HA NOI — First-time director Phan Dang Di's film Bi, Dung So! (Bi, Don't Be Afraid!) has won the New Talent Award at the Asia Hong Kong Film Festival.
The film beat out Piano in a Factory directed by China's Zhang Meng and Sand Castle by Singapore's Boo Junfeng.
The 18-day festival ended early this week after presenting 120 films.
Bi, Don't Be Afraid! also won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes International Critic's Week and the Dragons and Tigers prize at the Vancouver Film Festival in Canada.
The film tells the story of a precocious six-year-old boy who lives with his parents, aunt and grandfather, who has returned to the family home with a grave illness.
The story contrasts the gradual deterioration in the adults' lives with the youthful innocence of the perceptive boy.
HIV Beauty Pageant kicks off
HA NOI — The Miss HIV Pageant will be held for the first time in Viet Nam and will feature more than 100 beautiful young women.
The competition's final night will be held on Sunday in Ha Noi, which will feature ao dai (traditional longdress) and evening gown performances and a question and answer session. The jury will score candidates based on their performances and contributions they have made to their community.
The event is being sponsored by the Centre for Supporting Community Development Initiatives, Viet Nam Television and For the Bright Future Network.
From November 9-11, the contestants visited an orphanage at Bo De Pagoda and worked on campaigns to distribute information about HIV/AIDS.
The event's organisers hope that the programme will contribute to reducing the stigma and discrimination that people living with HIV face.
Vietnamese piano star performs in US
Washington — Vietnamese classical pianist Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh performed in Washington on Wednesday as a gift to celebrate the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi.
The programme was jointly held by the Vietnamese Embassy, the Smithsonian Institute, 28 large museums and research institutes world-wide and the US National Zoo.
After her Washington performance, the Vietnamese pianist will perform in New York with violinist Tang Thanh Nam on November 19.
Born in Ha Noi in 1976, Thuy Quynh, who is currently a faculty member of Hunter College, began studying piano at the age of four and entered the Ha Noi Conservatory of Music at the age of six. She made her recital debut when she was nine years old. At age thirteen, she studied piano performance at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow as a scholarship student.
As a classical pianist, she was selected as one of the "Nineteen young stars of tomorrow" by Musical America and won various domestic and international piano competitions, such as the Artist International Presentation Competition and the Bellflower Orchestra Competition.
In 2007, Quynh made a charity performance in Viet Nam to raise funds for disabled children.
Miss Earth gala raises funds for charity
HCM CITY — A party attended by 90 contestants in the Miss Earth 2010 beauty pageant in HCM City collected nearly VND75 billion (US$ 3.7 million) from auction for charity.
The auction included a series of four sculpture works on wood featuring the symbols of dragon, unicorn, turtle and phoenix, sacred animals in traditional culture created by artisan Vo Ngoc Ha.
The sculpture's final price is VND47.9 billion ($2.4 million). The event's organiser HCM City Red Cross, in co-operation with its partners, said they also collected around VND27 billion ($1.3 million) from the auction of three works made with stone and rubies.
All of the proceeds will be delivered soon to victims of recent floods in the central provinces. — VNS