Elle Fashion Show 2015 opens this weekend

A fashion show featuring latest designs by popular designers will take place at GEM Center in Ho Chi Minh City on October 10. 

The runway show will present 80 items from collections by Linda Mai Phung, Lam Gia Khang, Hoai Vo and Le Thanh Hoa.

The event called “Elle Fashion Show 2015” aims to mark the 70th anniversary of Elle magazine and its five-year operation in Vietnam.

Launched five years ago by Elle magazine, the event is one of the most awaited fashion shows in the country.

Monsoon Music Festival entices capital’s audiences

The awaiting Monsoon Music Festival 2015 was kicked off at Thang Long Royal Citadel in Hanoi on October 8, enticing thousands of youngsters to take part.

The festival attracts the participation of about 100 local and foreign leading solo artists and bands, including the queen of Soul/R&B from the UK Joss Stone, Bond, Matt Robertson, and Zara McFarlane.

On the opening night, audiences enjoyed performances by young Vietnamese pop stars, like Vietnam Idol 2010 winner Uyen Linh, Toc Tien, Hoang Thuy Linh, Trung Quan, Tien Tien, Kimmese, Pham Anh Khoa, Dong Hung, ta Quang Thang, Thai Chau, DJ SlimV and the Maius Philarmonic as well as the Danish band WhoMadeWho.

During the four-day event, audiences will have chances to enjoy mini shows of each participating art and band as well as spectacular light performances. 

First taking Vietnam by storm in 2014, the event received major public appraise. It was considered an outstanding cultural festival for 2014 and won the Best Live Show of the Year title at the Cong Hien (Devotion) Music Awards, organised by The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports and Culture) – a Vietnam News Agency publication.

The festival will run until October 11.

Khmer youths learn to play traditional musical instrument

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the southern An Giang province on October 8 opened a class to teach Khmer youths to play Ch’pay, a two-string musical instrument of the ethnic minority group. 

This activity aims to preserve Cham Rieng Ch’Pay, a traditional folk music recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2014. 

The three-month class, the second of its kind, is instructed by a 63-year-old artist, Chau Hunh, who is a student of artist Chau Nung – the only person in the province who knows how to both make and play the Ch’pay. 

Deputy head of the department Truong Ba Trang said he hopes the class will help inspire a passion for traditional musical instrument for local Khmer ethnics, especially young people, so that they will continue preserving and promoting this art. 

Cham Rieng Ch’Pay was popular at hamlets and pagodas of Khmer people since the early 20th century. Tan Hiep Commune in Tra Vinh province’s Tra Cu District is dubbed as the cradle of the art. 

As a kind of solo performance, the folk music artists present stories in the form of poems consisting of four lines, each with seven words, with Ch’Pay accompaniment. They also extemporaneously create new songs expressing their emotions.

Vietnamese films shown in Busan Int'l Film Festival 2015

Five Vietnamese films will be screened at the 20th Busan International Film Festival 2015 to take place in the southern South Korean city of Busan on October 1-10. 

Movies include Cha va con va…( Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories) directed by Phan Dang Di, Quyen directed by Nguyen Phan Quang Binh will compete in the category of “A Window on Asian Cinema”.

Films consisting of Cha cha cha of filmmaker Do Quoc Trung, Thang Rom of Tran Dung Thanh Huy and Em la ba noi cua anh (I am your Grandmom) of Phan Gia Nhat Linh are selected for the 2015 Asian Project Market at the film fest.

This year’s film show attracts a total of 304 movies from 75 countries that will be competing for the various awards, such as New Currents Award, Sonje Award, BIFF Mecenat Award, Actor & Actress of the Year, NETPAC Award, FIPRESCI Award, The Asian Filmmaker of the Year and more.

Special programs of the film show include a meeting with director Johnnie To from Hong Kong (China) and screening of his latest movie “Office”, a musical comedy-drama film starring Chow Yun-fat; the ‘Asian Cinema 100’ featuring the history and aesthetics of Asian films to show the Asian cinema history in a new light., Asian film market and others.

Started in 1996, the annual Pusan International Film Festival is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia.The event aims to introduce new films and first-time directors, develop and promote young talent, especially those from Asian countries.

Photo exhibition features Hanoians’ portraits and lives

A photo exhibition titled “Chân dung và cuộc sống người Hà Nội” (Hanoians’ portraits and lives), organized by the Hanoi Association of Photographic Artists, kicked off on October 8, attracting 176 professional and amateur photographers.

As many as 142 photos on display selected from 1,500 entries depict the portraits of elegant and diligent Hanoians in the process of national development and international integration.

Additionally, many photos reflect all aspects of daily life as well as places of interest in the capital city such as Hoan Kiem Lake and Ho Tay (West Lake).

Students take lead at cai luong fest

Young actors from the private drama troupe Sao Minh Beo of HCM City are preparing to take part in the 2015 National Cai Luong (Reformed Opera) Festival in Bac Lieu Province.

The artists will stage Trang Lam Quan (Head of the Village), a tragicomedy based on the popular Vietnamese series titled Trang Quynh (A legendary wit living in the 18th century).

The play is produced by the troupe's owner Hong Quang Minh, also known as Minh Beo, one of the city's most talented comedians.

Directed by Meritorious Artist Pham Do Ky, it tells the life of a young man who leads his villagers against landowners.

"Our play borrows old stories to highlight social issues of today," said artist Minh. "We are nervous about performing Trang Lam Quan because it's funny but also contains valuable lessons," he said.

Minh invested VND500 million (US$22,000) for the costumes and sound and light effects.

Instead of recorded music, he uses a group of skilled musicians who perform on stage.

He also invited 60 students from theatres and drama clubs to accompany his troupe's 20 actors.

"I wanted to use amateurs because they make the play fresh. My two-year-old troupe brings students closer to the art," Minh said.

Before investing in the play, Minh researched the taste of audiences in the city, discovering that cai luong is still popular.

"Our problem is how to produce a quality play meeting audiences' requirements, especially young people," he said.

In Trang Lam Quan, Minh performs 20 vong co (nostalgia songs) and folk songs. He has worked several hours a day to improve his singing and dancing skills.

"I'm a fan of cai luong. For me, all my plays are a big challenge. I'm very involved in the role because I don't want to disappoint my audience," he said.

"We joined the festival in the hopes that our troupe will be recognised as a professional theatre. By having this troupe, I can give my young staff the opportunity to develop their techniques and ways of emotional expression."

Trang Lam Quan will be staged in HCM City on weekend nights in the 179AB Binh Thoi Residential Area in District 11, before being performed at the festival next month. 

Quy Nhon, an undiscovered getaway

US travel guide Rough Guides has listed Quy Nhon, the coastal city in the central province of Binh Dinh, in its Undiscovered Southeast Asia: nine places to get off the tourist trail.

According to few tourists stop in Quy Nhon, where the main industry remains, fishing and the long sandy beaches are unspoilt. During the Cham era that began centuries ago this was an important commercial centre and evidence of this remains in the imposing Banh It towers on a hilltop just north of town.

Rough Guides suggests that visitors should head to Quy Nhon by xe om (motorcycle taxi) for sweeping views of the unspoilt countryside before returning to town for a seafood supper.

Rounding off the top nine are places from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. 

“Space & Life” exhibition opens in HCMC

An exhibition themed “Space & Life” which is taking place at Idecaf (31 Thai Van Lung, District 1, HCMC) displays 50 art works of 5P club’s art members. 

This is the 6th exhibition organized by 11 artists in 2015, aiming to introduce to Vietnamese and foreign visitors about Vietnam’s natural beauty

11 artists include Nguyen Thi Tam, Co Van Hau, Nguyen Phi Long, Thanh Tam, Duyen Tran, Minh Minh, Yen Truc, Thu Nguyet, Phuong Trang, Nguyen Nhu Khoi and Tran Thuy Linh.

The exhibition lasts till October 13.

Fahasa starts selling books online

HCMC-based book distributor Fahasa on Tuesday launched a book-selling website which up to 10,000 users can visit at a time.

On the site at fahasa.com, customers can place orders for books with 10-50% discounts on cover prices. For orders in Hanoi and HCMC, books will be delivered within 24 hours but delivery time may be two to three days in other parts of the country.

“E-commerce competition has become stronger. Fahasa has a competitive edge as it has more than 200 local and foreign suppliers,” said Pham Minh Thuan, chairman and general director of Fahasa.

Those buying foreign-language books can save some money if they order books on fahasa.com because prices are lower than on foreign websites such as Amazon thanks to lower shipping cost.

Along with the development of online book distribution service, Fahasa will open 10 more bookstores within the last quarter this year, raising the total number of new bookstores opened this year to 16.

Fahasa has 74 bookstores in 34 of the nation’s 63 cities and provinces.

Paintings show features Saigon

The HCMC Fine Arts Museum in downtown HCMC is displaying paintings featuring “Saigon in October” artworks by 12 female member artists of the Fine Art Association HCMC.

Visitors to the show until October 18 can see 110 paintings in different mediums including oil, lacquer, wood carving and collage.

These artworks reflect the love of the authors for Saigon where they have been living and working, seen through the images of small alleys, multi-storey buildings lit up at night, lines of trees on the streets, birds flying in between buildings, and silent moments at church.

In particular, the self-portraits of the 12 artists, 11 of them Vietnamese and one South Korean, Kim Jung Hyun, are also on show. Kim has lived and worked in the city for 10 years.

Another interesting part of the display is an area exhibiting hand-made products created by the 12 artists such as clay flowers, fabric flowers, necklaces made from stones, bags and scarves.

The HCMC Fine Arts Museum is at 97A Pho Duc Chinh Street, District 1, HCMC.

SGGP/VNS/VNA