Vietnamese artists among top five at Asian Fashion Awards

Vietnamese supermodel Lan Khue and make-up artist Thong Bao were listed among the top five in their category at the Asian Fashion Awards 2013.

Asian Fashion Awards is considered the Oscar Award for Asia's fashion industry which is organized annually by the Asian Fashion Federation to honor individuals for outstanding achievement in the local fashion industry as well as in the Asian fashion industry.

Vietnam was represented by model Lan Khue, make-up artist Thong Bao and designer Quynh Paris.

Model Lan Khue is well known in Vietnam among the younger generation. She had won the third prize in the Asian Supermodel contest in 2012 and the Golden Award for Vietnam Model in 2013.

Thong Bao is a leading make-up artist in Vietnam. He is a favorite of many famous artists, models and beauty queens such as Truong Tri Truc Diem, Lai Huong Thao, Hoang Oanh, model Hoang Thuy, actress Hong Anh. For many years he has been a make-up artist at HCMC Television.

The final awards ceremony will take place in Hangzhou in China on October 30 and will be broadcast live on China television and 50 other local channels. The program will be attended by famous artists from Asia and around the world.

Kieu's Tale to be translated into Russian

Nguyen Du’s Tale of Kieu will be translated into Russian by Nguyen Huy Hoang, a collaborator of Moscow University, to mark the author’s 250th

birthday anniversary and UNESCO’s recognition of Nguyen Du as a world cultural celebrity.

At a signing ceremony held in Ha Tinh province on October 28, Hoang Van Vinh, President of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association in

Xvetdlov province, pledged to contribute US$5,000 to the payment for the translator.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, Secretary of the Ha Tinh provincial Party Committee thanked Vinh for his donation in tribute to the great poet of the nation.

Binh also expressed his hope for greater contributions from overseas Vietnamese to local development.

Kieu's Tale has been translated into 31 foreign languages.

A cultural exchange is being held in Khanh Hoa province from October 27-29 to promote mutual understanding between Vietnam and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

There will be a series of activities including a model and design competition, and art and music performances with the participation of famous bands and singers from Vietnam and CIS countries.

This is the first cultural exchange of its kind between Vietnam and CIS member countries after a direct air route between Russia and Khanh Hoa was launched in late 2010.

Dozens of planes have since landed at Khanh Hoa’s Cam Ranh International Terminal, bringing thousands of tourists from Russia and other CIS member countries to the central region of Vietnam.    

So far this year as many as 70,000 CIS visitors have traveled to Khanh Hoa province, and the figure is expected to rise to 100,000 by the year’s end.

The five CIS countries are Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan.

Water puppets bring Andersen tales to life

The Viet Nam Puppetry Theatre has staged water puppet performances based on three popular stories by famous Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen (1805-75), with the support of France's Interat Riviera SA organisation, according to Nguyen Tien Dung, deputy director of the theatre.

The three stories include The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid and The Steadfast Tin Soldier.

The shows will be performed in France and other European countries later this year and throughout 2014.

Quang Nam funds renovations

The central Quang Nam Province has allocated VND2.8 billion (US$133,000) for the restoration, repairs and preservation of two ancient houses in Hoi An city.

The fund will address repairs and preserve the two ruined houses on Nguyen Thai Hoc street until 2016.

Hoi An ancient town, which is one of two UNESCO-recorgnised world heritage sites, has over 1,000 houses between 100 and 200 years old.

Hoi An was included on a list of the top ten Asian cities decided by the US magazine Conde Nast Traveler's Readers Choice Awards last year.

Overseas Vietnamese in RoK celebrate homeland culture

The third Vietnam Cultural Festival took place in Daejeon, a city in the central region of the Republic of Korea (RoK), on October 27.

The festival, organised by the local Vietnamese Association with support from the Vietnamese Embassy in RoK, Chungnam University andKumho Tire, is among numerous activities to mark the 21 st anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

It also aimed at strengthening solidarity and exchanges among the Vietnamese community in RoK, while spreading the images of Vietnam’s country and people to the local people and international friends.

Thousands of Vietnamese people in RoK came to the event to enjoy Vietnamese traditional dishes and songs and dances performed by their country people coming from all corners of the East Asia country.

The event was bursting with radiant smiles and hugs of the expatriates, the beauty of Vietnam’s long dress (Ao dai) and RoK’s traditional hanbok.

The same day, participants gathered at Chungnam University to attend the festival’s opening ceremony and met with the Vietnam Labour Management Office in RoK following the RoK’s Employment Permit System (EPS).

Addressing the festival’s opening ceremony, the chargé d’affaires at the Vietnamese Embassy to RoK, Nguyen Manh Dong praised the effective

activities of the Vietnamese community over the past time, and hoped that they will continue sharing and supporting each other in the coming time.

Dong also highly valued the role of the Vietnamese Association in RoK, adding that the organisation, while only in operation for a short time, has brought together and tightened the ties among Vietnamese people in the RoK.

Stressing the cultural similarities between Vietnamese and RoK people, Director of Daejeon city’s Economy and Industry Bureau Yoon Tae Hee

voiced his optimism for the friendship and cooperation ties between the two countries.

The Vietnam Labour Management office in RoK also held a question-and-answer session on the current laws and regulations related to Vietnamese labourers in RoK.-

Ho Chi Minh statue designs on display

Numerous designs for a new statue of President Ho Chi Minh are on display in Ho Chi Minh City to collect recommendations from the public.

At a showcase on October 27, representatives from the city’s Association of Architects presented the designs for the statue, which will include the square in front of the municipal People’s Committee office and a surrounding area of over 11,000 square metres.

A proposal to move the current statue of President Ho Chi Minh hugging a child to the city’s Children House was also heard at the event.

The designs, which are displayed at the Ho Chi Minh Museum, have received more than 3,000 suggestions and recommendations from visitors since September.

Of the total 32 designs, the three statues which meet all the criteria and receive the most support will be submitted to the city authorities for approval.

A ground-breaking ceremony for the statue is scheduled to be held on President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, May 19, 2014.-

Designer Nguyen Cong Tri to kick off fashion show in HCM City

The fashion show themed ‘No.7-Thank Saigon’ by leading Vietnamese designer Nguyen Cong Tri will be held at Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City on November 1.

The fashion show will be attended by director Viet Tu and designer Dinh Cong Dat. Dinh Cong Dat is considered the first Vietnamese artist to be listed among a group of designers in Asia and Vietnam by the Hermes brand. Besides that, Dinh Cong Dat has also participated in many important events in the field of fashion and entertainment.

The fashion show will be cooperation between Nguyen Cong Tri and Dinh Cong Dat and will also be attended by singer Ho Ngoc Ha as DJ (Disc Jockey).

Bui Duc Bao wins HTV Master of Ceremonies Contest

Bui Duc Bao won the Master of Ceremonies Contest that was organized by Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) on October 25.

Bao received the ‘Golden Swallow’ award which carries a cash prize of VND100 million. The Silver Swallow was claimed by Phan Thi Tu Trinh, while Vu Ngoc Hoang Oanh triumphed over her competitors for the ‘Favorite Contestant of the Press’ award. ‘The Most Emotive Voice’ award went to Nguyen Thuy Thuy Van.

The annual Ho Chi Minh City Television’s Master of Ceremonies Contest aims at creating a useful playing field for young people who have a passion for the emcee career and for discovering talents for the communication and TV industry in the country.

Winners of the previous competitions such as Quynh Tram, Kieu Hai Chuyen, Anh Quan, Hong Phuong, Quoc Binh, Tuan Anh and Nhu Quynh are now famous MCs.

Return home for Vietnamese paintings attributed to one man

A Vietnamese man has acquired many Vietnamese paintings at auction, bringing them back to the nation in which they were painted.

Over the past six months, Nguyen Minh attended six auctions and bought dozens of valuable pieces of art created by Vietnamese artists such as Nguyen Tuong Lan, Vu Cao Dam, Le Pho and Le Thi Luu and restored to Hanoi.  

The effort was fueled by Minh’s desire to become a collector and exhibitor of pieces by Vietnamese artists who were the first graduates of Indochina Fine Arts College.

In early October, at a Sotheby’s Auction House in Hong Kong, Minh bought six Vietnamese paintings, including three created by Artist Le Pho, two by Vu Cao Dam and one by Le Thi Luu. However, he was outbidded on several pieces.

Late last May, at Christes’s Auction House in Hong Kong, Minh successfully auctioned one painting by Vu Cao Dam entitled Maternité and one other by Nguyen Tuong Nam, named Landscape with fishing boats. The initial price for the valuable silk picture by Nguyen Tuong Lan, made in 1934 was USD25,600- 32,100. Minh said this auction was the most intense he had seen.

“My dream to open a small exhibition gallery for artists of the “golden generation" of the Indochina Fines Arts Colleges in the near future. For some reason, these artists had to work and live abroad. However, their works retain the Vietnamese spirit. That's the reason I am dedicated to returning them home,” Minh said.

Best Asian-Pacific broadcasts honoured

The Vietnam Television (VTV) hosted a ceremony in Hanoi on October 28 to honour outstanding Asian-Pacific broadcasts as part of the 50th General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU).

Speaking at the event, VTV Director General Tran Binh Minh highlighted the prestigious ABU Prizes that was initiated in 1964 with the purpose of acclaiming best products in this field in the region.

Winning broadcasts were selected from 260 radio and TV programmes nominated by over 20 nations, including telefilm and documentary, Minh noted.

The Republic of Korea won big with four TV prizes in Documentary, Entertainment, Sports, and Drama, while the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) was awarded with Interactive Programme, On-Air Personality, and News Reporting.

The Voice of Vietnam (VOV) received special prize from the jury for its “Hot Radio”, whilst the host got two certificates of merit for the creations of “Dreaming Stars” and “Conservation of Delacour’s langurs”.

Special art performances were also held during the awarding ceremony.-

“Anima” - A solo exhibition by Finnish Maritta Nurmi

Art Vietnam Gallery, Manzi art space and the Embassy of Finland in Hanoi will open the new works of Maritta Nurmi, in her upcoming solo exhibition “Anima” on November 1 in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between the two nations.

The works of Finnish artist Maritta Nurmi, Hanoi resident for over 20 years, continually explore the metaphysical and the unknown. The artist continues this challenge with her intellectual probing into the concrete meaning and essence of form and spirit. Depicting animals has long been the domain of artists since the first recorded Paleolithic cave paintings in France and Spain which recent findings have discovered were largely created by women.

The artist’s current works use the animal form in many guises. In this new body of work, Nurmi seems to be questioning the necessity of man to create form, to suggest a bond between human and nature, and the implications of such a need or desire. The artist muses: “Many contemporary artists have chosen to use animals in their work as the ultimate 'other', as metaphor, as reflection.” As she ponders this Nurmi questions whether this need to depict animals is an attempt to understand what it means to be animal or whether it is an expression of our increasing alienation to nature, a loss of this primal connection.

Nurmi was trained as a biologist so this exploration and fascination with the animal world is not a new realm. Her works are at once physical, and yet they seem to yearn to be free from constraint. She questions this apparent human need to have form, boundaries, is it a fear of the limitlessness of eternity, a fear of death, a fear of the unknown?

Accustomed to the northern white light of her native Finland, the artist uses metal leaf extensively in her work to reflect an otherworldly light, an energy source that emits a kind of limitlessness that rebukes and negates boundaries.

The animal figures in the current work are formed from pattern, layer upon layer, colliding and combining in a whimsical animated fashion, producing works humorous on one hand and thought provoking on the other.

Beetles Doo Dung are highly patterned expressions of scarab beetles rolling balls of dung across the ground, an act that the Egyptians saw as a symbol of the forces that move the sun across the sky. As they inch their way along their task, the aluminum leaf surface evokes a sense of stillness and grandeur to their action. A movement beyond the physical world, towards the divine.

The monkey paintings seem to exist and not exist. Formed by using a popular metallic wallpaper, Nurmi seems to suggest their form is superficial, playing once again to the human need to conceptualise form for a sense of security and relevance. The bird series also suggests a sense of existence and non existence, the birds appearing and disappearing as the viewer alters his view.

“Dogs and Roses” and “Dogs and Dots” are the anchors of the exhibition. Unabashedly playful, the colorful patterned surfaces of the dogs with their bright confrontational gaze seem to demand of the viewer a response, a reckoning of this need to conceptualise reality. Do they exist or do they not? Are they mere flights of fancy, or are they real? Is it important to be or not to be?

Anima is will, consciousness, thought, breath, life, and spirit. The question remains with the viewer, a provocation to examine what remains beyond matter, beyond form.

“Anima” will be launched at 6.00 pm. at Manzi art space, 14 Phan Huy Ich street, Hanoi and will be on display till November 30 (everyday from 9 am to midnight).

 At 60, Vietnamese cinema revisits past, eyes future

The recent 18th Vietnam Film Festival not only honored excellent works and authors, but also remembered the 60-year-old history of Vietnam’s cinematography. Report by the Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

Since President Ho Chi Minh signed a decree to establish the Vietnamese cinematography in 1953, the sector has achieved significant results. The first milestone was the screening of the feature film “Chung mot dong song” (Sharing a river) in 1959, which was associated with the formation of the Vietnam Feature Film Studio.

Since then a series of quality films have been produced, including “Vo chong A Phu” (A Phu couple), “Con chim vanh khuyen” (The white eyes), “Chi Tu Hau” (Sister Tu Hau), “Duong ve que me” (Road back to mother), “Vi tuyen 17-ngay va dem” (17th parallel, days and nights), and “Em be Ha Noi” (Little girl of Hanoi). These films explored people’s emotions and the pain and destructive effects of wars.

After Vietnam’s liberation in 1975, such movies as “Canh dong hoang” (Deserted field), “Me vang nha” (Mother’s out) and “Bao gio cho den thang Muoi” (When the 10th month comes) were considered everlasting works of Vietnam. Dang Nhat Minh’s film “When the 10th month comes” was listed by CNN in 2008 as one of the best 18 Asian films of all time.

Director Minh recalls: “At that time, we were passionate about making films and our hearts were bound for the nation’s destiny. We did it for nothing, just patriotism. We wanted our films to have the best quality and reflect the most extreme of our emotions and the truest picture of our people’s lives and struggles”.

Vietnam’s renewal process which began in 1986 has seen success of many feature films including “Co gai tren song” (The girl on the river,); “Tuong ve huu” (Retired general), “Nga ba Dong Loc” (Dong Loc T-junction), and “Ha Noi 12 ngay dem” (Hanoi in 12 days and nights). Significant documentaries during this period included “Tro lai Ngu Thuy” (Back to Ngu Thuy), “Tieng vi cam o My Lai” (The sound of the violin in My Lai), and “Chi Nam Khung” (Mrs. Nam).

After a decade of hiatus, in 2003 Director Le Hoang’s “Gai Nhay” (Bar girls) created a new trend of entertaining and commercial movies, as “Bar girls” topped the ticket box office with an audience in the hundreds of thousands.

Over the last 10 years, Vietnam’s cinematography has made major changes with the booming of private film companies and the involvement of overseas Vietnamese directors.

Actress Hong Anh, who won several national film festival awards, said: “Looking back at the 60 years of development of Vietnam’s cinematography, I am very happy and proud because my career has been connected to one quarter of that period. From my first award with the film 'Doi cat' (Sand life), 16 years have passed. As a professional, I find that Vietnam’s film-making has changed visibly.”

From the first national film festival in 1979 to the latest 18th festival in Quang Ninh in earlier this month, many works and artists have made a name for themselves. They have also provided opportunities for film makers to meet and exchange professional skills to help develop the national film industry.

Ngo Phuong Lan, Director of the Vietnam Cinematography Department, said: “Vietnamese cinematographers are proud of the 60-year development path of our revolutionary cinematography. The film industry has been standing side by side with the nation and generations of audiences. Being proud of the past, it’s more important that we should leave our mark in the international integration process.”

The 18th Vietnam Film Festival was impressive in terms of entries: 139 films from 44 movie agencies all over Vietnam.-VNA

Vietnam, Laos, China gather for ‘con’ throwing festival

The third Vietnam-Laos-China ‘con’ festival wrapped up in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien on October 27, gathering hundreds of artists and athletes from around the region.

A con is a colourful fabric ball which is thrown at a bamboo hoop as part of a folk game played during the festivals and New Year holidays of Thai ethnic communities. It is often held on a spacious and flat ground where a 15-20m high bamboo pole is erected with the target on top. The game has been adopted by people living in the border areas of Laos, China and Vietnam.

The Lao district of Nhot U, China’s Jiangcheng region, and Dien Bien and Lao Cai provinces in Vietnam take it in turns to organise the festival highlighting the game every year.

In addition to con throwing competitions, the three-day festival featured folk games, a cooking contest, a costumed beauty pageant, a trade fair on Vietnamese consumer products and cultural exchange activities.

According to Lo Van In, a Thai culture researcher in Dien Bien, the con symbolises Yang while the bamboo ring embodies Yin. The game shows the harmony of Yin and Yang, meaning that couples who wish to have children often take part to pray for a child.

The biennial festival is also expected to strengthen friendship and mutual understanding among three regional countries.