Brothers Grimm's fairy-tales to be screened on VN television

Ten German films based on the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tales will be screened on the Voice of Vietnam television channel (VOV TV) from Sunday evening onwards.

The new and modern edition of the films, dubbed in Vietnamese, were produced by the Consortium of Public Broadcasters in Germany (ARD).

The screenings are the result of the co-operation project between Goethe-Institut in Ha Noi and Voice of Vietnam (VOV), aiming to entertain Vietnamese children and their families.

The films will depict several classic fairy tales including include Cinderella, the Valiant Little Tailor, Mother Hulda, Rapunzel, The Town Musicians of Bremen, The Wishing-Table, Snow White, The Frog-Prince, Puss in Boots and Sleeping Beauty.

"We want this time to bring those fairy tales to Vietnamese families. We think that fairy tales are popular among all age groups, enchanting the young and the old alike," said Michael Flucht, deputy director of the Goethe-Institute.

"I've seen that fairy tales make large contributions to family relations the world over. They also encourage creativity and imagination in children and promote understanding between nations," he added.

The project has also produced a bilingual book in Vietnamese and German, gathering the ten most famous Brothers Grimm fairy tales. The book includes unique illustrations done by eleven artists from Viet Nam and Germany exclusively for this project.

An exhibition displaying the illustrations is to be held at the Goethe Institut in July.

Flucht said he hoped that this book would be widely welcomed in Viet Nam. Printed fairy-tale books are still very popular in Germany despite the widespread use of electronic books.

The films will be shown with Vietnamese voiceover for weeks starting this Sunday at 3.30pm. After each film, the audience can win a fairy-tale book by answering a quiz on the film. Those interested can visit the project's Facebook page, "Phim Truyen Co Grimm tren VOVTV," to find and answer the questions.

Farmers film their working lives

Farmers in My An Commune, Thu Thua District in the southern province of Long An are producing short video clips about their life and daily work.

Four farmers are joining the one-week filming project YouFarm – Canh Dong Que Toi (YouFarm – My Homeland's Field), conducted by outstanding representatives of Viet Nam's short and independent movies, including Trinh Dinh Le Minh, Ta Nguyen Hiep, and Nguyen Huu Tuan.

"We want to help the farmers share their own stories with the audience. No one can create such truthful and vivid clips but the ‘insiders'," said director Tuan, who achieved fame with the independent movie Danh Cho Thang 6 (Dedicating to June).

Director Hiep was excited to explore the life of local farmers through cinematography.

The three young directors follow the farmers, who are unfamiliar with modern filming equipment, from their house to the rice field, from cattle cage to the fishing pond, to help them tell their stories through the clips. The directors even live with the farmers and their families.

Farmer Ba Trong makes a video about the well-organised rice trade in his village, farmer Muoi Thanh presents himself as a working farmer in his self-created clip. He organises regular meetings for his villagers, where they exchange farming experiences and obtain up-to-date agricultural information.

Farmer Bay Uoc and his wife talks about changes to the soil's quality over the last 40 years since they settled in My An. Despite unexpected results caused by climate change, the couple strive to improve rice planting techniques and soil repair to increase quality and yield.

The reticent farmer Muoi Nen focuses on his ploughing work for the up-coming crop.

"I have no idea how to make a video. Honestly, it is much more difficult than doing farming work. All of us used to think it [farming work] is nothing interesting but the young directors have shown us how to spice it up. That is really great," said farmer Muoi Thanh.

The filming will be finished tomorrow.

The two best clips will be chosen to enter YouFarm — an international video competition for farmers, aiming to help improve public understanding of the farmers' role in our society while increasing awareness of agricultural topics such as food safety and sustainable farming.

The YouFarm's website says farmers will soon be feeding 9 billion people around the world – often farming under tough conditions.

"It's about time the world learned about your hard work and unwavering dedication. And YouFarm is the perfect place, offering family farmers an opportunity to show the true, real face of family farms," it says.

The competition, initiated by Bayer CropScience, will announce the winner in August. The winner will be granted the "Farmers around the Continent" tour, travelling through Asia and visiting farms and other great sites, together with a companion. The prize will cover flights, visas, transfer services, and accommodation.

Italian adventure books released

The Italian Embassy released Ulysses Moore, a series of adventure books written by Pierdomenico Baccalario, to Vietnamese children as International Children's Day on June 1 approaches.

Since its debut in 2005, the series has been translated into 27 languages and listed in the top 10 bestsellers in Italy.

Ulysses Moore, owner of the Argo Mansion, is a mysterious character. The stories revolve around a serious of magical doors that can transport the traveller across space and time.

Author Baccalario tells readers about the journey to find the door, to discover Moore's legacy and decode his notebooks.

Paris is Burning screened tomorrow

Nha San Collective will host a free screening tomorrow evening of an American documentary about transgender people and racism.

The 78-minute film Paris is Burning, directed by Jennie Livingston in 1990, chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay and transgender communities involved in it.

It also documents the origins of "voguing", a dance style in which competing ball-walkers freeze and pose in glamorous positions, as if being photographed for the cover of Vogue. It depicts different communities and gender identities, and their various forms of expression. It also explores how its subjects deal with racism, homophobia, AIDS and poverty.

The film won several awards, including a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, a Berlin International Film Festival Teddy Bear and an audience award from the Toronto International Film Festival.

It will be screened in English with Vietnamese subtitles at 24 Ly Quoc Su Street, Ha Noi.

TV, film forum to encourage networking

The annual Vietnam International Exhibition on Film and Television Technology (Telefilm) will be held in HCM City from June 4 to 6.

The Viet Nam Television-organised event was expected to become the most effective networking forum for film and television in the region and the leading option for international film and television companies, an organiser told the media.

It will have 300 booths showcasing TV programmes and serials, value added and support services, engineering, television and communications technology, software, and technology.

VTV and other TV stations and media companies like TVAd, Cat Tien Sa, BHD, Multi media, TNS, Lasta, Song Vang, ADT, Viet Ba, Sunrise, Ciet com, and Dolphin will be among the local exhibitors.

There will also be companies and organisations from 15 countries and territories like Germany, Japan, South Korea, India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Taiwan.

There will be three workshops including on digital television and copyright.

Visitors can meet the main actors and the director of the hit movie Nhung Ngon Nen Trong Dem (Candles in the Night) and VTV emcees, discover cutting-edge technologies seen for the first time in Viet Nam, and play game shows like Chiec Non Ky Dieu (Magical Conical Hat) and Ai La Trieu Phu (Who is the Millionaire).

The event, to be held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7, debuted in 2013 as a forum for the local and international TV industries to develop links and seek co-operation opportunities.

President Ho comes to life through Canadian-Vietnamese author’s words

Ho Chi Minh admirers have another chance to learn about the great man’s personality and life thanks to a new book published by an overseas Vietnamese national in Ottawa city, Canada on May 28.

The 200-page book “Ho Chi Minh: Nhan van va phat trien” (Ho Chi Minh: Humanity and development), written by Dr Nguyen Dai Trang from Centennial College, is published in Vietnamese, English and French and spans seven chapters that display images and facts about the late President Ho Chi Minh’s life and career from the perspective of a patriot living abroad.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada To Anh Dung hailed the author for being the first OV to write and publish books about the late President.

He also introduced a coloured portrait of “Uncle Ho”, which was gifted by Canadian artist Jean-Mauriece Gelinas on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day (September 2).

Gelinas, who was also present at the event, said that when he found out about the friendship between Uncle Ho and Spanish cubist painter Pablo Picasso, he decided to draw a portrait of the late President, inspired by Picasso’s “Joie de Vivre” (The Joy of Life).

Dr Trang’s first book about the late Vietnamese leader “Ho Chi Minh – Tam va Tai cua mot nha yeu nuoc” (Ho Chi Minh: the heart and mind of a patriot) was released in May 2010.

The debut ceremony saw the participation of 50 guests, including former member of the House of Commons of Canada Bryon Wilfert and a number of Vietnamese and Canadians living in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.

Disaster prevention doc to air nationwide

Danish Ambassador to Viet Nam John Nielsen, in a visit to HCM City yesterday, introduced a new documentary that will provide the public with information on preventive measures against natural disasters.

Storm is a 30-minute documentary which instructs families on how to best prepare for and survive a major storm, flood or natural disaster. It will be broadcast on national and regional television and appear on social media, including Facebook and YouTube, on June 1.

The Danish Embassy co-sponsored the documentary, which was made by World Climate Change Challenge, a nonprofit organisation registered in Viet Nam and supported by the embassy.

"We cannot stop such disasters from happening, but we can reduce their impact if the right measures are taken in advance," Nielsen said yesterday during a press briefing.

"The Danish Embassy has engaged in a wide variety of public initiatives. Most prominent are the Earth Hour Viet Nam campaign and the Voice of Viet Nam's serial radio programme with an aim to help spread knowledge on climate change and the practical steps all of us can take to address this challenge," he said.

More than 70 per cent of Viet Nam's population is at risk from typhoon, flood and storm surges, according to the embassy.

The country is believed to be one of the world's most vulnerable countries affected by climate change.

In 2013, Viet Nam faced an unusually high number of natural disasters, including 15 intense typhoons causing 277 deaths, 855 injuries and economic loss estimated at US$1.5 billion, according to the ambassador.

Speaking at the press briefing, Paul Phillips, producer of the TV documentary and director of Storm Productions in Viet Nam, said: "If we all sit back and do nothing today, thousands of children will again become the unnecessary victims of the next super storm or flood that hits the region, be it this year, or next. A huge number of deaths, injuries and illnesses can be prevented by putting into place educational media that is relevant to urban and rural communities."

Denmark was the first country to support the Vietnamese government's National Target Program of Response to Climate Change with $40 million, a press release from the embassy said.

Denmark has supported Earth Hour since 2011, and Nielsen has for the last four years been acting Earth Hour Ambassador.

The Danish government has also supported the production of more than 100 radio programmes to equip people in the country's remote and rural areas with knowledge on the effects of climate change.

One study has estimated that sea levels may rise by 33cm by 2050 and up to 1m by 2100, which could displace 7 million people in the Mekong Delta alone, a press release from the embassy said.

A one-metre rise in sea level will affect some 11 per cent of the population, impact 7 per cent of the country's agricultural land, and reduce the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by as much as 10 per cent.

Southern land cuisine festival kicks off in Ho Chi Minh City

The 2015 Southern Land Cuisine Festival, introducing more than 200 local dishes, officially kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on May 29.

The festival features nearly 100 booths showcasing products from 60 food and beverage businesses, restaurants and hotels in the south.

Visitors to the festival will have a chance to enjoy delicious dishes, drinks and culinary specialties of the southern region, particularly from provinces surrounding the Mekong Delta.

Most notably, the traditional New Year celebration of the ethnic Khmer people, Chol Chnam Thmay, will also be re-enacted during the festival with various unique activities including a traditional costume performance, folk games and water-splashing festival.

A wide range of other activities will also be held on the occasion such as a cooking contest, a fruit sculpture contest, a special art performance and a circus performance.

The festival is held to contribute to preserving and promoting the values of the traditional culinary culture of Vietnam, specifically those in the southern region.

The event also aims to honour and introduce the image of the land and people of Vietnam, particularly Ho Chi Minh City, which is known as a beautiful and friendly locality with delicious and unique cuisine, to international friends.

The 2015 Southern Land Cuisine Festival will run until June 1.

Vietnam painter holds solo exhibition in Switzerland

Primae Noctis gallery in Lugano, Switzerland on Thursday opened a solo exhibition to display artworks by Nguyen Thai Tuan, a painter who lives and works in Dalat City.

The event marks the second Europe exhibition of Nguyen Thai Tuan.

Between December 7, 2014 and January 31, 2015, Tuan held an exhibition in Milan, Italy which attracted attention of global critics.

In the book “Nguyen Thai Tuan - Black Painting & Heritage” which presents 80 of his paintings, Italian curator Demetrio Paparoni speaks highly of Tuan’s works in the “Black Painting” collection, created between 2007 and 2011, and the “Heritage” collection, created from 2011 until now.

Previously, he got mixed reactions from local experts and painting lovers after the artworks in his Black Painting and Heritage collections were displayed at San Art studio in HCMC.

Born in 1965 in Quang Tri, Tuan settled down in Dalat in 1987.

His oil paintings are mostly monochromatic but have a deep meaning as they reflect a space in which an individual has to live with darkness, hollow and oblivion.