Sa Huynh jar tombs discovered in Quang Ngai

Ten jar tombs dating back to 3,000 years ago were discovered in the central
province of Quang Ngai on Monday.

Archaeologists from Quang Ngai General Museum found the tombs after 2 months
excavating an 80-square-meter site around Nuoc Trong Lake.

The archaeologists said initial research suggested these tombs belonged to the
Sa Huynh culture.

Sa Huynh Culture flourished in central and southern Vietnam over 2,500 years ago
and was one of the three cradles of civilization in Vietnam besides Oc Eo and
Dong Son cultures.

A unique characteristic of Sa Huynh people was their funeral rites in which the
deceased were cremated and their ashes were placed in jars for burial.

Vietnam’s first movie subtitle company formed

Mega Phuong Nam JSC, formed by Phuong Nam Cultural Corporation and its joint
partners Mega Films Enterprises Pte. Ltd. in Singapore and Dai Viet Trading and
Investing JSC in Vietnam, has become the nation’s first movie subtitle company.

The new company is involved in post-production of movies and is responsible for
Vietnamese subtitling for imported films and expects to make VND17 billion
annually.

Every year, movie importers in Vietnam spend tens of billions of dong to
translate and make Vietnamese subtitles through foreign companies. Mega Phuong
Nam JSC will not only save production costs for local importers but also make a
tidy profit.

The company started up with an initial investment of US$800,000 and it is using
equipment imported from France, the staff is also trained by foreign experts.

Mega Phuong Nam JSC made its subtitling debut for the U.S. summer blockbuster
Transformers 3: Dark of The Moon which was released nationwide last Thursday.

MTV channel debuted in Vietnam

A ceremony to launch music channel MTV Vietnam was held on Friday at Hard Rock
Café HCMC in District 1, reports Thanh Nien Online.

The event, organized by Viacom International Media Networks, UTV and editorial
board of Vietnam Cable Television (VCTV), took place as the program debuted
nationally at 8 p.m.

The launch of MTV Vietnam promises to be a professional playground for Vietnam’s
entertainment industry with many programs produced for Vietnamese audiences like
MTV Thich Me, MTV Chart Attack, Vietnam Video Music Chart and other programs
which have Vietnamese subtitles like My super sweet 16, MTV CRIBS, MTV K Pop and
Top 50.

Music fans can watch MTV Vietnam 24 hours a day on channels like VCTV, HTVC, K+
and VTC, and MyTV and HCATV. Vietnamese programs on the MTV channel will be
shown only two hours a day from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and will be replayed from 6
a.m. to 8 a.m. the next day. However, in the future it is expected that
Vietnamese programs will be broadcast 24 hours a day.

City orchestra to put on a ’different’ music and dance performance

A night of contemporary music and dance performances titled “Dialog” will be
held on July 9 at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House.

The event will feature the latest symphony and dances prepared by the Ho Chi
Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera that will be presented in
different stage layout, different agenda, and a completely different
conceptualization, organizers said.

It will include Dong Ho folk painting alongside a clarinet, vibraphone & string
quintet performance, Dialogue and Nostalgy dances, Water Contemporary dance, and
a monolog for dan tranh (a plucked 16-string zither of Vietnam), Oboe & Cello.

Tickets, ranging from VND60,000-250,000, are available at the HCMC Opera House,
7 Lam Son Square, Dist.1, and HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera, 3 Phan
Van Dat St., Dist.1, HCMC.

Cham relics unearthed in Da Nang 1,000 years old

Vestiges of a Cham tower dating back 1,000 years ago have been found in Da Nang.

The latest vestiges of Cham culture unearthed in May in the central city of Da
Nang’s Phong Le Commune dates back 1,000 years, the Da Nang Museum of Cham
Sculpture has announced.

It said the archaeological site, covering an area of 200 square meters, carries
remains of a Cham tower with a solid foundation. The site has yielded at least
30 almost intact artifacts, including bricks, stone pillars and tiles.

Experts from the Hanoi National University and the museum, who will work
together at the site until October, believe several Cham towers are to be found
underground at the site, first discovered by the locals building foundations for
their house.

Caravelle presents Oyster Heaven

Throughout this month, the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City will be running
several promotions, the highlights being Oyster Heaven and Taittinger Champagne
Buffet Brunch.

Oyster Heaven at Reflections Restaurant from July 17 to 23 will feature Fine de
Claire, Ha Long Bay and Vung Tau oysters. Fine de Claire oysters are priced at
US$24 net per half dozen, Hạ Long Bay and Vung Tau oysters at $13 net per half
dozen or VND52,500 per oyster.

Taittinger Champagne Buffet Brunch at Nineteen Restaurant on the hotel’s ground
floor every Sunday includes one complimentary glass of Taittinger Champagne per
patron. Pair your glass of bubbly with one of the delights at the oyster bar and
lobster station. There are also roast meats, caviar and more than twenty
desserts to choose from.

Spreading the love

Tuyet Mai says was happily surprised and greatly saddened at the same time.

“Many foreigners who have come to my house to watch our shows have surprised me
with their profound knowledge of Vietnamese folk music and musical instruments,”
Mai told Thanh Nien Weekly.

“And I felt sad that many Vietnamese youth do not even know the name of some
traditional musical instruments like dan bau (monochord) or dan nhi (Vietnam
two-chord fiddle.)”

Mai and her artist husband Dinh Linh are not the type to wallow in despair,
however. They have decided to do something about it.

The couple are now offering free courses in Vietnamese traditional music at the
small theater that they run.

Opening July 15, the course is open to both locals and foreigners interested in
Vietnamese folk and traditional music. It will last for two months and will be
taught through morning, afternoon and evening classes on Saturday and Sunday.

“The course also aims to awaken in local youth a love for Vietnamese music. The
two-month course cannot make a big change, but I hope, at the least, that it can
raise their awareness and pride in national art treasures.”

Mai said her master’s degree in traditional music teaching can help her greatly
in handling the classes.

The course is not the beginning of the couple’s commitment to promoting national
traditional and folk music.

Mai and her husband, both born in 1964 and recognized as Meritorious Artists in
2007, have organized weekly concerts in traditional music that have enchanted
many music-lovers including foreign tourists, at their home since 2004.

They moved to HCMC in 1992 from Hanoi and worked for a local theater company for
a few years. Since they couldn’t live comfortably on their meager salaries, they
had to sustain their main career by playing in restaurants and night clubs.

But Mai said that now, she and her husband are not pursuing either money or
fame.

“The musical course is free as my target is not money. I just want my small
theater to become a part of art socialization trend. The lessons also include
talks and stories about different musical instruments that we have played and
come across in our years of performing,” Mai said.

The first course that was offered last summer attracted mostly foreigners, and
Mai is hoping more Vietnamese youth will join this year.

Mai said that she intends to make the course an annual offering at her home,
called Truc Mai House, at 104 Pham Viet Chanh Street, Binh Thanh District.

Anyone interested in doing the course can register for it by calling Mrs. Tuyet
Mai at 0913 724 319 or emailing trucmai_music@yahoo.com.vn.

More information about Truc Mai Home concerts can be found at
www.trucmaimusic.com.

L’Espace Hanoi to screen ’La Graine Et Le Mule’

La Graine Et Le Mule (The Secret of the Grain), a 2008 film by French director
Abdellatif Kechiche will be screened at L’Espace Hanoi on July 29.

This film stars Habib Boufares, Hafsia Herzi, Faridah Benkhetache, Abdelhamid
Aktouche, Bouraouïa Marzouk and Cyril Favre.

At the Sete port in France, Beiji is fed up with his job at a ship building
workshop where the work has become harder as time goes by.

He is a father in a divorced family who is having a hard time. Everything around
makes him feel like a looser. He tries to escape from this hard life by opening
a restaurant, an enterprise fraught with unexpected consequences.

Tickets (VND10,000-VND20,000) are on sale at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street.

L’Espace Hanoi to screen 15 Ans Et Demi

L’Espace in Hanoi on August 26 will screen 15 Ans Et Demi (15 And Half Years
Old), a 2008 film by two French directors François Desagnat and Thomas Sorriaux.

The film tells a story of Philippe Le Tallec, a scientist who decides to come
back to France to take care of his daughter Eglantine after 15 years working in
American.

He takes this chance to build a closer relationship with his daughter and make
up for lost time, but the little girl prefers spending time with other
interests.

He becomes fed up with this holiday, which is totally different from what he
imagined.

In an attempt to find a solution, he takes a training course for fathers who
having a hard time with children.

The film stars Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Lamboley, François Damiens, Lionel
Abelanski, Julie Ferrier and Francois Berleand.

Tickets (VND10,000-VND20,000) are on sale at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street.

Vietnam’s first all-night screening took place Friday

Megastar Cineplex organized an all night event for fans of the “Transformers”
series, this past weekend.

Local movie-lovers were the first audiences to attend the premiere of
blockbuster “Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon”, even before the North American
audiences by one day.

The event featured screening three parts of the robots’ series, a fashion show
and local noted rock-band, Microwave, performed. Special gifts from the film
were also offered to the lucky participants.

259 special tickets, VND199, 000 per package, sold out as of June 16.

The cinema’s representative said that Megastar set the event to kickoff the
blockbuster’s premiere in Vietnam. Transformers 3 is now showing in local
theaters.

Cinebox
212 Lý Chính Thắng, Q.3 (near Kỳ Đồng)
240 Đường 3/2, Quận 10 (Hòa Bình, huge place)
http://www.cinebox.vn/index.php?page=schedule&step=1

Galaxy
116 Nguyễn Du, Q.1,
230 Nguyễn Trãi, Q.1
246 Nguyễn Hồng Đào, Q.Tân Bình
http://www.galaxycine.vn/?cine=calendar&search=cinema

Lotte Cinema
3 Floor, Lotte Mart, 469 Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, Tân Quy Ward, Dist.7, HCM City
Contact Nubmber: 8 3775 2521 http://www.lottecinemavn.com/Default_eng.aspxcom/Default_eng.aspx

Megastar
Hung Vuong Plaza
CT Plaza
http://megastar.vn/index.aspx