Golden Kite winners awarded

Ho Chi Minh City hosted a March 9 ceremony to present the prestigious 2012 Golden Kite Awards, Vietnam's local equivalent of the Oscars.

Numerous outstanding actors and actresses attended the ceremony, alongside famous directors, singers, and other Vietnamese celebrities.

The 2012 Golden Kite nominees included 11 feature films, 18 video films, 24 short films, 13 animations, 37 scientific films, 10 documentaries, and 13 cinematography research works.

The jury awarded the Feature Golden Kite title to the film “Thien Menh Anh Hung” (Blood Letter). It also swept many of the festival’s other prizes.

Directed by Victor Vu, “Thien Menh Anh Hung” cost an estimated VND25 billion to produce and portrays the difficult fate of a son left alone after his royal family is massacred during the Nguyen Dynasty.

The media prize went to “Bi Mat Tham Do” (Scandal), an exploration of the dark side of show business through the life and love of a young actress.

Even though its controversial content has delayed its public release, the video film “Thai su Tran Thu Do” (Great Tutor Tran Thu Do) was also included in the Golden Kite top three.

The Vietnam Cinematography Association used the ceremony to honour People’s Artists Huy Thanh and Truong Qua, recognising their great contributions to the development of the art of cinematography in Vietnam.

Vietnamese movie joins Francophone Film Festival 2013

The Vietnamese movie Dam Me (Desire), by director Phi Tien Son, will compete at the Francophone Film Festival that begins this week in Viet Nam.

Twelve movies in different genres – such as feature, documentary and animation – will compete.
Films have come from Egypt, Benin, Canada, Belgium (Wallonie-Bruxelles delegation), Morocco, France, Senegal, Switzerland and Viet Nam.

All the entries will be screened with Vietnamese subtitles, while the Vietnamese movie will have French subtitles.

The festival will take place in Ha Noi from March 15-17, HCM City from March 18-April 6, Vinh from March 15-31, Hue from March 19-April 17.

Detail on the festival programme can be found at http://festivaldufilm.francophonie.org.vn.

Big parade to celebrate Year of Family

A parade of 500 artists from Ha Noi-based theatres on Saturday (Mar 16) will help launch the Year of Vietnamese Families.

The launching ceremony will be held at Ly Thai To Square from 8am with the attendance of 1,500 delegates.

The Viet Nam Women's Union and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will guide the year and organise activities in co-operation with provincial People's Committees, ministries and agencies.

Publicity campaigns will be run to encourage the building of happy and healthy families, the basic unit of human society.

The year's programme is aimed to improve people's awareness of the important role of family, gender equality and the fight against violence in families.

A Vietnamese Family Day will be celebrated on June 28 to promote the family tradition.

Roofs erected to provide shelter for Dien Bien Phu historical relic

An initiative to build protective roofs for the Dien Bien Phu historical relic in Dien Bien Province was kicked off on Wednesday.

The project, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory on May 7, 1954, was sponsored and implemented by the Ha Noi Housing Development and Investment Corporation (HANDICO).

To protect the objects from the extensive damage caused by weather, the roofs will be set up at 12 spots within the relic complex. Roofs will shelter the De Castries bunker and a 155mm cannon that once belonged to the French expeditionary forces, among other objects.

Each tempered-glass roof will be supported by a 3.2m-high steel frame and a concrete foundation.

The HANDICO has invested VND8 billion (US$380,000) in the project.

In May 1954, the Viet Minh force led by President Ho Chi Minh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu, a stronghold besieged by the Vietnamese for 57 days. The Dien Bien Phu victory put an end to French colonialism in Indochina.

Vietnamese children put their daily life on paper

Eight Vietnamese children, who excelled in the national round of the Mitsubishi Asian Children’s Enikki Festa painting contest, will have their paintings sent to the final round of the competition in Japan.

The eight children, together with 14 B prize winners and five groups of children that won the national round, were honoured at a ceremony in Hanoi on March 9 organised by the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibitions.

The competition received 892 entries, each comprising a set of five paintings, from across the country, said painter Vi Kien Thanh, the department’s head, who is also head of the contest’s organisation board.

The contest is co-organised by the Mitsubishi Public Affairs Committee, the Asian Pacific Federation of UNESCO Clubs and Associations and the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan.

Designed for Asian children only, the contest aims to provide an opportunity for the children to depict their daily life and local culture in their paintings, hence the name ‘Enikki’ in Japanese, which means picture diary.

Participants in the contest are primary school children aged 6-12.

Capital restaurant named among Asia's "Best Restaurants"

Ha Noi-based Don's was the only restaurant in Viet Nam listed in the inaugural Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2013, a spin-off of the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards.

Don's is billed as a multi-concept bistro serving classic and innovative international cuisine with a focus on top-quality local and imported produce, established in 2009 under the expertise of Chef Patron and General Director Donald Berger. In a review published in our Dining Out section on February 24, our restaurant critic called it "a destination for sophisticated fare".

At the awards ceremony last week in Singapore, Don's was honoured as the Best Restaurant in Viet Nam. It came in at 47th on the list.

"When you work in a restaurant, you do it more than just for the money. You do it for passion and love. So an award like this is really meaningful for our hearts and morale as well as for the team," Berger said.

The Canadian chef added that the award was good for Viet Nam as well. "On the list of the countries that were eligible to get the award, less than half did not get any recognition at all. So it is very important for Viet Nam to get on this prestigious international list. It will bring more tourism – and a lot more exposure for Viet Nam as a culinary destination – from around the world."

VNN/VOV/VNS