Green Planet

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Vietnam's Thu Huong wins second runner up prize at Mrs World pageant

Last updated: 12/16/2011 15:30

MC Thu Huong poses with her husband at the Mrs World 2011 pageant in Florida

Vietnamese contestant Thu Huong won the second runner up prize at the Mrs World 2011 pageant held at the Florence Henderson theatre in Florida on Friday morning.

Huong made a big impression in the national dress competition in a blue ao dai adorned with white lotus flowers.

Huong had won the Miss Sport title in 1995 when she was a student of the journalism department at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Hanoi.

After working as MCs for famous television programs such as Phu Nu The Ky 21( Women of 21th century), Lam Giau Khong Kho (It is not difficult to become rich), she opened her own communication firm. She also works as the managing editor of a magazine published by her company.

American representative April Lufriu, a charity worker, won the Mrs World 2011 title. Mrs Peru won the first runner up prize in the contest that attracted 56 contestants from countries all over the world.

Korean stars to promote drama in Vietnam

Last updated: 12/17/2011 13:10

Korean actress Kim Tae Hee and actor Son Seung Hun will arrive in Hanoi on January 6.

Two A-list Korean stars, actor Son Seung Hun and actress Kim Tae Hee, will arrive in Hanoi on January 6, to promote their TV drama "My Princess" to local fans.

According to an announcement on the Hallyu star Kim Tae Hee’s web site as well as "My Princess’s" official Facebook account this week, the couple will arrive at Noi Bai airport in the capital of Vietnam at 4 p.m. on January 6 and stay at the five-star Daewoo Hotel during their trip here before traveling to Hong Kong.

Son Seung Hun and Kim Tae Hee, who are lead actor and lead actress of "My Princess" broadcast by MBC, will have a short fan meeting and other activities to promote the series, Vnexpress newswire reported on Saturday.

Members of the two stars’ fan club in Vietnam plan to make pictures, photographs, as well as a video clip to welcome the idols at both the airport and the hotel. The event’s sponsor and organizer, Coway Co., has not yet revealed their detailed schedule.

"My Princess" is a story of an ordinary college student, Lee Seol, who finds out she's a princess and the great-granddaughter of the Joseon Dynasty's last Emperor, Emperor Sunjong.

The grandson of the Daehan Group, Park Hae-young, portrayed by Hun, is put in charge of educating Seol on proper etiquette. However, Hae-young is put in a precarious situation when he finds himself drawn to Seol, the girl who will take away his inheritance if the monarchy is restored.

Hee began her career in entertainment as a model and in television commercials. She rose to stardom via her portrayal of Han Yoori, the evil stepsister in the popular SBS TV series Stairway to Heaven.

Her other TV projects include the supernatural KBS series "Forbidden Love" and the SBS campus romance "Love Story in Harvard," and "Iris."

Hun, who started his career as a model in 1995, modeled for the jeans brand STORM, and began acting in sitcoms and TV dramas in 1996. He is noted for his roles in Korean dramas like "East of Eden," "Autumn in My Heart" (2000) and "Summer Scent."

Thanks to the TV drama "Autumn in My Heart," which was exported all over Asia, he is one of the most popular stars in Korea today, whose popularity even grew in other Asian countries, adding to the Hallyu wave.

After the Philippines and Japan, "My Princess" will be broadcast in Hong Kong and on Vietnam's SCTV17 channel in January.

Beethoven concerts to return to HCMC

Last updated: 12/17/2011 13:45

Vietnamese violin soloist Ho Dang Hoi will present world masterpieces by Beethoven in HCMC

The first concert of this year’s Beethoven Symphony Project will take place at Saigon Technology University on December 21 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Under the baton of Vietnamese conductor Do Kien Cuong, local classical musicians, including violin soloist Ho Dang Hoi, and cello soloist Nguyen Tan Anh, will feature Ludwig Van Beethoven’s masterpieces.

They are The Creatures of Prometheus, Romance in F Major, Romance in G Major and four movements of the Symphony No.2 in D.

Vietnam’s Ve lang (Return Home), and Ly Ngua O Vatiations will also be introduced at the show, which will take place at 7 p.m. with free entrance at 180 Cao Lo Street, District 8.

The next day there will be a second night of concert at the Cultural Center of District 11, located on 179 ABCD Binh Thoi Street, Ward 9.

The Beethoven Symphony Project, first organized by the Goethe Institute in Vietnam last year, includes a series of concerts to promote world masterpieces by the legendary German composer to the local audience.

Vietnamese photographer wins special prize in Japan

Last updated: 12/17/2011 14:25

Vuot song (Overcome the Waves) by Vietnamese photographer Trung Vung, one of six Special Prize award-winning photos at the 72th International Photographic Salon of Japan this year.

Vietnamese photographer Trung Vung is one of six Special Prize winners of the 72th International Photographic Salon of Japan held last October, reported Tuoi Tre Newspaper on Friday.

Vung’s Vuot song (Overcome the Waves) beat out 13,600 entries submitted by photographers from 41 countries and territories worldwide to be one of six award-winning photos.

Vuot song was taken at Vinh Thanh beach in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, where the photographer resides in.

Prior to the Special Prize, the photo won silver medal at the 6th International Artistic Photography held in Vietnam this year and B Award by the Association of Vietnam Artistic Photographers the same year.

Other Special Prize winners are from India, Iran and Japan. The award-winners are scheduled to be announced in late December in the Asahi Shimbun Newspaper and on the All-Japan Association of Photographic Societies (AJAPS) web site, the contest’s two organizers.

Exhibition of 130 winning works, including 12 by Vietnamese participants, will be held in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major cities in Japan.

Japanese conductor to wield baton in Hanoi

Last updated: 12/17/2011 16:05

Japanese conductor Hirota Tomoyuki.

The Ensemble II Concert featuring Japanese conductor Hirota Tomoyuki and musicians from the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra will take place at the Arts Performing Center in Hanoi on December 29 and 30.

The Japanese conductor, 48, will wield his baton to lead local artists to perform famous works of Dvorak, including Serenade for Winds and Serenade for Strings.

Tickets, priced from VND150, 000 to 450, 000, are available at the Arts Performing Center, 16 Le Thai To Street, Sketch Travel Hanoi Aodai

US grants Vietnam museum $30,000 to restore artifacts

Last updated: 12/17/2011 15:15

A red-lacquered and gold-trimmed wooden piece of cuon thu (horizontal lacquered board).

The US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) has granted US$30,000 to the northern province of Thai Binh’s Provincial Museum for the restoration of wooden artifacts.

Accordingly, the grant, which was presented by the US Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear in a ceremony held in the museum on December 16, will be used to restore and preserve 29 red-lacquered and gold-trimmed wooden objects, dating from the 17th to 19th centuries.

The objects, including ancestral tablets, pictures, statues, wooden horizontal lacquered board and wooden parallel sentences, are collected by the museum from several places in the province.

In addition, the project, which will run until the end of 2012, is expected to equip and train the museum’s staffs on preserving and restoration.

The museum’s director Vu Duc Thom told the Vietnamplus newswire that the collection is in bad condition and needs to be restored soon. However, it has been impossible to restore due to lack of materials and knowledge.

The collection will be displayed to the public after they are restored, he added.

Since its creation by the US Congress, the US Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation has provided financial support to more than 640 cultural preservation projects in more than 100 countries.

This accomplishment, now 10 years in the making, represents a contribution of nearly $26 million toward the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide.

Ten projects in Vietnam with a total capital of US$29 million has been granted by the AFCP.

No Golden Lotus Award at national film fest

Last updated: 12/18/2011 16:00

Two award winners at the 17th Vietnam National Film Festival.

None of the 17 feature films competing at the 17th Vietnam National Film Festival that closed in Phu Yen Province on Saturday, December 17 was deemed worthy of the Golden Lotus Award.

As the festival’s jury found no film among the 17 the most outstanding one, three films were selected to receive Silver Lotus prizes: Mui co chay (the smell of the burning grass), Vietnam’s first film on homosexuality, Hotboy noi loan, cau chuyen ve thang Cuoi, con vit va co gai diem (Lost in Paradise), and Vu dieu dam me (Passionate dance).

Lost in Paradise, which went international and was screened at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival and Vancouver International Film Festival in Canada, and Busan International Film Festival this year, also won other three prizes, including Best Director for Vu Ngoc Dang.

Two actresses, Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc and My Hanh, surprised the audience by sharing the Best Actress Award for their roles in Canh dong bat tan(Floating Lives) and Vu dieu dam me.

Lan Ngoc had earlier won the Favorite International Actress award at the China Golden Rooster Awards 2011 in October for the role as Nuong in the movie adapted from writer Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tu's best selling short story "Boundless Field."

My Hanh’s award was a surprise since her acting was not as appreciated as much as Ngoc’s, but the head of jury panel, director Luu Trong Ninh, said at a press conference after the award ceremony that Hanh’s acting was highly appreciated and that the jury hadn’t planned to give the award to Ngoc.

There were no other surprises in other categories, including Best Actor for Quach Ngoc Ngoan, Best Supporting Actor for Ho Vinh Khoa , and a new award for Best Young Director that was won by Nguyen Quang Dung, who has several box office hits to his credit.

A conference on the local movie industry that highlighted shortcomings and discussed solutions for its development was held yesterday morning as part of the festival.

It announced the establishment of a local cinema fund that raised an initial amount of VND 200 million (US$9,800) from local actors and film distributors. A call was made for more theaters to opened in rural areas.

The Department of Cinematography said it will work on a detailed plan to develop Vietnam’s movie industry.

The 18th Vietnam National Film Festival will be held next year in the northern province of Quang Ninh, the hometown of Ha Long Bay, one of New Seven Natural Wonders of the World.