Film Festival rescheduled due to General's State funeral

The 18th National Film Festival will open two days later than scheduled, due to the State funeral being held for General Vo Nguyen Giap on Friday. The General passed away last Friday, aged 103.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the film festival will officially take place in the northern province of Quang Ninh's Ha Long City from October 15-16 instead of the previously planned October 11-15.

The ministry said the event would also be shortened, but some of the sidelined activities, including a Cinema with Quang Ninh exhibition, a workshop on film-making and distribution co-operation, and an exchange entitled Artists with Coalmine Workers will continue.

The film festival is expected to attract around 1,000 participants including international guests.

Vietnam takes part in ASEAN Festival 2013

The nation joined the ASEAN Festival 2013 in Yokohama City’s Yamashita park, Japan on October 5-6.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung and ASEAN countries’ embassy representatives ceremonially cut a ribbon to open the event.

Vietnam’s stand displayed traditional foods such as Nem (spring roll) as well as national arts and handicrafts.

The festival is part of the 40th anniversary celebration of Japan-ASEAN friendship relations, featuring 70 stalls and attracting estimated 80,000 visitors.

University lecture reveals secrets of Korean cuisine

A special lecture at the Hanoi University on October 8 will focus on Korean cuisine, with Professor Jung Hee Sun of Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul teaching the students about dishes that have been featured on several South Korean TV series.

During the three-hour lecture, he will elaborate on the ingredients, origin and meaning of each dish and explain Korean gastronomy in general. Students can then test their knowledge with a quiz.

Organised by the Korean Cultural Exchange Centre in collaboration with the Sookmyung Women's University, the lecture marks Hangeul (Korean Alphabet Day), an event held on October 9 in the Republic of Korea to celebrate the country's native alphabet.

Currently, 13 universities across Vietnam teach Korean Studies, with about 2,000 students attending.

Contemporary art comes to Ha Noi shopping mall

The Davines Arts Exhibition has opened at the Vincom Royal City commercial centre, co-organised by Dep magazine, Davines and Vincom Megamall Royal City.

The event has gathered 10 popular fine arts artists and composer Pham Quang Tran Minh.

"To bring art closer to the public, we decided to hold this exhibition in a commercial centre. Now people can go shopping while enjoying artistic works at the same time", said painter Le Thiet Cuong, who is the curator of the exhibition.

The exhibition will run until October 13.

The three-day Thay Thim Cultural and Tourism Festival will be organised in La Gi Town in the south central province of Binh Thuan from October 18.

As an annual traditional festival, it is organised to memorise and respect forebears within the last 150 years.

Over three days, in addition to traditional ceremonies, there will be many sport, cultural events and games as well as contests on traditional customs. Many stories about the Thay Thim will be told.

Thay was a Taoist hermit who had magical powers. During his life, he and his wife helped and cured many people.

Every year, the festival attracts around 200,000 visitors.

The final round of Vietnam Fashion Star 2013, the Vietnamese version of the internationally popular reality TV fashion series, will be aired on VTV3 channel on October 19.

Twelve selected contestants include well-known young designers, such as Pham Dang Anh Thu, owner of Joli Poli brand; Ha Nhat Tien, runner-up of Aquafina Pure Fashion 2010; Nguyen Truong Duy, runner-up of Vietnam Collection Grand Prix 2005; Ngo Khanh Van, winner of Womenswear-Rise Above Fashion; Ngo Hoang Kha, runner-up of Her World Young Designer 2012; and Pham Huu Sang, winner of Menswear- Rise Above Fashion.

Participants will have to present their latest, most impressive, fashion and trendy designs of clothing to be appraised by leading domestic fashion designers.

Contestants’ designs will be auctioned on stage and selected designs will be reproduced for the domestic market. The three best contestants will receive cash prizes of a total VND1.5 billion.

Candidates can look for further information on website www.ngoisaothietkevietnam.vn.

The final awards night will be broadcast live on December 28.

First short film contest launched on Vietnamese Street Food

Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association have cooperated with Saigon International Film School to launch a short film contest on Vietnamese Street Food.

Submissions for the five-minute cinematographic work will tell real stories of vendors, street food stalls, typical and specialty dishes in various areas from all parts of the country.

Winner of the first short film contest themed ‘Street Foods’ will receive a cash prize of about VND20 million and other attractive prizes.

Contestants can send their submissions to http://amthuc247.com/trang-chu.html; and http://sifs.edu.vn from October 7 to December 7.

VN flick vying for Busan Festival short film award

A short film titled “Someone is going to forest” by young local filmmaker Truong Minh Quy has made it to the Asian Short Film Competition’s Top 10 at the 2013 Busan International Film Festival, which is running in Busan, South Korea, till October 12, Tuoi Tre newspaper reports.

Like Quy’s previous short films, “Someone is going to forest” has no clear storyline but is a mere fusion of sounds and images. The film is set in immense forests in Buon Me Thuot town in Central Highland province of Dac Lac, Quy’s hometown and his home. The actors and actresses are Quy himself, his father, younger sister and close friends.

Quy, 23, made the film with minimal costs, he borrowed a camera from one of his friends and did the editing himself.

The 29-minute film will be screened at the Busan International Film Festival on October 8 and 11, and Quy is set to give a talk after the October 8 screening.

Though Quy has yet to gain fame in the short film sector and has made only a few short films, “The Blue Room” (2010), “An Ordinary Sunday” (2011) - the first short film to feature Hong Anh, a professional actress - and “A Raw Video” (2012), his works have received critical acclaim for their notable depth and significance.

After watching Quy’s “An Ordinary Sunday”, local director Phan Dang Di, known for his film “Bi, don’t be afraid”, referred Quy and another young local director to the Busan festival for a training course. During the course, the young man had opportunities to work with and learn from his counterparts from other countries and nurtured his dream of making a film which would compete for the Busan festival’s Short Film award.

“Lua Phat” (Once upon a time in Vietnam), a heavily-invested action fantasy feature film by Vietnamese American actor-director Dustin Nguyen, which failed to receive an enthusiastic embrace as expected and was also criticised for several brandy advertising scenes, will also be screened at the Busan festival.

Busan International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious in Asia. Founded in 1996, BIFF has focused on introducing and supporting fresh Asian directors and their films. In 1998, BIFF launched the Asian Project Market followed by the Asian Film Market in 2006.

Along with the Short Film Competition for Korean directors, the Asian Short Film Competition’s Top 10 features films from such countries as Iran, China, India and Singapore. The director of the winning film will walk away with a cash prize of 10,000 USD.

Phu Tho’s Xoan singing introduced to schools

Bringing Xoan singing into schools has been recognised as an effective way of keeping the traditional art form in the hearts and minds of local people in the northern province of Phu Tho, its cradle.

The effort aims to realise the target of preserving Xoan singing during the 2013-2015 period. The ancient genre is currently listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Education and Training Nguyen Van Liem said Xoan singing has been taught and performed in schools since 2010, adding that his department also works with local sectors to organise extracurricular activities featuring the singing at schools.

During the school summer holidays, the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism instructed Xoan clubs and cultural houses to open singing classes for students and invited artisans to pass down their skills to the youngsters, said the department’s director Nguyen Ngoc An.

However, in order to popularise this traditional style of ritual folk singing among young generations, it is important to raise their passion for the art so that they can be fully aware of the significance of conserving and upholding its spiritual values.

Music teacher Nguyen Thi Thanh Van at Dinh Tien Hoang primary school said before teaching her students to sing, she allows them to study its origins in order to raise their interest in this national heritage.

“I also introduced the melodies, lyrics and simple dance movements to my students, and I realised that they are extremely enthusiastic about my lessons,” Van said.

At Kim Duc primary school, Xoan singing has been included in the curriculum. As well as establishing a Xoan club, it also invites local artisans to perform for its students.

Meanwhile, children at Hoa Hong kindergarten in Viet Tri city have been given the opportunity to watch videos about Xoan singing. Teacher Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa also composed a number of her own songs based on Xoan melodies to help inspire her students.

Artisan Nguyen Thi Lich said: “I was very happy to see that many students came to my house to learn about Xoan singing. I believe that with enthusiasm, they will preserve this traditional art form.

Traditional opera festival celebrates revolutionary spirit

The 2013 National Professional Cheo Festival, featuring 24 traditional operas performed by 17 troupes from across the country will be held in Hai Phong city from October 19 to November 1.

The operas reflect the undaunted spirit of generations of Vietnamese people during the era of national construction and defence, celebrating the revolutionary heroism displayed in the two resistance wars against France and the US, as well as the country’s achievements in the Doi Moi (Renewal) process.

Gold and silver medals will be presented to outstanding plays with rich content and high artistic quality. Exceptional directors, scriptwriters, musicians and costume designers will also be honoured at the event.

The event has been organised by the Department of Performing Arts, the Hai Phong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Association of Stage Artists (VASA).

It is an occasion for participating artists to exchange experiences and create new plays to entertain audiences on national holidays in 2014 and 2015.

YxineFF co-founder wins Young Creative Entrepreneurs Award

Phan Gia Nhat Linh, also known as Phan Xine, co-founder of the First Online Film Festival YxineFF was named winner of British Council Vietnam’s Screen and Multimedia International Young Creative Entrepreneur (YCE) award 2013 on Wednesday at the Hotel Pullman Saigon Centre  in District 1.

As part of his prize Linh will make a dream trip to London to participate in a week-long U.K. Tour including two days at the London Cross Media Forum 2013 which brings together a cross section of leading international creators, thinkers and practitioners from the fields of film, TV, interactive, online, mobile, gaming, publishing and live events.

In addition, there will  be a specially-curated program of networking events and master class sessions introducing the YCE winners to U.K. peers and media experts. The winner will have a chance to engage with the U.K. market and lay the groundwork for future creative business collaboration.

HCMC’s University of Architecture, was formerly the managing editor for Vietnam’s Movies & Theatres Monthly Special Issues Magazine and administrators for Vietnam’s two biggest movie forums - Moviesboom & Yxine. In 2006, he became the first Vietnamese to receive a Ford Foundation fellowship in Film Production when he accepted a place in the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.

In 2010, Linh and two of his friends founded YxineFF which has developed into a hub and platform for new and innovative film-makers to develop through screenings, seminars and workshops about film-making. The festival has become an important initiative making a difference in the film community.

The YCE first runner-up was Tran Hoang Hai, also from HCMC. Hai is the founder and production team leader of LumiGrade Media Vietnam.

The event had the participation of Lord David Puttnam, British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Trade Envoy for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia who is a legend in the movie industry with 10 Oscars and 25 BAFTAs.

“Our winner and runners up clearly demonstrate their creativity, flair and originality.  We aim to harness their ability and their inspiring stories to further influence young people to follow in their footsteps. From what we have found, from a creative sense at the very least, the future for Vietnam is very bright indeed,” said Chris Brown, director of the British Council, said at the event.

This is the fourth time British Council Vietnam has run the International Young Creative Entrepreneur award organized by the British Council globally. The organization of the Award this year follows British Council’s success with a Fashion Award in 2007, a Screen Award in 2010 and Design Entrepreneurs Award in 2011/2012. This year, British Council and Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism are promoting the International Young Screen and Multimedia Entrepreneur Award to celebrate the achievement of young creative entrepreneurs working in the screen and multimedia sector.

Australian Government launches online digital design contest

The Australian Government has launched online competition ‘Win your Future Unlimited’ which runs until November 18.

A year of study in Australia awaits the winner of the exciting competition which asks students to design digital postcards about their future and how an Australian education could take them there.

“The competition is an opportunity for one lucky student to show how an Australian education can generate a real career outcome,” Hugh Burrowman, the Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, said in a statement.

The main prize includes one year of study in Australia in 2014, including flights, tuition, accommodation, a stipend, an internship and more.

Before the winner is announced on December 17, seven finalists will be flown to Australia for a two-week study tour during which they will meet with representatives of tertiary institutions from coast to coast.

To enter, visit www.futureunlimited.com.au and complete four steps to create a digital postcard including uploading a photo, adding illustrations, writing 50 words or less describing future aspirations and how an Australian education could help realize these and answering some basic questions as well as submitting the postcard.