Painter expresses bold emotion

Asako Okiura stepped back and forth, looking attentively at a small oil painting of lotus flowers hanging at the ongoing exhibition of veteran artist Pham Luc.

"The paintings are very strong and impressive. I see the power of life through the paintings, especially those which feature human beings," said the homemaker, whose husband suggested she come to the exhibition. "I prefer the large ones but my house is small so this painting will fit.

"The colours are very joyful. I like the lotus, the flower of Viet Nam. And it's very nice to have something Vietnamese inside my house."

The 60 paintings on display feature Vietnamese people's love, landscape and life in different periods of time.

"May is associated with many events. It's the start of summer as sun shines its brilliant rays. It's also the ‘hot spot' where brave soldiers are shining to defend the national sovereignty," artist Luc explained.

Born in 1943 in the central city of Hue, Luc graduated from Ha Noi Fine Arts University in 1977 and became a member of the Vietnamese Fine Arts Association.

His work takes a realist approach to subjects like the motherland, love, family and war. His paintings have travelled across the border to galleries in the US, France, Japan, Germany and Singapore.

"Family and war are the themes I adore most. With these I can depict the real beauty of life," Luc said, pointing to a large oil painting of a blind father and his little son carrying a duck to the market. "When you look at such paintings, you don't see life too hard or sad, as I add some strokes of bright colours in the background. Life is always full of hope and love."

Using materials from oil to pastel, the artist creates layers of emotion. Flame from Heart depicts the sentimental attachment among soldiers in wartime; Simple Happiness depicts the return of a fisherman to his wife and son after a long day at sea. Dream illustrates two beggars dreaming of a better life, while Where I Was Born could remind viewers of their birthplace with clumps of bamboo, ponds and a communal house.

"Free, broad, solid, inspiring and humane: that's how I would describe Pham Luc's strokes. He opposes any restrictions, instead painting the beauty he perceives," said visitor Nguyen Quang Huy. "Through his paintings, we can read his feelings and soul. He leads viewers to his flows of emotion."

The exhibit will be open until June 22 at 16 Ngo Quyen Street, Ha Noi.

TV drama features rural youth

The Ho Chi Minh Television Station (HTV) is introducing a TV series featuring a group of children living in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

The 31-part series, Dong Song Thuong Nho (Beloved River), focuses on the daily lives of Binh and her five friends, aged six to 10, who learn valuable life lessons by working to support their parents during summer holiday.

Love, friendship and compassion are highlighted.

"We visited and filmed in many places, including An Giang, Dong Thap, Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces," the eight-year-old actress Thien Kim (who played Binh), said.

"We met local children and learned about their culture and lifestyle. We tried our best to make their stories come alive. It wasn't an easy task for us," she added.

Kim and her colleagues spent many difficult days working with the film's director and film staff to discover the Cuu Long region and its people.

Tran Que Ngoc, the film's assistant director, said the film is special because of its blending of scenes featuring the natural environment, with beautiful depictions of daily life performed by the young actors.

"We hope our film will leave a good impression on its viewers and achieve a high audience rating," she said.

According to Ngoc, there are too many poor screenplays today that are unsuitable for young audiences.

As a result, filmmakers do not want to make features or TV series worth billions of dong with these screenplays.

"Making movies for children is very complicated. Producers and directors need good screenplays and skilled young actors who can bring these roles to life," she said.

Dong Song Thuong Nho is broadcast on HTV9 every Thursday at 5:30pm.

Summer reality shows target young audiences

A new television programme, Hanh Trinh Xanh (Green Journey), is proving popular with the city's children and their parents.

The reality show, broadcast on HCM City Television (HTV) Channel 7, has been on the air since last month.

At the show, a select group of young participants aged between 7 and 14, and their parents visit handicraft villages to discover traditional culture and lifestyle from local villages.

Sixth-grade student Le Trang Anh from Ngo Si Lien Secondary School in Tan Binh District was one of the first groups that took part in Hanh Trinh Xanh.

"I learned new and valuable things and improved my general knowledge," she said.

"Joining the show also helped me improve my presentation, becoming more confident with other people."

HTV is planning to work with primary and junior secondary schools around the city, selecting their students to appear on the show.

In a move to regulate and develop broadcasting of HTV in the fierce competition among local stations, the station has invested in both facilities and human resources to make quality programmes, especially reality shows aimed at children and teenagers.

Like Hanh Trinh Xanh, other TV entertainment programmes such as Vui De Hoc (Joy In Study), Con Da Lon Khon (I'm Grown Up), Uoc Mo Cua Em (My Dream) are becoming very popular with many children and their parents in the city and its neighbouring provinces.

Some of these shows, such as Con Da Lon Khon and Bo Oi! Minh Di Dau Vay ? (Daddy, Where Are We Going?), are children's versions of Japanese and Korean programmes.

HTV specialists have worked hard to rewrite and edit these versions so that they are suitable for Vietnamese children.

The station's foreign partners have sent professional staff in lighting, camerawork, and art design and computer systems to perfect the shooting.

"I like watching Vui De Hoc produced by HTV because the show includes both education and entertainment," Tran Gia Bao, a third-grade student of the Viet Nam-Australia International School, said.

At Vui De Hoc, a select group of four children aged between 6 and 10, will use their computers to answer a question from the presenter, well-known HCM City actor Binh Minh. The first contestant to answer correctly wins the right to play the game first.

Hanh Trinh Xanh airs every Sunday at 6pm. About 3,000 children have signed up to take part in the programme.

Festival offers taste of southern food

More than 100 booths of 60 food and beverage enterprises from 14 cities and provinces are showcasing local specialty dishes at the Am Thuc Dat Phuong Nam (Southern Land Cuisine) Festival that opened on Thursday at Dam Sen Park in HCM City's District 11.

The four-day event introduces cuisine of the southern region as well as central and Central Highlands regions.

More than 100 southern dishes made with local materials and recipes are on offer, including nem nuong (grilled pork patties), banh xeo (rice pancakes), oc nuong tieu (snail grilled with pepper), chao vit (duck porridge) and sweet soups.

Demonstrations of cooking and bartending along with food garnishing and vegetable and fruit carving are part of the event.

Gong performances from the Central Highlands and don ca tai tu (southern amateur music) are also held.

The event is co-organised by the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the HCM City Tourism Association and Phu Tho Tourism and Service Company.

Photos by ethnic children reveal life in rural areas

Pi Nang Thi Hau glows as she tells people about a photo she took of her friends making banh tet (glutinous rice cakes) during the school's year-end celebration.

Hau, a 14-year-old student from the southern province of Ninh Thuan, is one among 49 ethnic children displaying their photos at the exhibition To Ke Ban Nghe (I Tell You My Stories), which opened yesterday at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology.

Her school organises this special cake-making activity once a year with the participation of all students.

"My class made 15 cakes," she said. "When we finished, the teachers judged our cakes. My class took second place. After the competition, we enjoyed the cakes together. Thanks to the camera, I can capture the exciting moment and happy memories."

The exhibition showcases 120 photos selected from thousands taken by ethnic children from Ninh Thuan, the northern province of Lao Cai and the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong.

These ethnic students were provided with a camera to capture what they saw in their communities. Through their eyes, visitors can get a glimpse into childhood games, school and family activities and traditional festivals.

The activity is part of a project funded by Oxfam, an international organisation working to end injustice and poverty, and the Institute for Social Research, Economics and Environment (iSEE).

The selected students were trained in character photographing and story building by experts in the photovoice method.

"Creating a chance for children to take photos and tell stories is a wonderful way to understand them and encourage them to express their opinion," said Le Kim Dung from Oxfam. "Through the photos, I realise what the children want and their awareness of urgent issues such as hygiene and environment."

Le Quang Binh, iSEE's director, said, "The project shows us the point of view of ethnic students. When people see these photos, they can understand more about the life of ethnic people, as well as how children see the world."

The exhibition will run until Tuesday.

6th grader wins Pedestrian Safety photo contest

A sixth grader from Ha Nam Province has won the first prize in a photography contest on Pedestrian Safety for secondary school students – a trip to Singapore.

Ha Dieu Linh of Kha Phong Secondary School entered a photo showing two young students walking safely on a pavement.

The contest was oganised by the National Traffic Safety Committee, the Ministry of Education and Training, Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, and FedEx to raise children's awareness of road safety and teach them how to be smarter and safer pedestrians.

The contest, which lasted from February to May, attracted 4,175 entries.

The organisers have chosen the 100 best to display at Dam Sen Park for a month starting yesterday.

Belgium delegation gives books to universities

The Wallonie-Bruxelles International delegation in Viet Nam has presented around 200 books in humane science to Viet Nam's universities and libraries, reported a paper released yesterday.

Accordingly, the French-language publications in social sciences and humanities, languages, international relations, European study, economics, law, political science, medicine, among others, have been given to 20 beneficiaries including Ha Noi National University, National Library, Hue University, Can Tho University, Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and HCM City University of Law.

This is part of a programme to promote books and other publications in French on humane science across the world since 2001. The publications are written by a French-speaking Belgian author or published in the Wallonie-Bruxelles region.

The project enables books to be donated to the region's Vietnamese counterparts, in majority to universities and libraries. The gifts are thoroughly selected by a committee whose members are experts working in the book industry.

Exhibition marks the grand opening of Sao La

A group exhibition, Out Of Nowhere, which marks the grand opening of Sao La, a Galerie Quynh initiative, will feature works in a range of media from painting and photography to installation and video by 10 young artists based in HCM City.

They are Do Thanh Lang, Hoang Nam Viet, Le Nguyen Duy Phuong, Le Vu Anh Nhi, Ngo Dinh Bao Chau, Nguyen Duc Dat, Nguyen Uyen Minh, Nguyen Vuong Thao, Pham Vuong, and Tran Minh Duc.

"Revealing the dynamic and diverse creative voices in the community, the exhibition consciously brings together a group of artists with disparate ideas and practices," a press release said. "Out Of Nowhere is the starting point where ideas can be exchanged and stories told."

Sao La, which is the name of one of the world's rarest mammals found only in the Annamite mountain range of Viet Nam and Laos, is a non-profit initiative of Galerie Quynh.

The gallery, located on the grounds of the HCM City Fine Art Museum, carries two main objectives – making contemporary art accessible to the general Vietnamese public through educational programmes, and nurturing Viet Nam's growing creative community.

The opening reception of Out Of Nowhere will feature the five-member TOFU band, one of the most active bands in the music scene in HCM City. TOFU plays original music combining rock, electro and trip-hop.

There will be a number of limited edition works conceived by the artists for Sao La that are available for purchase. Sao La's share of the proceeds will support future programming.

The exhibition will open at 5:30pm today at 1 Le Thi Hong Gam Street, District 1, and end on July 27.