Art & Entertainment News 6/7 Vietnamese film week opens in the US The Vietnam Film Week was inaugurated in the US city of Honolulu on July 5 as part of activities to celebrate 20 years of the normalisation of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US. The event was organised by the Cinema Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in the US, Vietnamese delegation to the United Nations, and American partners. Six Vietnamese films which won domestic and international prizes are being screened at the event, namely Trung so (Lottery win), Khat vong Thang Long (Thang Long aspiration), Nhung dua con cua lang (Children of the village), Hiep si mu (Blind knight), Bi mat Tham do (Scandal), Hao quang tro lai (Scandal 2). The film festival also includes a series of cultural activities, such as an exchange of Vietnamsese and US film makers, festivals featuring Ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) and cuisines, and the introduction of the biennial Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF). The event will continue to take place in Washington DC and New York until July 18. Chain of concert honors Hanoi’s music in the past, present “Music Story of the Old Quarter” which is a chain of music shows featuring Hanoi’s music from the past to present will be held at the Center of the Old Quarter’s culture exchange in Hanoi on July 10. Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam has its proud 1000-year-old history and tradition. The music born here shares the same richness as the city’s history itself: diversified, unique and original. The July’s performance aims to replicate the footsteps of the city’s music through the history, by using traditional voices, rhythms and beats combined with contemporary installation arts. The show will be performed by leading singers and musicians. “The Old Quarter’s story of music” is expected to present Hanoi’s culture, history and humans to local and foreign audiences through portraying Vietnamese’s unique music. Thailand’s PRD makes TV reports on Vietnamese culture, tourism A delegation of the Public Relations Department (PRD) of Thailand has made TV reports on Vietnam’s culture and tourism during their working visit to Nha Trang seaside city, central Khanh Hoa province. The delegation’s reports covered various topics, including the establishment of and conservation work of the Cham Po Nagar temple complex - a relic of the 1,300 year-old Champa Kingdom located in the city, preservation of natural resources and maritime creatures, as well as cuisine of Vietnam and Nha Trang in particular. Head of the delegation Siriwan Dampreeda praised the beauty of the seaside city with friendly people, noting that the city should reserve current beaches and green parks. The visit from June 29 to July 4 is part of a cooperation framework the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the PRD. The exchange of delegations between the VNA and the PRD has helped the two agencies have accurate, timely and objective information on each country’s political, economic, cultural and social situations, contributing to increasing the understanding and friendship between two countries’ people. Book Talk to discuss fantasy literature genre   Writer Phan Hon Nhien.  Writers Phan Hon Nhien and Phan Ba Hiep will hold a discussion with readers in HCM City about fantasy in Vietnamese literature at the sixth monthly seminar Book Talk, organised by the Nha Nam Culture and Communication JSC tomorrow. Fantasy literature is popular in many countries, but not in Viet Nam, according to the organiser. "Fantasy is a genre of literature that uses miraculous and supernatural elements in plot, theme and context," according to a press release from Nha Nam. Nhien, born in 1972, and Hiep, born in 1991, renowned writers of the fantasy genre in Viet Namwill discuss why many Vietnamese writers have not chosen the fantasy genre, how fantasy writers should prepare for writing, and the kinds of fantasy works that could become popular in Viet Nam. Book Talk 6 is set to take place at Nha Nam Bookstore, Suite 015, Apartment Block B, 43 Ho Van Hue St, Phu Nhuan District, HCM City. Writing contest features personal relationships The website phunuvagiadinh.vn in HCM City has launched a writing contest Ky Niem Kho Quen (Unforgettable Memories) for Vietnamese people in and outside the country. The contest encourages participants of any age and background to write about their personal and professional experiences that have influenced their relationship with others. Participants can share their happiness, difficulties, challenges and other issues that may have changed their life, the organiser said. Contestants can send an essay of no more than 1,000 words to phunuvagiadinh.vn before August 26. Readers will vote for the top prizes, worth a total of VND15 million (US$700). The best essays will be published on the website and in local media. Two Vietnamese farmers' films go to global competetion Two out of four short films made by Vietnamese farmers have been chosen to be part of a list of 30 films in the global YouFarm competition, an international video competition on the internet. Organised by Bayer CropScience, the annual competition is for farmers worldwide or their families and friends. Farmers can shoot and submit short videos about life on the farm. This year, the competition's topic is Farm and Family. The best videos will be announced in August. In Viet Nam, four films were made under the support of Bayer Viet Nam and May Cong May Communication Company. Bayer Viet Nam on Friday awarded the four farmers who made the films. The four Vietnamese films included "The Father and His Son", "Develop Father's Rice and Homeland", "Technology and Farming" and "My Farming My Family". The first two were chosen to join the global competetion. Heads scratched in Hoi An about how to preserve ancient bridge Authorities in the ancient town of Hoi An have yet to find a solution for the preservation of an iconic 400-year-old bridge though its state of repair has been worsening for at least 16 years. Nguyen Chi Trung, director of the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management Preservation, said experts are divided over how to restore Chua Cau (Pagoda Bridge) -- a complex consisting of a bridge over a small canal and a pagoda on one end. Trung said on one hand, they suggested "placing the site in a glass cage", meaning that it should be put under restriction and a new bridge should be built next to it so that visitors can admire it without using it. But others said that the addition of a new bridge would change the whole view, he said. Yet others said the bridge should be restored but used because it is also a traffic facility. The director himself has proposed to authorities to limit the number of visitors daily and cover the bridge floor to protect it. Often the bridge has more than 100 visitors at a time, and even more during holidays, he said. The authorities recently hired a consultancy to assess the capacity of the bridge before deciding how many tourists should be allowed on it at a time, according to Trung. Dinh Hai, director of Quang Nam Province's culture department, said local authorities have organized many conferences to discuss the issue, but have yet to find a solution. An international conference will be held this year to consult Japanese experts on the preservation plan, given that Chua Cau was built by Japanese traders who made up a large part of Hoi An’s population during the 17th century, he said. "We need to restore the bridge urgently, but we cannot be hasty since any carelessness will distort the historic site." Documents show that Chua Cau started getting "seriously" worse after a historic flood in 1999. Since its parts almost came apart, the bridge, which is built with rocks, mortar and wood, tilted to one side. Though the problem was fixed later, in 2009 it was battered by yet another strong flood, prompting local authorities to repair its foundation again. Now the damages are found mostly on the body, which is predominantly made of wood, with joints rotting and tie beams on its roof bent. Trung said when it rains or floods, they have to strengthen the structure by placing sandbags around abutments and tying the bridge to some strong structure to reduce the effect of the flow of water. But the job is not easy since the bridge is situated in a place where currents are most powerful, he said. Vietnamese culture celebrated in Germany A gala night promoting Vietnam’s vibrant traditional customs and culture was featured at the Palast Festungsgraben Theatre in Berlin, Germany on July 2, attracting a flock of international friends and representatives of diplomatic delegations. Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Minister Counsellor to Germany Pham Viet Chien highlighted that culture served as a bridge between the two nations and promoted exchange, integration and mutual understanding between Vietnam and Germany. He added that preserving national identity and embracing cultural diversity during the global integration process was a key element of the bilateral cultural exchange. The programme kicked off with a performance by young pianist Ngoc Vu, a German-Vietnamese artist who has won a number of awards in Germany and other European countries for his performance of Schumann and Chopin words. Meanwhile, designer Lan Huong’s Ao Dai collection, showcasing Vietnamese brocade fabrics, turned heads at the Ao Dai fashion show. Designer Diego Cortizas, founder of Chula fashion, also presented his pieces to the guests. The highlight of the programme was the performance of the string quartet BESA (Berlin-Saigon), who played “a little night music” by Mozart and aVietnamese folk song. Trio Lao Xao, who were awarded the Creole Mitteldeutschland international prize, captivated the audience with a Bac Ninh love duet and a monochord performance. The art performances contributed to popularising Vietnamese culture around the world and made the event celebrating the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-Germany diplomatic ties all the more memorable. Yuji Miyata joins RMIT Vietnam students to plant trees Yuji Miyata, a Japanese peace messenger and environmental activist for the United Nations, joined RMIT Vietnam University students to plant trees at the university campus in HCMC’s District 7 on June 29. Miyata also shared with the student his seven-year journey to walk through 20 countries to raise public awareness of keeping peace and protecting the environment. “Every one of us has the power to make peace and the smallest thing each individual does for peace can make the world a better place,” Miyata told the students. Since 2007, he has walked more than 13,000 kilometers, planted over 5,000 trees, visited 800 schools and 250 orphan centers in many countries including Vietnam. This is the second time Miyata has visited Vietnam. In 2010, he joined RMIT Vietnam University students in a six-kilometer walk from District 1 to their school in District 7 and planted trees. Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri