VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese show business activities in 2014 generally had more good news than last year, with many awards for Vietnamese artists and art organizations.

The local movie industry saw a good year when locally-made films went to cinemas at other times than just the New Year holiday. Viewers also had more choice of Vietnamese films.

The cinema industry discovered many new talents, including child actress Thanh Thuy and the return of Thuy Anh. Thuy, 8, was very impressive in drama, thriller and horror movies “Spirit,” “Scandal” and “Apartments”. Meanwhile, Thuy Anh had a spectacular makeover with her role in “Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere”.

Two female directors Nguyen Hoang Diep and Tham Nguyen were also recognized for their contribution of bringing Vietnamese films to international festivals.

The most prominent event of the film industry was the presence of Nguyen Hoang Diep’s “Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere” at many international film festivals, including Venice (Italy), Busan (Korea), Golden Horse (Taiwan) and Toronto (Canada).

In the most recent Hanoi International Film Festival, the movie won the Jury Selection Award.

In addition to the title of "Best Film" by the Federation of European and the Mediterranean Film Critics in the Film Critics Week at the Venice Film Festival, the movie also brought the "Excellent Director" award for Nguyen Hoang Diep at the Bratislava Film Festival in Slovakia and the "Special Mention" Award of the jury at the three continents film festival in Nantes (France).

By the end of the year, the documentary “The Last Journey of Ms. Phung” by Tham Nguyen caused a “fever” in HCM City. The documentary was not distributed to big cinemas but at small ones and cultural centers. The footage of the film about the lives of transgendered people moved many viewers.

The third Hanoi International Film Festival took place successfully when all shows were full. The second Autumn Meet in Danang became an annual event of independent filmmakers in Vietnam.

In the field of fashion, two fashion weeks (Vietnam International Fashion Week Fashion and Vietnam Spring-Summer Fashion Week) were held close together, with the participation of designers from many countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, France, Italy, Japan.

In particular, the first Vietnam International Fashion Week received great attention from the public. The event was organized quite professionally and  brought impressive performances for the audience.

This year, three Vietnamese designers were admitted into the Asian Couture Federation (ACF), including Ms. Quynh Trang, executive producer of Vietnam's Next Top Model, Project Runway and the Vietnam Fashion Week International, designers Hoang Minh Ha and Nguyen Cong Tri.

The fashion industry of Vietnam also witnessed the efforts of young designers, typically Ly Giam Tien, 18 and Pham Hai Shieu, 17, who are self-trained designers.

The two designers strongly impressed the audience with collections introduced in Project Runway and fashion weeks.

With appreciation from fashion experts and viewers, Tien and Sieu promise to be a new wind blowing into the fashion industry in the next few years, if they are further trained.

Vietnamese models Hoang Thuy and Trang Khieu became representatives of the new generation.

Overcoming many Asian colleagues, they booked many shows in London, Milan, New York. Hoang Thuy is still a free model while Trang Khieu has partnered with many modeling agencies, including Mannequin (Singapore), to expand her opportunities to the international market.

The music industry was quite vibrant and positive. In the past two months, the three prominent names of the V-pop – Dam Vinh Hung, My Tam and Ho Ngoc Ha -- organized big live shows.

Following My Tam and Thu Minh, this year, Ho Quynh Huong won the award "Asian Artist of the Year" at MAMA 2014 held in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, singer My Tam continued to assert her position with the award "Asia's Music Legend" in the second "Top Asia Corporate Ball" in Malaysia.

In addition, the Seasonal Wind Music Festival, with the participation of Vietnamese and international artists, was held in Hanoi in October.

T. Van