Writers elect new leadership; Hanoi to host int’l performing arts festival; New TV show features Khmer community; Exhibition features Agent Orange victims

The new 15-member executive board of the Vietnam Writers’ Association.

Writers elect new leadership

Poet Huu Thinh was re-elected the president of the Vietnam Writers’ Association (VWA) for the 2010-2015 term at the VWA’s 8th National Congress, which concluded in Hanoi on August 6.

The new 15-member Executive Board includes such influential writers as Huu Thinh, Nguyen Chi Huan, Nguyen Thi Thu Hue city, Vo Thi Xuan Ha, Nguyen Quang Thieu, Khuat Quang Thuy, and Trung Trung Dinh.

Mr Thinh said the association will continue to encourage writers to push the boundaries of creativity to revitalize the country’s literary scene.

Writer Tran Nhuong expressed his hope that Vietnam’s young, talented writers will make Vietnamese literature blossom in the near future.

Hanoi to host int’l performing arts festival

An international performing arts festival will be held in Hanoi on August 9-14.

The lineup includes artists from the Netherlands, Thailand, the US, Australia, Myanmar, Japan, and Malaysia, as well as nine Vietnamese artists including Nguyen Phuong Linh, Bill Nguyen, Le Huy Hoang, Lai Dieu Ha, and Vu Duc Toan.

The festival is expected to promote experience sharing and creativity in performing arts.

New TV show features Khmer community

A TV series on the culture and lifestyle of the ethnic Khmer people living in Vietnam’s southwest region will be filmed this week.

The 30-part series, titled Hay Cung Em Dieu Sarikakeo (Join Me in the Sarikakeo Dance), is being produced by Vang Mien Nam (Southern Gold) Film Studio, a private film and entertainment company in HCM City.

Based on a screenplay by Nguyen Thi Hong Xuan, the story concerns the life and love of Sophia, a Khmer woman living in a small village in Soc Trang province in the early 1980s.

The series recounts Sophia’s time as a Sarikakeo dancer in her native village before she moves to An Giang province and learns weaving.

Sarikakeo is a traditional dance of the Khmer.

Truong Son Hai, the film’s director, says he and his producer chose Xuan’s screenplay because few films have focused on this topic.

“We wanted to spotlight the Khmer people - their culture, lifestyle and dance,” he said.

Exhibition features Agent Orange victims

A photo exhibition entitled ‘Agent Orange – Message from the heart’ opened yesterday at the Chi Lang park in Ho Chi Minh city to celebrate the Day for Vietnamese AO victims (August 10).

The exhibition displays thirty photos on large size (50 x 70 cm) featuring the physical and spiritual pain of AO victims suffering from the consequences of chemical dioxin and their efforts to overcome their disadvantages. The photos also depict social support for the victims to help them integrate into the community.

It is the first photo exhibition on the topic held in Ho Chi Minh city.

The event, held by the Ho Chi Minh city Association for Victims of Agent Orange/ Dioxin, will run until August 8.

PV