitled Ngửa Tay Hứng Chiếc Lá Rơi (Catching the Fallen Leaves) will be organised by Bảo Tàng Thấu Cảm (literally translated as the Museum of Empathy) at Manzi Art Space on Friday.

The performance will feature guest performers Hồ Trâm Anh, Mademoiselle, Doãn Hoài Nam and Mạc Mai Sương.

According to the organiser, Ngửa Tay Hứng Chiếc Lá Rơi is a chance to embrace and treasure the little things in life, and to say goodbye to the passing autumn. They expect that the intimate stories told through music can touch the soul of every audience.

Tickets cost VNĐ250,000 and can be bought directly at HUB Café, 122 Ô Chợ Dừa Street or booked online by messaging Bảo Tàng Thấu Cảm’s fanpage at www.facebook.com/pg/BaoTangThauCam

The performance will start at 8pm. Manzi Art Space is at 14 Phan Huy Ích Street. For more information please email baotangthaucam@gmail.com or dial hotline 0965833068. 

Photo contest promotes Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu tourism

Beautiful images of Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu, a famous tourist city of South Việt Nam, will be captured by the competitors in the photo contest Vẻ Đẹp Du Lịch Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (Beauty of Bà Rịa- Vũng Tàu), which was launched this week . — Photo Bảo Nghi

Both Vietnamese and foreigners have been encouraged to join the photo contest Vẻ Đẹp Của Du Lịch Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (Beauty of Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu) about Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province and its people.

Organised by the province’s Department of Tourism, in co-operation with its partners, the event aims to promote the area’s tourism.

Images of tourist sites, historic architecture, and traditional culture and lifestyle are encouraged.  

The organisers hope the contest will discover new talents and introduce local people and their lifestyles

Submissions should be original works taken after December 2016. They should not have been submitted in previous competitions or exhibited publicly.

The works should be in black-and-white or colour, and processed without editing.

Organisers said a high priority would be given to entries focusing on creative and unique views and presentations.

Entries may be submitted as a single photograph, a set of photos, or as a photo essay of no more than 10 items, including captions.

Participants should send their work before November 11 to the organising board’s website http://thianhnetdepdulichbrvt2018 or cuocthianhbrvt2018@gmail.com.

Organisers will award six top prizes and six consolation prizes worth VNĐ68 million (US$3,500) in December.

The best photos will be published in newspapers and exhibited in public places in the province.