Vietnam wins four Green Good Design Awards in USA

The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies have presented renowned architect Vo Trong Nghia four Green Good Design Awards for preeminent works.

The four masterpieces - Kon Tum Indochine Café, Binh Thanh House, Stone House, and Dailai Conference Hall - have been selected for the prestigious accolades from hundreds of entries from around the world.

“Binh Thanh house” is composed of two different spaces positioned alternately and features pattern blocks, which used to be a popular shading device in Vietnam to get natural ventilation. Made of pre-cast concrete, the blocks not only keep out harsh sunlight and heavy rain but also enhance the house owners’ sense of privacy and safety.

“Kontum Indochine Café,” is designed as part of a hotel complex along the Dakbla River in Kon Tum City in the Central Highlands. The edifice boasts a main building with a large horizontal roof in bamboo structure and an annex kitchen made of concrete frames and stones.

“Stone House” is constructed from local quarried stone blocks that are stacked up in an alternating grid to give a brickwork pattern to the walls.  The house was designed to minimise energy consumption. The central courtyard contains both a tree and a pool of water, intended to naturally cool the surrounding rooms.

“Dailai Conference Hall” features bamboo in its impressive roof structure. A striking curved stone wall greets visitors at the entrance to Flamingo Dailai Resort, with perforated stone walls on the interior. Many bamboos are assembled into a structural frame, which has higher reliability and redundancy than bamboo used individually.

All of the four winning works will be showcased at the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in September.

Previously, Vo Trong Nghia received the distinguished award for other masterpieces such as Wind and Water Bar, Vietnam Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010, Bamboo Wing, and Stacking Green.

Designs for heritage site placed on display

The Conservation Centre of Thang Long – Ha Noi Relics has put on display 24 architectural designs for the Central Sector of the Thang Long – Ha Noi Imperial Citadel's Archaeological Site at 18 Hoang Dieu Street in order to gather public feedback.

They include six award-winning designs, including one by Studio Milou Singapore Pte Ltd and one by a joint venture between the National Institute of Architecture and Boydens Engineering Viet Nam, which tied for second place in a previous contest.

"Opinions, particularly on these two top designs, will be collected using questionnaires," said deputy head of the Conservation Centre Tran Viet Anh.

After August 30, the feedback will be reported to the municipal People's Committee, which will propose the final design to the Prime Minister.

Film sheds light on Indochina war

The war between Vietnam and France (1946-54) will receive comprehensive coverage in a new documentary directed by Dao Thanh Tung.

The documentary entitled Chien Tranh Dong Duong (The Indochina War) was shot in Vietnam and France under the auspices of the Department of Cinematography.

Director Tung prepared the script for more than a year, grounding it in historical research. The four-episodes, including Duong Den Doc Lap Tu Do (Road to The Independence and Freedom), Cuoc Chien Trong Vong Vay (Battle in Blockade), Truong Ky Khang Chien (The Long Term Resistance War), and Cuoc Chien Van Con Tiep Dien (The War Still Continues) is among few documentaries on Indochina war produced by Vietnamese.

"Vietnamese audiences will have a chance to watch documentaries about the Indochina war which were made by foreign filmmakers. It is rare to have the chance to make such a film," said Tung.

In 1955, Russian army reporter and director Roman Carmen worked with Vietnam National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio cameramen to make the popular documentary Viet Nam Tren Duong Thang Loi (Vietnam on The Road to Victory). The original was stored in the studio and aired on local television stations, according to director Tung.

The five-member crew led by Vietnam National Centre Documentary Studio director Pham Thi Tuyet also visited France to shoot the film.

Thanks to the support of overseas Vietnamese in France, the film crew met two French witnesses, Pierre Bonny and Jacque Bonfils, living in Lyon.

During the interview, both expressed their impression of the Vietnamese people they met during the war and did not complain about their time in captivity.

"At the age of 90, they are still strong and sharp minded. They told us how much they loved Vietnam and that Vietnam would always be in their hearts," said Tung.

"There are many reasons to say that but I think it was because they were treated well by Vietnamese when they surrendered in Vietnam."

The film crew also met with two other Vietnamese witnesses, Vietnam People's Army colonel Nguyen Su and diplomat Huynh Van Khanh.

Additionally, Tung travelled across Vietnam to find survivors of the war but was challenged by the fading memories of elderly witnesses. To ensure the accuracy of the stories narrated in the film, the crew interviewed witness from different sides to guarantee objectivity.

The documentary will allow audiences to follow the historic chain of events when the French colonialists attacked Danang, waging the war in Vietnam in 1858.

The Indochina war began in 1946 between French forces and Viet Minh troops led by President Ho Chi Minh and legendary general Vo Nguyen Giap.

The fighting took place in the north of Vietnam. The conflict engulfed the entire country and extended into the neighbouring then-French protectorates of Laos and Cambodia.

The film is expected to be released in August.

French Embassy supports Le Petit Nicolas sequel release

The sequel of the French movie Le Petit Nicolas (The Little Nicholas) will be screened in cinema theatres across the country from August 1.

The film has been directed by Laurent Tirard and is based on a series of children's books written by Rene Goscinny,

In Hanoi, cinema-goers can enjoy the comedy at the National Cinema Centre, Platinum Times City, Platinum Royal City and Platinum Garden Mall My Dinh.

In HCM City, the movie will be screened at the BHD Star Cineplex Icon68, the BDH Star Cineplex 3/2 and Tan Son Nhat Cinema.

In addition, the film can be viewed at Bien Hoa City's PegaCine and Binh Duong's Empire Cinema.

The film is being screened with the financial support of the French Embassy in Vietnam, which aims to boost the distribution of French movies in Vietnam. While only four French movies were released in Vietnam last year, the embassy expects the number to rise to six or eight in 2014.

To implement its plan, the embassy is offering financial support to local movie distributors and is inviting them to attend French movie festivals. The embassy is also promoting and advertising movies through its own network.

The embassy also expects to see further co-operation between Vietnam and France in movie production.

In the upcoming Hanoi International Film Festival in autumn, the embassy will act as the French movie curator.

Along with the screening of Le Petit Nicolas, the book series on which the movie is based has been released by the Nha Nam Publishing and Communication Company.

Cinema-goers attending the screening of Le Petit Nicolas can avail of a 30% discount on the price of the book series, which will be sold at all cinemas.

An exhibition showcasing paintings and Le Petit Nicolas books will be held at L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi, to promote the movie and the book.

Photographers win gold medals at int'l contest

Vietnamese photographers has taken three gold medals at the international photo competition Prilep Salon in Macedonia.

The black-and-white photo Tuoi Tho Tren Dong Song (Childhood on the River) by photographer Duong Phu Tam won the gold medal in the Child category, while An Giang Mua Lu (Flooding Season in An Giang) by Bui Quang Vu and Dem Binh Yen (Peaceful Evening) by Nguyen Ngoc Thach won the gold medals in the Travel category.

The photo Tren Dong Muoi (On the Salt Field) by Tran Thi Thu Dong won the bronze medal in the Travel category.

Nearly 600 photographers from 66 countries submitted their entries for the contest, which is patronised by FIAP.

24 prehistoric artifacts detected in Gia Lai

After over two months of intensive work, experts from the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology (VIA) and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences have unearthed 24 prehistoric archaeological relics.

According to Ass. Prof. Dr Nguyen Khac Su, a senior VIA researcher, the findings open up prospects for further research and international excavation cooperation in the time ahead.

Over the past two months, the group carried out surveys in Gia Lai’s different areas, discovering relics of different historical periods such as stone tools, shaped hand axes and knives, which pre-date those from the old stone age of tens of thousands of years ago.

In particular, the survey team found many relics belonging to the late Neolithic period dating back 3,000-4,000 years.

In some eastern districts of Gia Lai, the team, also discovered traces of the metal era such as stone hoe blades, copper ax molds, and iron furnaces along the banks of the Ba River. This evidence show that the eastern areas of Gia Lai entered the metal era from early AD.

Dr. Nguyen Gia Doi, VIA Deputy Director said, “Competent agencies should intensify the protection of the newly-discovered artifacts which are in danger of being destroyed. It is essential to conduct systematic research on these artifacts to clarify their outstanding historical values.”

Obon Japanese festival to kick off in Hanoi

Obon Japanese festival – one of Japan’s most well known festivals– will take place at Hanoi’s Times City urban area on August 9-10.

The highlight of the festival will be Bon Odori and Yosakoi performances and other Japan’s traditional dances, Japanese martial arts namely Kendo, Aikido and Judo, and cosplay performances.

Diverse activities will also be staged during the festival including lantern, fashion shows, films on Japanese culture and culinary arts of both nations.

The organizing board said that, the Obon festival will bring interesting experiences to visitors and help them learn more about Japanese people and its unique culture.

The event is co-organised by the Japanese Culture Club, Hanoi-Amsterdam Gifted High School and Yotsuba Vietnam-Japan Culture Centre for Connecting Community.

Entrance tickets to the program are free of charge.

Comic book and cartoon institute to debut in HCMC

The Comic Book and Cartoon Institute, which belongs to the Model Design and Art Creation Association of Vietnam (MDACAV), will debut on August 4 at Ton Duc Thang Secondary School in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District, Tuoi Tre reports.

The institute will be a place for research and application to train personnel in fields related to comic books, cartoons and digital entertainments.

At the opening ceremony, there will also be a seminar about comics drawing and cartoon making. Attending the seminar will be Le Huyen, chairman of the MDACAV, Phan Thi My Hanh, director of the Comic Book and Cartoon Institute, Vu Hien, head of the Graphic Design and Application Institute of Vietnam, and Son Seiretsu, Keihara Nobuhiro, and Sai Hidetomo from Japan’s Nippon Designer College.

The seminar will feature a cosplay performance, portrait drawing, and imagery documentary about the process of making the comic book series Than Dong Dat Viet: Hoang Sa – Truong Sa and a Vietnam comic book stand manned by the electronic bookstore Bookbuy.vn.

Reality show on stories of poor kids comes on air

The first episode of the reality show ‘Cung xay tuong lai’ (Building the future together) will be aired at 11 a.m. on August 3 on HTV7 channel, giving viewers a glimpse on the hardships and dreams of underprivileged children in rural areas.

The program has been launched by HCMC Television and DongTay Promotion with the sponsorship of Prudential Vietnam. This year, the program themed “Xay truong moi – Chap canh uoc mo cho tre em ngheo” (Building new schools – offering dreams for poor children) will target old and downgraded kindergartens and primary schools in six provinces, including Quang Tri, Quang Binh, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Kien Giang and Ca Mau.

The program will include 32 episodes of 25 minutes each. The first one of the soap opera aims to introduce the project which is dedicated to promote education and devotion for children. The rest of 31 episodes will feature characters, sceneries, crafts and local cultures in localities where the program seeks to help poor students.

The crew will visit rural areas to find out the real conditions of schools, circumstances of families, requests of teachers and dreams of students to decide what the program has to help them properly. The process of building new schools and inauguration ceremonies will be also broadcasted.

The program will be touching stories of poor students who suffer from deprivation, diseases and difficulties but always desire to go to schools for a better future. Emcee Quyen Linh will be the host of the soap opera.

Last year, the program had a test-implementation with two schools being built in Dong Nai and Quang Ngai provinces. The program will be conducted with collaboration of Plan Vietnam and Saigon Children’s Charity organizations.

Episodes will be broadcasted at 11 a.m. on every Sunday on HTV7.