ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 15/3 First ever training course for independent filmmakers   A training course for independent filmmakers is being held in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi from March 10 to 17 with the aim of educating talented youth with crucial filming knowledge. The week-long event is organized by local film production company VBLOCK Media in collaboration with the Motion Picture Association (MPA) from the US, with the sponsorship of the Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) and French cultural center L'Espace. The course is led by young Vietnamese director Nguyen Hoang Diep, whose film “Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung” (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere) grabbed prizes at several international film festivals last year. Diep’s role is to help participants write film production proposals and detailed production plans for their future films. Quang Liem secures berth in Chess World Cup 2015 Vietnamese top seed player Le Quang Liem on March 14 defeated Laylo Darwin of the Philippines in the Zone 3.3 qualifying round of the World Chess Championships 2015 in HCM City to secure a berth in the upcoming Chess World Cup  2015. Top national player Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son was held to a draw by his Singaporean rival Zhang Zhong. On March 15, Son must win at the ninth round to earn the second berth at the Chess World Cup, which is slated for  Baku, Azerbaijan, on September 10. Meanwhile, in the women’s event, Pham Le Thao Nguyen  took the lead with 6.5 points after eight rounds, while Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia retained second place with 6 points. The 7-day training also welcomes Swedish lawyer Rolf Larsson to give guidance on co-production issues related to law and contract. Other topics mentioned at the course include copyright protection and online publishing and the system of international film festivals. Fourteen people attending the course were carefully selected based on their previous film proposal debut, which might be in the brainstorming process, or already have a script. Some projects have even been partially filmed. On the final day, March 17, besides a sharing session with American producer Jon Kuyper at L’Espace, at 24 Trang Tien Street in Hoan Kiem District, there will be a pitching session where participants can grab a chance to visit Hollywood and present their winning filming proposal at studios that MPA represents. Ban flower festival opens in Dien Bien The 2015 Ban Flower Festival kicked off in the northwestern province of Dien Bien on March 13. White and purple Ban flower, scientifically known as Bauhinia Variegata, is typical to the northern mountainous region of Vietnam, often in blossom in springs. Sea Festival 2015 to grace Nha Trang in July The central coastal city of Nha Trang will organise a string of exciting cultural and sports activities for the Nha Trang Sea Festival, scheduled to take place from July 11 to 14. The biennial event, the seventh of its kind since 2003, will involve a number of artistic, cultural and sporting events featuring both traditional and modern cultural characteristics, including exhibitions on cultural heritage and Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago sovereignty documentation, international conferences on seas and islands, and a women’s international volleyball championship. As one of the largest events in the city, the festival is part of efforts to preserve and promote the regional and national cultural sea values. A number of art troupes from the Republic of Korea, France, Japan, Russia and the US are set to participate in this year’s festival. The coastal city of Nha Trang is located in the central province of Khanh Hoa province, 440 kilometres northeast of Ho Chi Minh City and around 1,300 kilometres from Hanoi. Known for the beautiful Nha Trang Bay and friendly atmosphere, the city boasts nearly 10 kilometres of white-sand coastline with warm clear waters throughout the year. The sixth Sea Festival, held in June 2013, drew over 450,000 domestic and foreign visitors. Korean film star to visit Vietnam Well-known Korean actor and singer Kang Tae Oh has embarked on a promotional tour to Vietnam for his latest film entitled “Forever Young” and participate in charity events at Samsung. He is scheduled to arrive in Hanoi on March 14 and meet with fans at a charity auction held by Samsung Electronics Vietnam Co. Ltd. At the event fans will be given a firsthand look at Samsung’s new technological advances such as the Galaxy 4-Ultra and camera Galaxy NX300. The items will then be auctioned off with all proceeds donated to Samsung’s community project to build models of libraries with modern equipment and books in many localities nationwide. VOV