VietNamNet Bridge – Eight short documentaries about contemporary life in Viet Nam will be presented free of charge tomorrow night, Feb 5, at the Goethe Institute in Ha Noi.

The films were made by young amateur filmmakers who last year took part in a six-month workshop conducted by DOCLAB, a centre/lab for documentary filmmaking and video art which is based at the Goethe Institute.

The films were made in a new and experimental style which allowed the filmmakers to foster their personal voices and independent visions of contemporary society. Characters in some of the films are silent because the filmmakers wanted to let the ambient sounds and images tell their stories.

In his 11-minute film Chuyen Moi Nha (The Story of Ones), Pham Ngoc Lan uses the banality of Vietnamese State radio broadcasts to give a face to the unseen voices. The portraits and settings layered atop the aural landscape create questions, provide humour and offer context.

Nguyen Phuong Thao's 10-minute film Nhung Mon Qua (The Gifts) is a direct dialogue between the director and the characters about a well known, yet strange topic: sex. By choosing to film in an open structure, the director is sharing an experience with the viewer and together they discover stories which will never personally belong to them.

English subtitles will accompany the films. Audiences will have the opportunity to meet and talk with filmmakers after the screenings which begin at 8pm.

* Festival in Ha Nam celebrates famous general

A food-distributing festival distributing food will be held tomorrow night, Feb 5, at the Tran Thuong Temple where 80,000 food parcels will be handed out, containing such staples as corn and rice.

The temple is located in the Nhan Dao Commune of Ly Nhan District, in the northern province of Ha Nam, roughly 50km south of Ha Noi. It is one of the three largest in the country dedicated to Tran Hung Dao (1228-1300), his family and other generals who made great contributions in the fight against the invading Mongols in the 13th century.

Local residents have long organised food distribution ceremonies at the beginning of the lunar new year to commemorate the general's achievements and to educate younger generations about the importance of saving and stockpiling food for emergencies.

Nowadays, the symbolic portions are considered a lucky charm for the new year and many locals and visitors from other regions flock to the festival to receive them.

This year, the festival is expected to be bigger than usual, as tourists are being welcomed, and is set to exceed last year's figure of 30,000 food parcels distributed.