Art & Entertainment News 27/1 HCMC opens photo exhibition on wild birds   Sarus Crane photos are made by photographer Tang A Pau. (Source: WAR) Wildlife at Risk (WAR) and the Youth Cultural House of Ho Chi Minh City opened a photo exhibition under title “Wild birds in mating season” at HCMC Youth Cultural House on January 24. Over 130 photos sized of 40X60cm, which were made by photographer Tang A Pau. Through images, the author wants not only to show the beauties and unique characteristics of each kind of birds in Vietnam’s forests but also call everyone to take action in protecting wild birds and nature in Vietnam. The highlight of the exhibition is a collection of Sarus Crane photos. According to the IUCN Red List of threatened species, Sarus Crane is a kind of endangered bird whose life is threatened. The exhibition has been opened at HCMC Youth Cultural House from 8am to 8pm every day in January 24- 28. Researcher to speak on late writer Son Nam French researcher Pascal Bourdeaux from the Academy of the Far East in HCM City will speak about the late ethnologist Son Nam, who, uniquely, was both a writer of fiction and research works, in the city on Thursday. Son Nam (1926-2008), real name Pham Minh Tai, is also considered one of the greatest ethnologists of Southern Viet Nam who devoted his life to studying the history, culture and daily life of the Mekong Delta. A release from the organisers, the French Institute in HCM City, said: "All of his works had one goal – acquaint readers about his hometown. "The use of dialects gives a particularly original colour to his writings, which reflect ‘the river civilisation'." A prolific writer, his most famous novel is Huong Rung Ca Mau (The Scent of Forest in Ca Mau). The free seminar will be held at 3pm at the General Sciences Library, 69 Ly Tu Trong Street, District 1. Opera depicts life of national hero   A cai luong (reformed theatre) play honouring national hero Mai Hac De will debut tomorrow at Au Co Art Centre in Ha Noi. Mai Hac De, whose real name is Mai Thuc Loan, initiated the Hoan Chau uprising in Nghe An in 713AD, rebelling against the tough rule and heavy tax policies of the Chinese Tang domination. The uprising gathered 40,000 soldiers, most of them poor, and was a key event in Vietnamese history. After the glorious victory, Loan ascended to the throne and gave himself the royal name Mai Hac De. His reign lasted until 722, when Chinese Tang invaders once again occupied the country. Scriptwriter Nguyen The Ky nurtured the idea for the play since he attended a workshop in 2013 on the Hoan Chau uprising. "Most people know Mai Hac De as a national hero with great military talent, but very few know about his poetic soul. This cai luong play depicts both these outstanding sides of his character," Ky said. Staged by 140 artists from the Viet Nam Cai Luong Theatre with a budget of VND3 billion (US$140,000), the play will be presented to audiences from January 27-29. Free tickets can be reserved by contacting the Viet Nam Cai Luong Theatre at (04) 38634659. The play will be introduced to audiences in Nghe An – Mai Hac De's homeland – on March 3-4 in celebration of the 1,302nd anniversary of the Hoan Chau upraising. Vi-Giam singing to be included in curriculum The education sector of central Ha Tinh province plans to include Vi-Giam folk singing in primary school curriculum from the 2015-2016 academic year, as part of its efforts to preserve the humanity’s intangible cultural heritage. Tran Trung Dung, Director of the provincial Department of Education and Training said the sector has established a steering committee for implementing the plan. Accordingly, each of the 267 primary school in the locality will set up a Vi-Giam singing club managed by musical teachers. In near future, the traditional art genre will be taught at extracurricular activities. This type of folk singing was officially recognised by UNESCO as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity at the 9th session of its Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Paris in November 27, 2014. It is popular in nearly 260 villages in the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh. The two provinces have 51 singing clubs with over 800 vocalists, many of whom are actively preserving the folk music. There are an estimated 15 tunes of Vi and eight airs of Giam, reflecting the work, cultural life and feelings of residents in the central coastal provinces. Vi-Giam became the ninth Vietnamese cultural practice winning UNESCO’s intangible heritage status. The other eight recognised are Hue's royal court music, Gong space culture in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands), the northern province of Bac Ninh's love duet singing, the Giong festival, Ca Tru ceremonial singing, Xoan singing, Don Ca Tai Tu music and the worship of Hung Kings. Artist Anu performs for Australia Day One of Australia's most popular artists, Christine Anu, is in Viet Nam until January 31 to perform during Australia Day celebrations in Ha Noi, Vinh Phuc and HCM City. Anu is among Australia's most successful indigenous performers and most popular recording artistes, backed by an award-winning repertoire spanning across music, theatre, dance, film, television, and children's entertainment. She will also conduct workshops for music students at the National University of Arts Education (tomorrow) and at the Ha Noi Pedagogical University No 2 (on Wednesday), and visit a Viet Nam Women's Union organisation that supports women victims of domestic violence (tomorrow). Communist Party marks 85th year The 85th anniversary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (February 3) and 40th anniversary of Liberation Day (April 30) will be celebrated with many cultural activities in HCM City scheduled to begin this week. Local cultural centres and organisations will offer various shows, including daily performances and exhibitions featuring veteran artists and authors in the region held until April. The highlights include Dat Nuoc Trong Long Tuoi Tre (The Country and Youth) and To Quoc (My Country), which both begin on February 1. They were launched by the city's Dancers Association and Theatre Association. A Vietnamese film week, Ban Truong Ca Ve Thanh Pho Cua Toi (The Epic of HCM City), will introduce 12 documentaries on the city's revolutionary history as well as a 30-part TV series about young people living in HCM City after 1975. The six-day film week will begin tomorrow. A book exhibition organised by the city's Writers Association will open on February 1 and feature the latest books written by 40 authors and poets portraying Vietnamese soldiers and people and their contribution to the Southern Liberation Victory on April 30. HCM City Television (HTV), in co-operation with its partners, will broadcast live a special music and song programme on February 3, attracting 200 performers from art troupes. The show's highlights include traditional Tay Nguyen culture and music through performances of cong and chieng, two of the region's popular instruments. At cultural centres such as Youth Cultural House and Women Cultural House, variety shows staged by young singers, dancers and comedians are expected to dazzle youngsters and children every weekend. Young performers of the Nu Cuoi Puppet Troupe and Circus Troupe, through colourful costumes and stage accessories, will produce shows for children that have an interesting cast of characters as well as animals. They will perform their skills in music, dance, pantomime and circus tricks. Festival honours Dai Tu tea in Thai Nguyen A festival promoting the brand of Dai Tu tea in the northern province of Thai Nguyen officially kicked off on January 25 at the Dai Tu district’s stadium, as one of the annual major economic, cultural and tourism events in the province. The festival, which will run through January 27, features around 200 booths introducing tea products from trade villages, along with other specialities in Dai Tu district. The highlights of the event are a tea night and a contest for tea processors. Numerous cultural and arts activities are also being held during the festival including performances of Then singing (a traditional art form of the Tay ethnic minority people in northwestern Vietnam) with handmade ‘tinh’ guitars, which have only two or three strings, and an arts exchange. Visitors to the festival can be introduced to the different steps in the traditional tea processing including drying, crushing and embalming tea. The event offers a good opportunity for households in the district, as well as enterprises and co-operatives, to exchange and discuss modern methods of producing, processing and consuming tea products. Dai Tu currently has over 6,300 hectares of tea plantations, accounting for about 30% of the total tea growing area in Thai Nguyen province, and produces nearly 60,000 tonnes of fresh tea buds annually. The district is home to well-known tea areas including La Bang, Khuon Ga and Quan Chu. NZ Food & Wine fest opens next Saturday The Wine & Food New Zealand HCMC 2015 will take place on the lawn of RMIT University in HCMC’s District 7 from 4 p.m. on February 7. This event, which is back after a break for a couple of years, is expected to be a fabulous afternoon and evening of Kiwi cuisine prepared by seven of HCMC’s finest hotel culinary teams. Kiwi wines are sponsored by wineries in New Zealand, and live entertainment including a New Zealand artist flying in for the event. Eat Drink Give is the theme of this year’s event with an aim to raise funds and awareness of benefactors to help Ba Chieu Girls Shelter in HCMC. The shelter, which was founded in 1996 by Celia Caughey, former New Zealand Consul General in HCMC, has a strong Kiwi connection to help less fortunate people. The event is also among various activities of a year-long program throughout the country to mark the 40th anniversary of friendship and diplomatic relations between Vietnam and New Zealand. Tickets are available for sale at the New Zealand Consulate General, the Caravelle Saigon in District 1, AIS (Cherry Blossom) in District 2, and Boomarang in District 7. For more information, visit www.facebook.con/wineandfoodnewzealandhcmc. RMIT University is located at 702 Nguyen Van Linh Parkway, District 7, HCMC. New movie on President Ho Chi Minh to launch film week A movie on Nguyen Ai Quoc's life in Thailand will be premiered to launch a nationwide film week to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the Vietnam Communist Party. The party was founded on February 3, 1930. The film week will also celebrate the Lunar New Year festival, which falls on February 19. Entitled "Thau Chin O Xiem" (Thau Chin in Siam), the movie tells the story of Nguyen Ai Quoc's activities in Thailand in 1928-29 to prepare for the establishment of the Vietnam Communist Party, comprising three groups: Dong Duong Cong San Dang(Dong Duong Communist Party), An Nam Cong San Dang (An Nam Communist Party) and Dong Duong Cong San Lien Doan (Dong Duong Communist Union). The leader adopted the alias ‘Thau Chin'. The 100-minute movie, based on a script with the same title by Dinh Thien Phuc, stars Manh Truong, who plays the role of Thau Chin in his debut film. "We had a lot of difficulties in planning all the scenes from 1928,"said the film's director Bui Tuan Dung. "We visited museums, met cultural researchers to study every single detail to plan the scenes. It was a fairly complicated task." "Thau Chin O Xiem" is a film about a leader, but is fairly interesting and entertaining with natural dialogues and some funny situations, he added. The Vietnamese people have seen Nguyen Ai Quoc portrayed as a small-built figure in many movies. But actor Truong is fairly tall at nearly 180cm. "I hope Truong will present a fresher impression of President Ho [Nguyen Ai Quoc] in his debut role," Dung said. The movie will be screened for free nationwide, together with another movie "Nguoi Tinh Nguyen" (Volunteers), between January 30 and February 5. The opening ceremony of the film week will be held in Hanoi on January 30 and February 1 in the northern province of Cao Bang. In Hanoi, free tickets are available at the National Cinema Centre, 87 Lang Ha Street. HCM City ready to blossom for Tet This year’s massive Tet flower festival in HCM City to welcome the Lunar New Year holiday will feature 128 flower markets. The three main flower markets, which open on February 11, will be Gia Dinh Park, 23/9 Park and Le Van Tam Park. A spring flower festival starting February 13 with over 4,000 flowers will also be held in Tao Dan Park in District 1. Another 125 flower markets are set at 20 venues throughout the 20 districts of the city. Thu Duc District will have the most flower markets with 19 followed by Can Gio District with 16. Festival to light up Danang skies The city of Danang will be hosting a light festival, which is free to everyone, as a way of providing a cultural experience and an opportunity to connect with the culture and heritage of the region. According to organisers of the event, roughly 100 lasers will illuminate the Han River and surrounding metropolitan area. The event is set to get underway from 6pm-10pm on April 24-26 on the banks of Han River. The light performance and a coinciding international fireworks competition will be held to showcase cultural events of the city and boost tourism. VNN/VNS/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan