African legend brought to life on HCM City’s stage

Artist Thanh Loc plays Phu Thuy Lam Chieu (Mean Witchs)

VietNamNet Bridge - On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a play for children, “Phu Thuy Lam Chieu” (Mean Witches), was opened by Idecaf Theater at Ben Thanh Theater, District 1, HCMC, September 25 with 25,000 tickets sold for the show’s run.

The Phu Thuy Lam Chieu’s author Minh Phuong and director, Vu Minh, was based on an African legend and aimed to heighten goodness and unity.

Huynh Anh Tuan, director of Idecaf Theater, said the performance was originally planned to be performed 25 times but they sold 25,000 tickets. Therefore, the theater increased the number of shows to 31.

Idecaf Theater will also offer 2,000 give free tickets to disadvantaged children in the city.

The play will close on November 1.

VietNamNet/SGGP

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Foreign songs with foolish Vietnamese lyrics, choice of young singers?

VietNamNet Bridge – Instead of buying exclusive Vietnamese songs like their seniors did, many young singers pay copyright royalties for foreign songs and replace the foreign words with silly Vietnamese lyrics.

Singer Phi Nga who bought Korean Wondergirls' "So Hot".

The pioneer in this trend is Bao Thy, who started her singing career on the Internet. Bao Thy performed Pussycat Dolls’ “Button”, which is translated into Vietnamese as Lang Quen (Oblivion), Lenka’s “The Show”, which becomes Thien Than trong Truyen Tranh in Vietnamese (An Angel in Cartoon) among other songs.

Following Bao Thy are May Trang troupe, singer Phi Nga, Wanbi Tuan Anh and Noo Phuoc Thinh.

A show organiser advised a young singer: “To become famous quickly, you should sing some Korean or Chinese songs. Vietnam has so many singers, local song writers can’t produce enough good songs for them.”

Chinese and Korean songs are favoured by many young singers, for example May Trang with So Hot and Nobody, Minh Quan and Noo Phuoc Thinh with Because I’m Stupid, a song from a popular Korean TV series, Thanh Thao with Hollaback Girl, Stronger and Luu Huong Giang with Maria.

Singers often introduce these songs through the Internet or perform them on the stage, not on their albums.

It is thought that when Vietnam joined the Bern Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, it would be very difficult for Vietnamese singers to buy foreign songs, so once they owned them, singers would advertise their songs noisily like Ho Quynh Huong and My Tam did in the past. According to Ho Quynh Huong, it was very hard to buy the copyright of Ruslana’s Wild Dances.

Singer Bao Thy.

However, Bao Thy and Phi Nga’s cases show that it is very easy to buy foreign songs with Vietnamese lyrics and at cheaper prices than Vietnamese songs.

Actually, foreign songs performed by Vietnamese singers have sweet melodies and are popular, but the Vietnamese lyrics are quite silly and funny.

For example, “So Hot” of South Korean’s top girlband Wondergirls becomes, with Phi Nga, “Seven Times to Love”. Some joke that the song is only long enough to tell about seven love affairs. If it was longer, perhaps Phi Nga would have named it 10 or 15 Times to Love.

Thanh Thao also paid copyright royalties for famous foreign songs like Hollaback Girl and Stronger and replaced the English lyrics with English-Vietnamese lyrics, for instance: “and now ta cung ben nhau, da xa khong con chi ma, I don’t want to be a bad girl”.

A song with an “amazing” name, “Ca Thang 4” (April Fool), turns out to be “Four Minutes” performed by Madona and Justin Timberlake; Sieu Nhan Bay (Flying Superman) is Haru Haru by the Korean band Big Bang.

It is a normal thing to buy foreign songs and replace their lyrics with Vietnamese lyrics, but more thought ought really to go into the words.

PV

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Making splash

VietNamNet Bridge - A private water puppetry troupe will, for the first time, present the traditional art at an international festival in Japan.

An art form unique to Vietnam that makes waves wherever it goes will reach the shores of Japan this week.

Two tons of equipment including dozens of puppets and even a pool had been shipped to Japan several weeks ago to present to Japanese audiences, especially children and the youth, authentic water puppetry performances.

Seventeen members of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Rong Vang (Golden Dragon) Water Puppet Theater will take part in the Kijimuna Festa 2009, a prestigious art festival for children and young audiences held in Tokyo and Okinawa.

The delegation, comprising of one producer, three directors, six musicians and seven actors, will present 18 performances spread over seven shows from July 20 to August 6.

Huynh Anh Tuan (photo), owner of the Golden Dragon theater, told the Tuoi Tre newspaper the performances will introduce Vietnamese customs, folk activities and daily life in rural areas. The dragon and phoenix dances, rearing of ducks, fishing and boat racing are some of the scenes that will be enacted.

Traditional music including cheo (northern folk opera) will accompany the performances, bringing to the audiences another fascinating, long-established folk art from Vietnam, Tuan said.

The shows will also feature the famous legend of King Le Loi (1385-1433) and the Sword Lake in Hanoi.

Legend has it that the king had been lent a magic sword by the Golden Turtle God to defeat the Chinese Ming invaders in the 14th century, and after he accomplished the task, he returned it to a turtle in the lake, giving it its name.

Happenstance

The Kijimuna Festa organizers, while making a survey of Southeast Asian traditional arts in November 2007, visited HCMC and were attracted by Golden Dragon’s performances, Tuan told media in a press briefing last week.

They invited the theater’s managers to attend last year’s event to learn about the festival, Tuan said.

“I’m very happy and proud to present Vietnam’s unique water puppetry to young Japanese audiences.

“I hope spectators will be amazed by the vivid wooden puppets and the technique of decorating them with lacquer,” he said.

Water puppetry has been showcased to foreign audiences many times but only through tours by state-owned troupes like the Central Water Puppet Theater and the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater.

Luck played a part in helping Golden Dragon break the tradition, Tuan said, as the festival organizers came to the theater’s performances by chance during their November trip.

The Japanese had also visited other theaters in Vietnam before selecting his, Tuan added.

“Maybe they liked the colorful and festive atmosphere of Golden Dragon’s shows.”

Kijimuna Festa is an annual art festival held in Okinawa in the summer, mainly to entertain children and young audiences and introduce them to different kinds of art forms including dramas, puppetry and music, as well as exhibitions and comics.

The festival is open to participants of all ages, from below 5 to 12 and above with a wide range of activities tailored for each age group.

Organizers also aim to promote cultural exchanges between nations with various seminars and workshops held during the event.

This year’s event will be held in Okinawa and Tokyo with 63 performances from 13 countries and territories including France, Australia, Taiwan, Cambodia, Vietnam and hosts Japan.

Tuan said he admired how Japan spent money and effort to introduce the younger generations to art.

“Japanese children are so blessed, being educated to appreciate beauty and art from a young age,” Tuan said.

“I think we need to learn that from Japan.”

Puppeteer of the show

Tuan has dedicated most of his art managing career to entertain young audiences and rescuing water puppetry from falling into oblivion in modern times.

The IDECAF Theater – a familiar venue for HCMC drama lovers established by Tuan in 1997 and located inside the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France – has dedicated much time to children’s plays and produced hits for the younger audience almost every summer.

“I love seeing young faces light up with joy at art works meant especially for them,” Tuan told Thanh Nien Daily in a recent interview.

He collaborated with the Cultural Labor Palace in opening up the Rong Vang Water Puppet Theater, Vietnam’s first private water puppet theater, at 55B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St., Dist. 1, in 2007.

“Several water puppetry groups had been formed around the country, but they all ended in failure. Many, therefore, considered my decision to begin the theater risky and irrational.

“But I don’t fear difficulty. I love water puppetry and I believe it’s a traditional Vietnamese feature that must be preserved by all means.”

Since its opening, the theater has received some 200 visitors per night, half of which are foreign.

In Vietnam, traditional water puppetry was originally performed in rural villages in the Red River Delta some 1,000 years ago.

It was not until 1958 that water puppetry was first displayed in Hanoi and the first state-run puppetry group was established to serve public audiences in 1973.

Vietnamese water puppetry was introduced abroad for the first time in France in 1984. Since then, this original art has traveled to many places around the world including the US, Mexico, Korea and Japan.

VietNamNet/Thanh Nien

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Blink with rhythm of modern life

VietNamNet Bridge – The exhibition of nine contemporary artists entitled “Blink” marks the return of San Art, an independent, non-profit, artist-run exhibition space in HCM City, in its new location at 3 Me Linh street in Binh Thanh district.

The exhibition introduces 19 artworks of various media by nine young artists from Hanoi and HCM City, ranging from painting and photography to performance and works on paper that illustrate the young artists’ search for “a visual language beyond the consumer art-object” and their quest to use everyday life as inspiration.

“The title expresses how the exhibited works capture the fast-changing picture of this city,” said Dinh Le, one of the four overseas Vietnamese artists that run San Art.

Nguyen Thanh Luan joins the event with “Reasoning”, a pop art Maga work. Huong in Flowers and Uyen in flowers by Tran Minh Duc and No Name 5, No Name 13, Hair Saloon and Fashion Shop by Lam Hieu Thuan are digital printing artworks.

Nguyen Thi Bao Ngoc’s Saigon 1 is a painting, using various materials. Nguyen Si Tuan contributes Green Peace, an installation artwork while Bui Anh Phong introduces Afternoon Sleepwalking, an oil painting.

Nguyen Anh Tuan’s 45-minute performance art caught the eyes of many young viewers, including foreigners.

Dinh said the group tries to attract young artists who might not have an opportunity to exhibit elsewhere.

“There’s obviously limited space for artists in the city, and just imagine the number of young artists who graduate from art school and disappear from the art scene,” he said. “We want to change that.”

San Art, which opened in October 2007, is perhaps the only artist-run space in Vietnam and is funded by private donations and external grants on a project-by-project basis and from the sale of exhibited works.

Dinh said the group has enough funding to stay for a year in the new location, which features a larger exhibition area and a reading room. They plan to organise several presentations and talks by visiting artists from abroad.

The exhibition runs until July 24.

Nguyen Anh Tuan’s 45-minute performance art caught the eyes of many young viewers, including foreigners.

Hương in Flowers and Uyên in Flowers by Tran Minh Duc.

Saigon 1 by Nguyen Thi Bao Ngoc.

TN/Le Tam

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Hue honours pottery, lacquer and phap lam

VietNamNet Bridge – The third Hue traditional handicraft festival opened on June 12 in the central city of Hue with the nam “Pottery, Lacquer and Phap Lam”, attracting over 100 craft villages in Vietnam.

Among them are famous names like Phuoc Tich pottery village in Hue, Bat Trang pottery village in Hanoi, Chu Dao pottery in Hai Duong, Bau Truc pottery in Ninh Thuan, and Go pottery from Binh Thuan province.

The festival also features lacquer art of the Hue royal court, lacquer products of craft villages in Hanoi and Binh Duong.

Collections of pottery items fished out of the Red River, Mekong River, and Huong Giang River are also displayed at the festival.

Hue’s phap lam ceramics, which are decorated with semi-precious stones and rare metals such as gold, sliver, or bronze, are also introduced.

Bat Trang pottery, Hanoi.

Cay Mai pottery of the 19th century.

Pottery items fished out from rivers.

Go pottery items, Binh Thuan province.

An artisan was making an Apsara dancer statue.

Objects fished out from rivers.

Ancient phap lam pieces.

A ceramic artwork by late artist Do Ky Hoang.

Chu Dau ceramics.

Bau Truc ceramics.

A work by Le Ba Dang.

Ha Thai lacquer, Hanoi.

Thanh Duong

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Unlimited film imports: Audiences happy, movie producers not

VietNamNet Bridge – What will happen if imports of foreign movies are not restricted? Will the local movie industry be crushed or pushed to develop?

Many blockbusters are screened in Vietnam at the same time as in the US.

Without foreign films, what will audiences watch?

The amended Cinema Law, which will be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration on May 28, proposes removing the quota on imported films. As the Cinema Law was issued in June 2006, before Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), some articles are inappropriate to Vietnam’s commitments.

If the import quota is removed, the number of foreign films at Vietnamese cinemas would greatly increase and local audiences would have opportunities to enjoy the latest products of many countries.

Some Vietnamese film producers have complained that Vietnamese films are being blocked in the home market because of imported movies, which have advantages over local products in terms of both quantity and quality.

It is very difficult for domestic movies, which have investment capital of $300,000 to compete with foreign films of millions of USD. If the restriction is removed, the local movie industry will be in even graver danger. Many say that Vietnam should learn from China, which allows the import of 20 foreign films a year and applies a harsh censorship policy, to protect the local movie industry.

However, China is different from Vietnam because its film industry has developed to the point where it can sufficiently satisfy Chinese audiences.

In 2007-2008, Vietnam produced less than 20 big-screen movies. Without foreign films, what would audiences watch? Without foreign films, cinemas would have to close their doors.

How to balance?

Audiences are always eager to enjoy the latest and best movies of the world. To satisfy this demand, film importers like MegaStar, Galaxy and BHD are very busy importing films from the US and China. These firms import around three to four movies a month on average. Sometimes, MegaStar introduces two such films a week.

The number of imported films increases continuously and the gap between Vietnam and the world in screening blockbusters is being closed.

The director of Phuoc Sang Film, which recently has had some successful movies, said: “I see domestic and foreign films at the same level at box offices. A Vietnamese movie with investment capital of $400,000-500,000 is on a par with an imported film which is produced with hundreds of million USD but imported into Vietnam at dozens of thousand USD. Vietnamese movies will disappear from the map if foreign films are imported rampantly.”

Imported movies satisfy the taste of most audience.

Sang suggests that the government employ other measures to protect local movies, for example raising the import tax on movies from 5% at present to 30-40%.

“People worried that if primetime television was reserved for local films only, there would not be enough films for broadcasting. But now Vietnamese movies dominate and have even dislodged Chinese and Korean films. When the government issued encouragement policies, many people joined film production. It is similar for the big screen. If there is demand, there will be supply,” Sang said.

In another view, General Director of Thien Ngan Film, Tran Vu Hoai said that the removal of the quota on film imports was a positive measure to develop the market.

According to Hoai, the movie market is very small, mainly in Hanoi and HCM City, so the most important thing is developing the market before solving other issues.

“A developed film market needs products and distribution channels. While the source of local movies is inadequate and doesn’t satisfy audiences’ demands, it is necessary to import films. It is impractical to restrict this source with a quota,” Hoai added.

He said imported films should not be seen as direct rivals to local films because they are entirely different, at least at present or in the next 5-10 years, particularly in economic aspects.

Imported films and locally-produced films don’t contravene one another because the market needs them both, according to Hoai.

“I don’t think that importing more foreign films will hinder local producers from producing films. If local producers produce good films and address economic problems well, they won’t be threatened by foreign films,” Hoai said.

Once local producers are able to produce and distribute 50 or 100 films a year, this means that moviegoers’ tastes have changed. At that time, without a quota, film importers will automatically reduce their imports because local audiences prefer local products, Hoai added.

He pointed out that it is wrong to think that without foreign films, Vietnamese audiences will go to box offices to watch local films. “There are one million people going to cinemas to watch 100 films but it doesn’t mean that when the market has only ten local films, these films will attract one million viewers,” Hoai said.

He suggested that the local movie industry should be encouraged by indirect, non-administrative measures such as tax exemptions, assistance for film-crew training, capital assistance for film production and building box offices, etc.

Bich Hanh

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Nature’s beauty in summer photo exhibition

Nhiem’s photos on LED displays at HCMC Exhibition House in District 1.

VietNamNet Bridge - A peaceful fishing village at dawn or a cherry blossom flower blooming in the spring, many images of nature have been perfectly captured in 100 photos for an exhibition, “Bon mua vay goi” (Four seasons beckon), at the HCMC Exhibition House in District 1.

The works on display are by photographer Hoang The Nhiem, who has worked in the field for 17 years.

Nhiem also uses the latest technology, LED displays, to show his photos.

“With 3-D technology, viewers can expect and see the photos, and, especially, they can truly feel the feelings at the moment the photographer captured the scenes. The most important thing with IT is the photos become more alive,” Nhiem said.

According to Nhiem, all the photos were taken as he passed his way through the central regions and up to the north, like Hoi An, Sapa and Ha Long.

To him, beauty sometimes exists in some simple things, like a small dried tree branch, an old wall or grass in the sandy desert or even a dark sky signaling rain coming soon.

The exhibition will remain open until May 4 before moving to the Hang Bai Gallery in Hanoi, over May 9-15.

Photographer Hoang The Nhiem is a member of the Ho Chi Minh City Photography Association, and a member of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists.

He has successfully hosted many exhibitions of his photos, including “Sac mau Sapa” (Colorful Sapa) in 2003 and “Viet Nam toan canh” (An overall picture of Vietnam).

From 2006 to 2009, he has worked with the Lotus Gallery to host photo exhibitions in France, the U.S, Belgium, Switzerland and Singapore.

VietNamNet/SGGP/VNE

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Vietnam Fine Arts Museum displaying counterfeit artworks?

VietNamNet Bridge – At a workshop on art copyrights in late March 2009, some art critics and painters said they believed the Vietnam Fine Art Museum was displaying some fake paintings and statues, confusing art researchers and cheating art lovers for over 40 years.

"Girl and Lilies" by To Ngoc Van.

Painter Nguyen Do Bao, Chairman of the Hanoi Fine Arts Association, wrote in his presentation entitled “When did copies of paintings appear in Hanoi?”:

“In the late 1960s, when the US army bombarded North Vietnam, the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum performed a policy of evacuating its valuable artworks while still opening its door to the public.

“Under this policy, the museum asked artists whose works were displayed at the museum to make copies of their works. Painters who were the museum’s staff also copied paintings. Owing to poor management, the museum lost many original artworks during this time, including paintings that the museum didn’t plan to make copies of. There is still an issue of original and fake paintings at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum at present.

Painter Nguyen Van Chung

“At that time, the museum had 27 silk paintings by Nguyen Phan Chanh, 22 of which were copies. Artist Nguyen Trong Niet complained to the museum for copying his lacquer painting named “Muong Khuong Market”. (The original is in the Oriental Museum in Moscow, Russia).

“Since the country’s unification in 1975, most of the copied paintings have been displayed at the same positions at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum. Researchers haven’t been allowed to work on these copied works while the public doesn’t know that they are reproductions.”

To clarify Nguyen Do Bao’s opinion, VietNamNet talked with some painters and art critics about this issue.

According to the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum’s Director Truong Quoc Binh, the museum has nearly 20,000 artworks of different materials, including over 6,000 paintings, 2,117 pottery items of Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand and some international gifts, 4,304 Chu Dau pottery objects, 404 modern sculptural works (statues and reliefs of various materials), 595 ancient sculptural works, and 1,817 traditional fine art items.

Painter Nguyen Van Chung (former Director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum): When Mr. Nguyen Van Y was the museum’s director, he opened an enterprise to copy many paintings, statues and ancient pottery works. The museum didn’t have so many original artworks.

The museum currently has both originals and reproductions but the reproductions were copied by the authors. In the case of Tran Van Can, he didn’t copy them but asked the museum’s painters to do that job.

Nguyen Tu Nghiem copied his own paintings and the copied works have some small details that are different from the original versions, but he said it was okay. Particularly, Nguyen Phan Chanh’s paintings could not be copied. Even when he was alive, he couldn’t copy his artworks so all paintings by Nguyen Phan Chanh are original.

It is very difficult to determine how many original and how many reproductions are at the museum. The museum lacked many things so it is not strange if it has reproductions. Nguyen Van Y allowed the copying of paintings and all artists knew about and permitted the copying. Those who didn’t directly copy their paintings earned 9% royalties from the sales of copied works.

It would be easy to find out which are originals and which are reproductions by setting up a scientific council to assess them. In the past, the museum copied paintings for sale and for serving mobile exhibitions during the war. In the war time, it was unable to bring original paintings to exhibitions and this was also the policy of former Director Nguyen Van Y.

Painter Nguyen Xuan Tiep

Painter Nguyen Xuan Tiep (a staff at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum): Before 1990, the museum didn’t have good artworks. Good works belonged to collectors like Duc Minh, Lam Café, and Dam. Duc Minh has the largest collection of paintings. Some of his collections are bigger than or equivalent to those of the museum.

Sometimes the museum borrows Duc Minh’s collections for exhibitions. During the war, original artworks were evacuated. The museum told Duc Minh that the public was familiar with the museum’s collections as they were at the museum and asked Duc Minh’s permission to copy his collections.

Duc Minh agreed and original paintings were returned to their authors for copying. However, copied versions don’t look exactly like the original ones so they should be called variants.

For example, a painting by Nguyen Tu Nghiem, “New Year’s Eve on Ho Guom Lakeshore” belongs to Duc Minh’s collection. The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum also has a copy of this painting. However, the original and copied versions have different numbers of people and trees and some other details. Nghiem also has a copy of that painting at his home and this third version is different from the two others. These things must be called variants.

So variants are also true artworks. In art, variants are original works, not fake ones. In early 1980s, the museum signed a contract with a book distribution company, Xunhasaba, to copy paintings for sale. This contract expired late last decade.

Prior to 1990, the museum displayed some copied paintings (some works by Nguyen Sang, Bui Xuan Phai, and Nguyen Tu Nghiem are variants, which must be considered as original works), including “Girl and Lilies” by To Ngoc Van. Since 1990, the museum has no longer shown copied artworks.

Painter Luong Xuan Doan

The museum has tried to display original works. The museum planned to show Vietnamese artworks of the past 2,500 years and it doesn’t have many original ancient artworks. For instance, the reproduction of the Goddess of Mercy of thousands of arms and eyes is made of wood (the original is at But Thap pagoda) and the Adida Buddha statue is made of composite (the original statue is at Phat Tich Pagoda). The museum also has reproductions which have different materials from the original versions, such as “At the Age of 20” statue by Vuong Hoc Bao, “Taking Fruits, Let’s Remember the Gardener” by Dao Van Can, “Mr. Troi”, “Dien Bien Phu Victory” by Nguyen Hai (the original material is gypsum). Only a silk painting by Phan Thong, “Operation in Rain”, has only one variant because the original version lost its colours.

Painter Luong Xuan Doan (Vice Chief of the Culture and Art Department of the Central Committee for Propaganda and Training): The original versions, reproductions and variants of paintings at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum are not clear because the museum doesn’t note which are original, which are reproductions and which are variants at all. The audience, therefore, still believes that they are original versions. If the museum doesn’t display original versions, it should note this.

Mai Sen

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Japan signs diplomatic note to resume ODA for Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam and Japan will sign a diplomatic note to resume the granting of Japanese official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam at the headquarters of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Hanoi on March 31.

The signing ceremony will be chaired by Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc and Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Mitsuo Sakaba.

The total amount of Japanese ODA committed to Vietnam is said to be JPY73.2 billion (around $900 million). This sum will be allocated to four projects: the construction of Hanoi’s urban railway system, the second phase of Hanoi’s water drainage project, a water drainage and environment improvement project in Hai Phong, and the upgrading of bridges and provincial roads.

The two sides agreed to set up an agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment to play the role of a third party to evaluate and choose the best contractors for projects funded by Japanese ODA.

On February 23, after a talk with Minister Vo Hong Phuc in Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Nakasone announced the resumption of Japanese ODA grants to Vietnam.

In a recent talk with VietNamNet, Japanese Ambassador Mitsuo Sakaba confirmed Japan’s consistent policy of “always trying to assist Vietnam’s development”. Despite economic slowdown and the decrease of ODA grants for other countries, Japan has increased ODA for Vietnam.

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Film posters springboard into history

07:17' 23/03/2009 (GMT+7)

Tren Hai Phan To Quoc (On Waters of Motherland) poster is among 200 works on display in the From War to Nationhood exhibition.

VietNamNet Bridge - Film poster archives are not only a way to track movie history, they provide a peephole into politics, culture and the independent struggles of the people since President Ho Chi Minh gave the industry his blessing in 1953.

For these reasons alone, the exhibition of film posters entitled From War to Nationhood on display at Ha Noi-based Ho Chi Minh Museum is worth a visit. It celebrates 56 years of the establishment of the Viet Nam State Enterprise for Film and Photography.

However, for art buffs and historians the posters have other dimensions. They are a view through a special lense, one which combines photographic image and artist interpretation with a political undertone.

On a superficial level, the 200 posters on show (selected from thousands) are an introduction to the basic and typical aspects and activities of the national film industry from its first days.

The posters are divided into three periods, from 1959-75, 1976-86 and from 1987 to now, and are expressed in different themes.

In each period, films reflected the development, changes and conflicts between the old and the new as well as the difficulties that people suffered in work and life during and after the war and since doi moi – renewal.

The first period (1959-75) seems to attract most attention as it was the beginning of the industry and a time of development for Vietnamese revolutionary cinema.

It was a flourishing period of documentary and feature films, some of which won awards at international film festivals.

Posters of this period reflect the spirit of the anti-French and anti-American resistance wars as well as the course of national construction.

"From 1959-75 the film industry developed the fastest and many gained awards at international festivals," said People’s Artist and director Bui Dinh Hac.

"The films’ diverse topics and themes made great impressions, proven clearly through the posters which, in my opinion, is a kind of art which combines painting and photography," he said.

"Posters have become an indispensable part of the film industry. Many artists, like actor The Anh, have big collections of film posters which are an unending inspiration for both collectors and the authors."

On another, more emotional level, however, the posters are artistic and creative works that flick a cathartic switch for people who lived in the times or saw the movies, as Hoang Thanh Hai discovered on opening day, Tuesday.

Hai, 51, said she couldn’t suppress her emotions as she viewed posters of Chung Mot Dong Song (Sharing the Same River) by directors Hong Nghi and Hieu Dan.

The film, which is considered one of the first works of the nation, won the Golden Lotus award at the 1973 national film festival.

Hai discussed with her 15-year-old daughter the films Con Chim Vanh Khuyen (The White-eyr Bird) (1962), Kim Dong (1964), Me Vang Nha (Mother Is Not at Home) (1979) and the documentary Duong Ve To Quoc (Road to Motherland) (1980).

"These films are really works or art that I have never felt bored reviewing," Hai said. At present, some of our children may not have had the chance to watch them but I hope that they will gain something from these posters, together with what I have told them."

President Ho Chi Minh gave the green light to the start of the film industry on March 15, 1953, affirming the link between Vietnamese films and the nation’s social and political situation.

Viet Nam Film Institute director Nguyen Thi Lan said the early films were to play a vital role in the government publicity effort, highlighting the gallantry and achievements of the army during the war.

These messages were often expressed through film posters, with their vivid illustrations and emotive photography capturing the hearts of the public, Lan said.

The exhibition was first mounted at the National Archives of Singapore from May to September last year as part of the Vietnamese Festival.

It will last until April 17 in Ha Noi at the museum at 19 Ngoc Ha Street, before moving to HCM City for a month from May 19.

The Film Institute will show some documentaries and features at Ha Noi’s Ngoc Khanh Cinema, 523 Kim Ma Street and HCM City’s Tan Son Nhat Cinema, 186 Nguyen Van Troi Street, Tan Binh District.

VietNamNet/VNS

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Michael Jackson planning more surgery

Michael Jackson wants to change his face before his UK residency begins.

Michael Jackson (Photo: China Daily/Agencies)

The "Thriller" singer - who will perform 50 shows at The O2 arena, in London, starting in July - is reportedly planning to have plastic surgery to ensure he looks his best on stage.

Jackson's unofficial biographer Ian Halperin is quoted by Britain's The Sun newspaper as saying: "Michael has consulted some of the world's best cosmetologists and surgeons in preparation for this comeback."

Halperin claims the singer - who is said to have had more than 50 cosmetic procedures - wants to repair the damage done by previous surgeries.

He is reportedly particularly concerned with fixing his crumbling nose, which the singer claims he has had just two operations on to improve his voice.

Jackson's representatives have denied the 50-year-old singer is planning further cosmetic procedures.

Tickets to Jackson's "This Is It" tour - billed his last ever UK performances - sold out in less than five hours last week.

Nearly one million tickets, worth between ￡50 and ￡75, were sold at a rate of 333-a-minute.

Thousands of fans missed out on tickets, which are already selling on the black market for up to ￡16,000 for a pair of front row seats.

Jackson - who has returned to the US for rehearsals - is reportedly "ecstatic" about the sales figures and very "excited" about performing his greatest hits.

According to a leaked set list, the pop superstar will treat fans to renditions of a host of classic tracks including "Billie Jean", "Man in the Mirror" and "Thriller."

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

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Three ministers to be questioned

Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

VietNamNet Bridge – On March 20, the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Minister of Planning and Investment, and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be grilled by National Assembly deputies.

Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will have to answer about bonuses for poor people during the lunar New Year holiday 2009, the policy for job-losing workers, and labor policy and job creation for rural youth.

Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc will talk about simplifying investment formalities, especially formalities for infrastructure construction projects, investment capital allocation for localities, and solutions for economic stimulus.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh will answer questions about violations over historical and cultural relics, rampant organization of similar festivals, unsound customs, and the role of the Ministry in launching civilized lifestyle building campaigns.

The three ministers will also answer other questions of National Assembly deputies.

At the National Assembly Standing Committee session in February, the Deputy Affairs Committee proposed four Ministers for the question and answer session on March 20, including the Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc, Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung, Minister of Home Affairs Tran Van Tuan and the Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court Truong Hoa Binh.

The 18^th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee will take place from March 19 to 26. In this session, lawmakers will discuss the amended Cinema Law, bill on the Wireless Frequency Law, the amended bill on the State Budget, the bill on Vietnamese territorial waters, the bill on Civil Defense, the amended law on the Inspection Law, and contribute opinions about the preparation of the 5^th session of the 12^th National Assembly.

VietNamNet/VNE

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HCMC airport authority bans Mai Linh, Future taxis

The authority that runs the Ho Chi Minh City airport terminal Friday banned two taxi firms from operating inside the airport for repeatedly breaching regulations.

The Tan Son Nhat Terminal Operation Company said Mai Linh Corporation’s Mai Linh taxis and Ngoi Sao Tuong Lai JSC’s Future taxis would not be allowed to enter the airport.

A company official said Mai Linh drivers had flouted rules on 38 occasions between February 3 and March 9, including parking illegally, soliciting passengers directly and driving on the wrong side.

Future drivers were caught on nine occasions.

The company has banned Mai Linh until April 7 and Future for an unspecified period.

Earlier this month the authority announced it would issue special entry cards next month for taxi drivers.

Last month the city Department of Transport’s inspectorate fined more than 300 taxi drivers for flouting airport rules following inspections.

Of them, 197 drivers were fined for not parking in designated areas, 30 for picking up and dropping off passengers at undesignated areas, 11 for not holding taxi-driving certificates, and five for not possessing driver’s licenses.

The crackdown followed a Thanh Nien report on gouging and queue jumping by the airport taxis.

Reported by Dinh Muoi

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Int’l stars through Vietnamese photographer’s lens

VietNamNet Bridge – Photos of Natalie Portman, Penelope Cruz, and Angelina Jolie are just several of many in the collection of a thousand photos of international movie superstars of Trung Nghia, a senior journalist of Tuoi Tre Newspaper.

Trung Nghia was the first Vietnamese journalist who held a card for photo journalists at the Cannes Film Festival 2008 in France. He took thousands of portraits of superstars like Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spieldberg, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalia Portman, Monica Bellucci, and others.

The journalist has released a photo book, entitled “The Secret in Cannes,” which is said to be an interesting gift for movie fans.

Trung Nghia may be the only Vietnamese photographer who owns a special collection of photos of world movie stars that he took at many international film festivals.

Here are some photos in Trung Nghia’s collection:

Actress Penelope Cruz.

Brad Pitt - Angelina Jolie.

Angelina Jolie.

Director Clint Eastwood and actress Angelina Jolie.

Singer Madonna and actress Sharon Stone.

Director Steven Spielberg.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

Actress Natalia Portman.

Italian actress Monica Bellucci.

Taiwanese singer Jay Chou.

Film director Wong Kar-Wai, actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai, actress Carina Lau.

Fans at the Cannes Film Festival 2008.

Photographers at the Cannes Film Festival 2008.

VietNamNet/VNE

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VietNamNet Bridge – The government’s VND 25 billion (US $1.47 million) for tourism promotion has not been allocated yet while the opportunities for ad

VietNamNet Bridge – The fifth day of the National Shooting Cup saw an impressive shot of the Hanoian marksman Vu Thanh Hung who won the gold medal yesterday.

Hung produced a top-form performance in the men's individual 50m rifle three positions (knee, stand and prone), to score 1,252.3 points at the Ha Noi-based National Sports Centre No 1.

Hung also got a taste of victory as he clinched the gold medal for Viet Nam in the same event at the 32nd Southeast Asian Shooting Championship in Ha Noi last year.

Thanh Hoa's Phung Le Nguyen and Vinh Phuc's Tran Van Thao were the runners-up with 1,242.8 points and 1,238.5 points, respectively.

Shooter Hung's victory helped Ha Noi team steal gold in the men's team 50m rifle three positions with 3,401 points, while both Thanh Hoa and Vinh Phuc scored 3,351 points to come in second and third.

Ha Noi, who have dominated the sport domestically for the past few years, entered the competition yesterday with another gold thanks to Cu Thanh Tu's merit. Tu scored 586 points in the men's individual 25m sport pistol.

Hoang Xuan Vinh of the Army, who grabbed gold in the men's individual 50m free pistol on Wednesday, took home a silver medal, while the Ministry of Public Security's Pham Van Thinh earned bronze.

For the team's event, the Army won gold with 1,730 points. The Ministry of Public Security and Ha Noi came in second and third with a total of 1,699 and 1,622 points, respectively.

In other events, marksman Do Duc Hung of the Army, clinched a gold in the men's individual mixed mobile target air rifle, adding 378 points to help his team take another gold medal in the men's team mixed mobile target air rifle.

Ngo Huu Vuong and Tran Hoang Vu of the host placed second and third.

The 16th annual event attracted 165 athletes competing in men's and women's individual and team pistol and rifle events.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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“Impressive Vietnam” needs cash for advertisement

VietNamNet Bridge – The government’s VND 25 billion (US $1.47 million) for tourism promotion has not been allocated yet while the opportunities for advertising the “Impressive Vietnam” campaign is passing, said a senior official.

In the context of the global economic crisis, the tourism industry has been hit hard. In early January 2009, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) launched the campaign called “Impressive Vietnam.” Under this campaign many discount local tours will be introduced to attract foreign visitors.

The Government decided to provide VND 25 billion from the Fund for Trade and Tourism Investment Promotion to this campaign. However, the capital has not been allocated to the tourism industry yet, said Nguyen Manh Cuong, VNAT’s Vice Chief.

Cuong said to advertise the “Impressive Vietnam” abroad, VNAT has to borrow money from various donors.

“Expenditures for a fair in Spain, Germany, and Australia are very costly. Hiring stalls at a tourism exhibition in Germany costs us VND 1 billion (US $58,800),” said Cuong.

Advertising “Impressive Vietnam” on CNN in Europe, USA, and Australia, some local channels in China, NHK in Japan, and KBS in South Korea, as well as organizing survey tours for journalist and travel agents have not been held yet due to the shortage of funding.

The Deputy Director of the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, La Quoc Khanh, said it is needed an open financial mechanism to timely advertise Vietnamese tourism, otherwise Vietnam will miss the chance.

The director of Hanoitourist, a large travel firm in Vietnam, Luu Duc Ke, said because of the fall of foreign tourists to Vietnam, his company is very careful with overseas tourism promotion programs. Some provinces and travel companies are trying to advertise themselves abroad but they have to beg airlines and hotels to reduce fees.

In the last two months, the number of foreign visitors to Vietnam fell by 10% year on year.

VietNamNet/VNE

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More room for foreign investment in movies industry

The "Hanoi, Hanoi" film crew, a Vietnamese-Chinese project.

VietNamNet Bridge – On March 12, the National Assembly's Nationalities Council and National Assembly committees discussed the amendment of some articles of the Law on Cinema.

NA Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu said the amendment aims to meet four basic requirements: Enhancing state management, ensuring Vietnam’s commitments to the WTO, building a mechanism to protect and encourage the development of the movies industry, and changing the law suitably to the development of the movies industry.

Articles to ensure Vietnam’s WTO commitments, such as film importing quotas and establishing movie joint venture firms, were agreed by most deputies. However, some said that it is necessary to have conditions, which are not contrary to Vietnam’s WTO commitments.

Notably, Vietnam will consider raising import tax rates on films from 5% to between 7-10% to protect the local movie industry.

Deputies also agreed on the draft articles that allow the establishment of join venture films with foreign partners to distribute and produce films. The capital of foreign partners in joint ventures may reach 51%. In the joint venture firms, foreigners can hold the highest position. These articles are said to be very open for foreign investors.

A new point that deputies discussed yesterday was insurance for films. Next to insurance for the whole film crew, insurance for the film is necessary because it is highly risky for the distribution of films.

However, many deputies worried that this is completely new in Vietnam so this article would be further considered.

Articles about the roles of inspectors in the movie industry were also discussed. Besides the role of inspectors of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, movie inspectors and inspectors of local Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be enhanced.

Luu assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to cooperate with the NA Committee for Culture, Education of Youth and Children to review deputies’ opinions and finalize the draft amendment to give back to NA deputies before putting it on the table of NA deputies at the NA session in May 2009.

Tuan Hai

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When producers sell products themselves

VietNamNet Bridge – In the current difficult period, when consumers are trying to tighten their purse strings, companies are boosting sales by bringing products to families themselves instead of relying on distributors.

Companies are boosting sales by bringing products to families themselves

Luong Van Vinh, General Director of My Hao Cosmetics Company, said that companies can maintain sales only by retailing themselves; wholesale business now carries risks of losing sales agents to other companies and losing turnover as sales agents are also being affected by the economic downturn.

Selling products themselves

Therefore, Vinh has organised a team of 500 members in charge of selling products of the company in rural and remote localities.

The salesmen get minimum wage and the more lucrative income – commissions on sales, 1% of the turnover of dishwashing liquid, the best seller of the company, and 1.7% of the turnover of other products.

In the provinces in the west, salesmen carry products in ferry-boats on rivers or canals, while boats carry products further to more remote areas, where products are sold directly to buyers. In the north, big trucks bring commodities to localities, where smaller trucks and motorbikes carry the products further, to every street and corner of localities.

In new urban areas and residential quarters, the company supports distributors by giving them 4-6 salesmen, each in charge of 250 small shopping points. There are a lot of teams, and each team has a team leader, and every province or city a senior supervisor.

With such a ‘moving’ force of salesmen, after its turnover had dropped dramatically in September and October 2008 as consumers tightened their spending, the company’s turnover increased by 10% in the period between November 2008 and February 2009.

Going to alleys and side streets

In December 2008, Thuan Phat Foodstuff Joint Stock Company set up a sales team of 100 members to take the company’s products to every small shop in alleys and side streets. The decision has helped the company sell 200,000 more products a month.

Truong Lan Anh, General Director of the company, said that it was necessary to bring products to places where consumers go, groceries and markets. ”We have a distribution network with 1^st and 2^nd class agents. We provide trucks to support sales agents, and we also provide staffs to take care of customers,” Anh said.

Vissan, a processing foodstuff producer, now has 50 showrooms and 1,000 retail sales agents across the country, and has been trying to expand its sales network. In November 2008, the company signed strategic cooperation contracts with other companies, under which the companies sell each other’s products.

Analysts have also advised companies to develop sales networks to deliver products directly to every small grocery and to every family. They have pointed out that in rural areas, people don’t purchase goods because there are no goods to purchase, not because people don’t have a demand.

VietNamNet/SGTT

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