Vietnam wins gold medal at int’l circus festival

The “Du Sieu Nhan” (Superman Swings) act performed by eight Vietnamese circus artists has won a gold medal at the 14th Val d'Oise (Domont) International Circus Festival in the French capital Paris.

The news was unveiled during a press conference held by the Vietnam Circus Federation in Hanoi on October 6.

Nine circus troupes from Italy, Belarus, China, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Vietnam and the hosts attended the festival from 27-29 September.

The “Du Sieu Nhan” routine won a gold medal at the same event in Spain in 2010.

Film on Buddha’s life screened in Vietnam

The Ho Chi Minh Chapter of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha on October 7 held a ceremony to introduce the film “The life of Buddha” to its followers.

This is the first time the international version of the film was shown outside Sri Lanka, starting from Vietnam.

It took six years to complete the film, with the participation of India’s Bollywood renowned stars.

The millions-USD film has successfully and depicted the life of Buddha until the age of 35.

It was made by the Sri Lanka organisation Light of Asia Foundation under the auspices of the Sri Lanka president.

The film will also be screened at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tuong Van monastery and Hoang Phap pagoda on October 13, and move on to other provinces and cities in the south.

Volunteers help spread Vietnam’s culture

A festival has been held for the first time by Vietnamese and foreign volunteers, aiming to spread Vietnam’s culture to international friends and visitors.

At the Vietnam Festival 2013, all the stalls featuring the culture and local specialties of the country’s regions were painstakingly prepared by the volunteers, with the hope to bring Vietnamese culture to the visitors.

The festival gave a chance for the volunteers from many countries across the world to express their love for the country.

 French volunteer Julia Duvert said “I have been in Vietnam for seven months, and will remain here for the next five months. I am very impressed with Vietnam’s culture. It is very rich and full of interesting things that I want to learn about.”

The event comprises of a host of activities that carry the warmth and friendly sentiments of the volunteers.

It also acts as a bridge linking enterprises and philanthropists to disadvantaged people nationwide.

Artistic exchange seeks support for fishermen

An artistic exchange themed “Connecting with the East Sea ” was held in Hanoi on October 7 with the aim to mobilise support for fishermen who are earning their living on traditional fishing grounds in the East Sea.

The event was coorganised by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), the Vietnam Red Cross Central Committee, the Vietnam Television and Radio the Voice of Vietnam. It was broadcast live on VTC1, VTC14 and VTC16 channels.

Speaking at the exchange, MIC Deputy Minister Le Nam Thang said fishermen are facing many difficulties at sea, not only from storms and bad weather, but also complicated developments in the East Sea situation.

Therefore, the programme has been held to raise funds to buy communication equipment for fishermen, helping them avoid unfavourable situation at sea, thus ensuring their safety.

Apart from the performance of artists, the audience had the chance to meet and talk with fishermen who shared heart-touching stories about their daily work and difficulties, including Bui Van Phai who did his best to protect the national flag when Chinese ships fired at his vessel, and Duong Thi Thu Anh, whose husband died at sea.

The event also featured documentaries that gave audiences an insight into daily life of fishermen and their families.

The artistic exchange was a part of the “Connecting the East Sea” campaign which was launched on September 15 and will last through October 14. The campaign has so far mobilised nearly of 4 billion VND.

Red River Delta photo exhibition opens in Ninh Binh

An art photography exhibition featuring the daily life of people in the Red River Delta region opened in the ancient village of Co Vien Lau in northern Ninh Binh province on October 7.

As many as 143 pieces on show at the Red River Delta Art Photography Exhibition were selected from 1,175 entries from 212 professional and amateur photographers in nine provinces and cities in the region, namely Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh.

Photographer Duong Duy Long won the first prize with his image of “Trang An Moment”.

The organisers also presented three second, four third and six consolation prizes for 13 other works on display.

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.

Exhibition celebrates Vietnam-Egypt friendship

An exhibition entitled ‘Special Egypt’ kicked off at the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts (VECCA) on October 8 to mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Egypt diplomatic ties.

The exhibition features drawings by the Egyptian artist Ahmed Mohammed El- Ganainy, who has conducted many important research projects and created successful works on the visual arts.

The artist’s works have been showcased at exhibitions in Egypt and other countries, winning many domestic and international fine arts prizes.

The exhibition, which is co-organised by the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Egyptian Embassy in Hanoi, runs until October 13.

On the occasion, a wide variety of cultural exchange activities will also be held to lift the friendship and multi-faced co-operation between the two countries to a new height.

Vietnamese photographers win prizes at international contest

Photographer Hoang Ngoc Thach.

Vietnamese photographers were awarded several prestigious prizes at the 5th International Photography Competition in Finland.

The competition was organised by the Association of Finnish Camera Clubs (AFCC) and sponsored by the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), the Photographic Society Of America (PSA) and Brooklyn-based United Photo Industries (UPI).

Hoang Ngoc Thach won the FIAP’s gold medal and the PSA’s honorary certificate of merit for his black-and-white photo, ‘Come back Home No. 2’. His other two images, entitled ‘Young Mother’ and ‘Sea Storm’ also received honorary certificates of merit.

The PSA’s gold medal and honorary certificate of merit for the colour photo category went to ‘Worry No.2’ by Dao Tien Dat, and ‘Sand Life’ by Tran Thi Tuyet Mai won the FIAP’s bronze medal for black-and-white photos.

Photographer Nguyen Viet Rung also received UPI’s honorary certificate of merit for the black-and-white category.

The competition’s four top prizes were awarded to photographers from Italy, Taiwan (China) and Belgium.

The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on December 9.

Autumn Book Fair to promote reading culture

Thousands of books and appearances by famous authors are among the highlights of the ‘Autumn Book Fair 2013’, which runs from October 10-14 at the Vietnam Women’s Museum in Hanoi.

The fair will feature around 4,000 titles of various genres – focusing particularly on new titles for women and students – and will include exchanges with famous writers and translators.

Promotional programmes will be introduced on encouraging children to read, donating books to local community and women’s libraries and granting insurance cards to disadvantaged female students.

Organised by the Vietnam Women’s Museum; publishers the Women, Kim Dong and Tre (Youth); and the Nha Nam Culture and Communication Company, the fair aims to promote reading culture and traditional cultural values in response to the ‘Vietnamese Family Year 2013’.

The event marks the 59th anniversary of the city’s Liberation Day (October 10, 1954-2013) and the 83rd anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Union (October 20, 1930-2013).

The fair opens from 8:00 to 21:30 at 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi.