Yan Beatfest, an outdoor music festival featuring 80 famous international and local singers, DJs and dancers, will be held at Phu Tho Stadium on November 26.

The headliner will be Redfoo, an American rapper, dancer, record producer, DJ and singer. He is best known as part of the duo LMFAO.

Vietnamese pop stars Thu Minh, Toc Tien and Noo Phuoc Thinh, as well as DJs Hoang Touliver and SlimV will perform at the festival.

The venue is at 1 Lu Gia Street in District 11.

Tickets are VNĐ169,000; 499,000 and 900,000. They can be purchased at www.ticketbox.vn.

Illustrated pop-up workshop with Portuguese artists

Two Portuguese travelling artists Nic and Inês will host an illustrated pop-up workshop at The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre on November 17-18.

On the first day of the event, the duo will give a free talk about doing what you love, as well as persistence, flexibility and an open mind.

The next day will be a workshop where participants will be instructed to make their own illustrated pop-up book inspired by the book designs of Japanese graphic designer Katsumi Komagata. Admission for the second day is VNĐ100,000/person.

The workshop will be held in English with a Vietnamese translator.

Participants can register for the workshop at aoa2@factoryartscentre.com. 

Future Shorts film fest to be held at Saigon Outcast

Future Shorts, the largest short film network in the world, will present the best international and local short films at Saigon Outcast on November 19.

The screening programme will feature work in different genres, including the experimental film Ego by Belgian director Nicolas Provost, the film Audition by Sweden director Lovisa Siren, and the animation Love by German director Reka Bucsi.

It will include music video Technique by Mai Lan directed by Cedric Richer and Quentin Curtat, and the documentary The Special One directed by Lamin Oo.

The film screening will begin at 8 pm at 188/1 Nguyen Van Huong Street in District 2. Tickets are VNĐ80,000 and VNĐ50,000 for students. Admission is free for filmmakers.  

London-based musician to perform at Piu Piu

Renowned singer, DJ and producer Spikey Tee from London will hold a concert at Piu Piu on November 11.

Tee, who has been involved in the music scene for 26 years, was shot to fame with the UK rap pioneers, The Sindecut, in the late 80s and early 90s.

The show will also feature two resident DJs Psycho and Skitty.

The event will start from 9pm at 97 Hai Ba Trung Street in District 1. Entrance is free before 10pm, and VNĐ100,000 after 10pm. 

French metal artist comes to Hanoi 

Today, at 6pm, L’Espace will open the installation exhibition Introspect 1996-2006 – Just An Impression by Laurent Barnavon, who won the Ferro Insight 2000 Alfred Bullerman Prize for metallurgical artists.

In 1996, considered a boom year for digital photography, images began to “land” in reality. The metaphysical revolution took Barnavon to an analysis of contemporary images. Inspired by pleats and geometry, the artist developed a unique technique for his work.

This year, he chose Hanoi to present the project that he has been pursuing over the last 15 years.

Barnavon was attracted by the techniques of Asian artists that he encountered during his childhood, when he was living with a Vietnamese family in France. After graduating from the conceptual art institution Villa Arson, he spent six years experiencing both Asia and Europe.

His free entrance exhibition will open until December 11. L’Espace is at 24 Trang Tien Street. 

Walking tour explores Hang Da Market

On Sunday, the Friends of Vietnam Heritage (FVH) will host a city walk to discover the back alleys of Hang Da Market area.

Hidden pagodas, small communal houses dedicated to patrons of craft guilds, narrow streets full of local life, Chinese merchant mansions, legends you haven’t heard before, bits of the old citadel, and more characterise this charming walk through the small streets and alleys surrounding the old leather market.

The group, which is limited to 10 people, will gather at 51 Duong Thanh Street, in front of Hong Ha Theatre.

The two-and-a-half hour English-speaking tour will start at 9.30am. Cost: VNĐ70,000. Registration: contact Loan at phuongloan2704@gmail.com.

Urban photo contest opens in Da Nang 

The Rapid Planning Photo Contest 2016 on Da Nang City’s urban infrastructure opened for Vietnamese photographers from October 25th to November 30th.

The event’s organisers said the contest, part of the Rapid Planning project, urges competitors to capture the essence of Da Nang urban infrastructure including people and landscapes under the themes of water, waste water, solid waste, energy, urban agriculture and food.

Each competitor can send three photos no larger than 20MB to the contest’s organising committee.

The contest is organised by a rapid planning project funded by the German Federal ministry for Education and Research.

According to the organisers, the winner will win VNĐ10 million, while the runner-up and third place will get VNĐ5 million and VNĐ2 million, respectively.

The organiser will also present prizes on the topics of water and waste water; waste, energy and urban agriculture.

The award ceremony will take place in the city on December 9th.

Da Nang has been selected along with Kigali (Rwanda), Assiut (Egypt), under the Rapid Planning project that will continue through 2019.

In 2012, Da Nang was selected as an APEC city among 20 low-carbon model cities using energy-efficient technologies.

TV series on HTV features Hong Kong actresses

A TV series featuring Hong Kong actors produced by the HCM City-based private film company Bach Viet Phuong Nam will air on HCM City Television’s HTV7 next week.

The 32-part series Agent in Macao featured Chan Yee Ling and Fong Yuen, who arrived in Viet Nam for filming in August. 

It also attracted Vietnamese stars Thanh Truc, Nhan Phuc Vinh and Anh Thu, who play the lead roles in the series.

Directed by Nham Minh Hien, the VNĐ5 billion (US$224,000) show is about a female agent Quynh Thu, played by Truc, who penetrates a drug gang led by the Flakka group in Macao.

Truc began her career as a solo singer in 2005. She later playing leading roles in more than 50 films and TV shows. 

She won the Best Movie Actress and Favourite Movie Actress at the Mai Vang  (Golden Apricot) and HTV Awards presented by the HCM City Television in 2009. 

“Our film was shot also in Macao and Cambodia. We hope the film will entertain audiences, particularly young people,” said Truc.

The film will air at 8pm every Tuesday on HTV7. 

Exhibition to raise funds for disadvantaged children

An exhibition by artists of the HCM City Fine Arts Association has opened in HCM City to raise funds to help disadvantaged children in Ta Nung Open House in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.   

The event displays 40 paintings by Nguyen Thi Tam, Co Van Hau, Nhu Khoi, Hong Phuong and Ha Nguyen, and its underlying theme is “All for Children of Ta Nung Open House.”

All the paintings were selected from their latest collections of landscapes, daily life and ethnic minority women and children in remote areas across the country.

“These works are by artists who want to show their love for life, women and children. They have captured the hearts of viewers," said Tran Tuan Anh, a first-year student at the HCM City University of Fine Arts, who visited the event’s opening ceremony on Monday.  

Some paintings were sold for more than VNĐ170 million (US$7,600) on the first day.

The exhibition is on display at the HCM City Exhibition House, 92 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1.

It will close on November 13. All proceeds will be used to buy food, clothes and 1,000 books for the children.

Various events celebrate Ok Om Bok Festival

Several events were held to celebrate the Khmer ethnic people’s Ok Om Bok (moon worshipping) festival in southern Soc Trang province. 

Amateur art performances and the 8th Khmer ethnic costume show, which are part of the Ok Om Bok festival week held every two years, began on November 9 at Park 30-4 in Soc Trang city. 

The art show attracted over 400 artists in the city danced and played traditional musical instruments. 

The costume show featured numerous Khmer costumes ranging from daily life, festival, wedding to modern. 

The show aims to honour the unique features of the Khmer ethnic group in the province and introduce these characteristics to others, said Tran Minh Ly, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 

The same day, within the framework of the Ok Om Bok festival, the 15th Khmer sports competition opened with 250 local Khmer athletes out to encourage people to improve their health. 

The shows and sports challenges will run through November 13. 

In a related event, an agricultural trade fair took place on November 9 at the Culture Centre in the neighbouring province of Tra Vinh. 

The fair, held by the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, involved 20 local businesses and 90 from other provinces and cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Binh Thuan, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, among others, showcasing key local agro-fishery products. 

The six-day-event was intended to promote trade and connect enterprises in Tra Vinh and other localities, aiming to boost production and consumption, said Vuong Quoc Tuan, Director of the Trade Promotion Centre. 

Workshops on promoting agro-fishery products and gift design competition will place during the event. 

Ok Om Bok festival, one of three main Khmer festivals– along with Sene Dolta and Chol Chnam Thmay – takes place under the full moon in the 10th lunar month annually. On the occasion, Khmer people provide offerings to pray for favourable weather and a bountiful harvest. 

The National Intangible Cultural Heritage festival comprises a number of entertainment opportunities, including art performances, traditional sports challenges, folk games and the Ghe Ngo (Khmer boat) race.

Japanese Film Festival 2016 opens in Hanoi

The annual Japanese Film Festival returns November 11-20 to Hanoi, shining a bright spotlight on the best of Japanese culture.

With the program carefully curated by the Japan Foundation Asia Centre, this year’s Festival will present exciting new films direct from Japan including comedy, samurai and yakuza action, manga adaptations, high school romance and much more.

The eight films in this year’s season include horror, children’s animation, comedy, a documentary plus more focusing on differing themes such as school, family, cartoon, and documentary.

These films will screen consecutively for ten days at the National Cinema Centre, 87 Lang Ha Street, Hanoi. All films will include both English and Vietnamese subtitles.

In addition, the Festival will tour at later dates in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang in Vietnam along with many other cities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia, the Japan Foundation has announced.

“Rivers of Vietnam” photo exhibition comes to Hanoi

The “Rivers of Vietnam” photo exhibition opened at the Foreign Trade University in Hanoi on November 8, displaying 100 photos selected from more than 5,440 submissions to the Vietnam heritage contest 2016. 

This is the fourth out of eight planned exhibitions of the contest, which will last until November 11. 

Before Hanoi, the photos were displayed in HCM City, Phan Thiet city, and Nha Trang city.

They will continue to be exhibited until the Lunar New Year festival at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Culture House, the Cham Museum in Da Nang and the Hanoi-based Museum of Ethnology. 

The photo contest, the fifth of its kind organised so far in Vietnam, attracted 507 photographers, including 14 foreign ones. 

It aims to encourage people to discover Vietnam’s natural and cultural heritages, with excellent photos to appear on Vietnam Heritage magazine. 

The award ceremony will be held in HCM City on November 18. 

Great national unity week to take place this month

The Great National Unity – Vietnamese Cultural Heritage Weekwill be held at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hanoi from November 18-23. 

The event, part of the month promoting national solidarity taking place at the village throughout November, also aims to celebrate the 86th anniversary of the Traditional Day of Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee (November 18) and Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23).

Activities during the week will introduce and honour tangible and intangible cultural heritages of Vietnam’s ethnic groups, thus enhancing the strength of the great national unity bloc.

Attending the event will be 120 village patriarchs and artisans from ethnic groups in localities across the nation, including Tayfrom Thai Nguyen, Xo Dang from Kon Tum, GiaRai from Gia Lai and Ba Na from Phu Yen. 

Students from cultural institutions and artists from theatres will also perform during the week. 

The opening ceremony will be held on November 18, with cultural exchanges and performances featuring the traditions of each ethnic group and honouring national solidarity. 

The same day, the organisers will present awards to the winners of a photo contest featuring the village – the common house of 54 ethnic groups. About 150 photos selected from the contest will be displayed during the week. 

Among the highlights of the event is the demonstration of traditional crafts of Tay, Thai, Muong, Dao, Kho Mu, Ba Na, E De, Khmer ethnic groups, such as traditional handicraft making, brocading, musical instrument and toolmaking, as well as their folk games and songs. 

National intangible cultural heritages will be introduced during the week with drum and gong performances by Cham and Ba Na ethnic artists. 

Traditional rituals of GiaRai people in Gia Lai, and wedding ceremony of Tay people in Thai Nguyen will also be re-enacted.

The 5th season of So You Think You Can Dance kicked off

The 5th season of the Vietnamese version of the popular international reality television show” So You Think You Can Dance” has been kicked off. 

100 best dancers who were selected from audition rounds throughout the country will participate in the semi-final round in Ho Chi Minh City.

The judges are renowned dancers and choreographers, including John Huy Tran, Khanh Thi and guest judges.

The jury will whittle hundreds of contestants down to 20, including 10 male and 10 female dancers, for the final round that will be held in Ho Chi Minh City and broadcast live in 11 weeks on HTV7 from November 12.

Contestants aged 16-30 are all welcome to participate in the contest.

So You Think You Can Dance is an American televised dance competition show attracting tens of million viewers. Premiered in 2005, to date 25 localized adaptations of So You Think You Can Dance have been produced in many countries.

Art programme marks 20th VN-Ireland friendship

An art programme took place at the Hanoi Opera House on November 8 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Vietnam-Ireland diplomatic ties and friendship.

President Tran Dai Quang, Irish President Michael D. Higgins and their spouses attended the event, which was jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Culture Ireland Fund on the occasion of the Irish President’s State visit to Vietnam.

Vietnam and Irish audiences enjoyed charming performances by MOXIE, a leading Acoustic music band from Ireland, as well as Irish traditional dances by world-renowned Alan Kenefick and Nawal Elbadri.

Through the programme, the organisers hoped that the bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and Ireland will be further enhanced in the time to come.

VNS/VNA/SGGP/ND