New Year's countdown party to feature Dutch, Vietnamese DJs

Dutch DJ Danny Masseling, better known by his stage name Angerfist, will perform at a special countdown party at the city's 29/3 Square on December 31.

The show will start at 9pm, and will also include Vietnamese DJs including Wang Tran, BeeT and Oxy along with popular singers Dam Vinh Hung, Dong Nhi, Kasim Hoang Vu, Phuong Vy, Duong Trieu Vu and dance groups perform to mark the end of 2015.

The party, which has been held in the city since 2011, will include 3D projection mapping and a colourful light flooded stage.

Christmas-themed art exhibit opens

As the holiday season approaches, an art exhibition on the theme of Christmas and Catholic churches will open to the public today at lAcA Cafe.

Entitled 24.12.15, the exhibition displays 27 paintings of different materials such as oil, acrylic on canvas, wood carving and lacquer created by artists including Le Thiet

Cuong, Do Dung, Tran Nhat Thang and Pham Tran Quan. Poet Nguyen Quang Thieu will also unveil his artwork at the exhibition.

During the opening ceremony at 5.30pm, a mini concert featuring Christmas music will be presented. The repertoire will also feature poet Thieu, who will read some poetry.

The exhibition will run until December 31. lAcA Cafe is on the 2nd floor of 24-26 Ly Quoc Su Street. 

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt visit Hanoi, Ha Long Bay

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt left Hanoi on December 22 after visiting Vietnam for three days, local media reported.

The couple, who was accompanied by a guard and no child, booked a hydroplane to visit Ha Long Bay on Sunday, VnExpress reported.

The pilot said he only knew that there would be VIP guests flying from Bra to Ha Long Bay and that he was requested not to turn back to talk to the guests.

After returning to Hanoi, the couple visited the Old Quarter and several tourist destinations before leaving on December 22.

This was the fourth time the Hollywood stars have visited Vietnam since 2006.

Jolie came to Vietnam for the second time in 2007 when she adopted a Vietnamese child, Pax Thien.

The third time was in 2011 when they took their children to visit Con Dao Islands in southern Vietnam.

Jolie is now in Cambodia with their six children to direct the highly anticipated "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia." Her adopted sons, Maddox, who was born in Cambodia, and Pax Thien, will be among the actors in the film.

Pitt visited his family in Cambodia last week when they were spotted at a night market in Siem Riep.

BIM Group to organise New Year's Eve countdown

BIM Group will organise a countdown event on New Year's Eve at its Halong Marine Plaza in the northern Quang Ninh Province's Ha Long City.

The event is expected to enthral the revellers with original art performances and unforgettable moments.

Inspired by the New Year's Eve celebrations held at Times Square in New York City since 1907, with a wholly American traditional ball drop and countdown of the last moments of the year, New Year's Eve countdown parties are becoming the most awaited events in several large cities around the world.

In Viet Nam, the organisation of countdown parties in major cities such as Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang in recent years attracted thousands of people, especially the youth, to look back on the past year and to greet the new year.

BIM Group has been organising the countdown event in Ha Long City annually since 2013, with the expectation of bringing unforgettable moments to the local citizens and tourists. This year, the event will start at 8pm with exciting art performances, music and dazzling lights.

The event will be marked by the countdown of the last 60 seconds of 2015, with fireworks to welcome 2016.

Ancient Ha Noi celebrated with Thang Long programme

The Ky Uc Ha Noi (Ha Noi Memories) programme, filled with memories of the ancient capital city, will be hosted at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long from December 30 to January 4.

The event is jointly organised by the Ha Noi Department of Tourism and the Thang Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre.

Vietnamese and international visitors can experience the old Ha Noi space through four main activities, including exhibitions, installation arts, art decorations and performances.

In addition, the visitors will have chances to enjoy tea and cuisine, buy antique objects and handicraft products, and see the flower and bonsai arts and traditional costumes.

The event will help the elderly recall profound memories and the youth to learn about ancient Ha Noi with golden hallmarks, which helps them to feel the city's quintessence and Hanoians' soul.

Dream car contest launched

Toyota Motor Viet Nam (TMV) and the Ministry of Education and Training on December 22 officially launched the 5th Toyota Dream Car Art Contest for Vietnamese children aged from 15 and below.

The contest aims to promote the imagination, passion and creativity of students, said Nguyen Duc Huu, deputy head of Ministry of Education and Training's Primary School Department.

Compared with the last four years, this year's new points include an official contest song titled The Brightest Colour is You and a new website https://www.toyota-dreamcarart.com.

Candidates will draw their dream cars with their creativity, passion and ability. The duration for submissions is December 22, 2015 to March 10, 2016.

The best artworks of the national contest will be selected to attend the world contest in Japan with an award ceremony to be held in the country in August next year.

Last year, more than 600,000 students joined the contest, bring the total to 1.7 million over the past four years in which Viet Nam won one gold, one silver and two consolation prizes.

Student films convey ambitions

Young amateur filmmakers left a strong impression on the jury and audience at the second HCM City Film Festival for Students held on Sunday.

The Golden Prize for short film category was presented to Nguoi Thay Nam Ay (The Teacher in the Past), a 15-minute work produced by students of the HCM City University of Agriculture and Forestry. The film is about memories of a student.

The 25-minute Nguoi Ke Giac Mo (Dream Teller), sent by the University of Foreign Language and Information Technology, won the Golden Prize for best reportage.

Both works highlighted love, humanity and ambition.

As many as 105 short films, reportages, music videos and trailers were sent to the festival, organised by the city's Viet Nam Students Association and its partners.

The event gave young participants from 28 universities and colleges an opportunity to explore their creativity in film.

Most of the works featured stories related to youth and their dreams and hopes.

Nhung Trai Tim Viet Nam (Vietnamese Hearts) of Ton Duc Thang University received the prize for best music video.

It features over 100 artists and 1,000 students who sing the national anthem together to celebrate the 70th anniversary of National Day. It has more than 840,000 viewers.

Vu Ngoc Thanh, rector of the HCM City University of Theatre and Cinematography, a member of the organising board, said: "Our students worked hard on filming. They have brought their stories about school to life in a realistic way."

The jury panel included skilled directors and cinematographers from film studios and cinematography schools, such as Nguyen Cong Ninh and Vo Van Thenh. They chose the winners from15 nominations.

The best films will be screened in Galaxy cinemas.

Antique items portraying old Da Lat on display

More than 1,000 antique items portraying life in Da Lat City, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, in the past are on display from December 22.

The exhibition is among a series of events to celebrate the 2015 Da Lat Flower Festival from December 29, 2015 to January 2, 2016.

The items are displayed at an old villa, which was once the official residence of the mayor of Da Lat and also head of Tuyen Duc province, in a pine hill looking the city’s downtown.

They include vintage cameras and cinema equipment, cassette players, televisions, paintings, photos and clothing of local people from the old times. The majority of them were donated.

Nguyen Vu Hoang, Director of the Lam Dong Culture Centre, said the exhibition will be a place for visitors who love to explore the old resort city.

Admission is free to all, he added.

The Culture Centre also opens art concerts every night where songs and poems by well-known classical composers – Trinh Cong Son, Ngo Thuy Mien, Vu Thanh An and Pham Duy – are performed.