Vietnamese movie to go to Venice and Toronto

VietNamNet Bridge – The latest film by director Bui Thac Chuyen, “Choi Voi” (Lonely), was invited to the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals in early September. VnExpress discussed the events with Bui Thac Chuyen.

Hai Yen and Duy Khoa in a scene from "Lonely".

Q: How do you feel about your movie “Lonely” being the first big-screen film of Vietnam invited to the Venice Film Festival?

Chuyen: Venice is one of the most well-known film festivals on the planet. It is a great honour for any filmmaker to have a movie screened at a big film festival like Venice.

“Lonely” tells the story of newlyweds Hai and Duyen, the complicated love between Duyen and Cam, her close girlfriend, and the carnal passion between Duyen and Tho, a sexually attractive man. It features People’s Artist Nhu Quynh, Vietnamese-French actress Pham Linh Dan, Hai Yen, Johnny Tri Nguyen, and Duy Khoa, who won the Promising Singer award at the 2008 Sao Mai – Diem Hen (Morning Star – Rendezvous) contest. “Lonely” will be screened nationwide at the end of the year and take part in film festivals in Toronto, Vancouver, and London. Last year “Khi toi 20” (When I am 20), directed by Phan Dang Di, who wrote the script for “Lonely”, was invited to compete in the “Short film” section at the Venice festival.

The works that are brought to Venice are products of big movie industries in both financial aspects and fame. Briefly, under the market rules, the world entertainment industry needs markets and standardised brands for each kind of good. Film festivals are established to serve this purpose. Being chosen for a film festival is a way to measure the quality of a movie and the movie industry of the country that movie represents.

I have learned many things since I was invited to this film festival.

Q: What are they?

Chuyen: The organising board will only pay for three days in hotels for the directors and leading actors. All guests in Venice will have to pay other expenditures themselves and for other tasks related to their movie, for example making Italian subtitles and transportation.

If we participate in all ten days of the festival, each member will spend around Eur4000 (97 million dong). For a director like me, who earned around 70 million dong for two years producing “Lonely”, that sum is a big question mark.

Our market system and movie industry are still inappropriate to big film festivals. Now I understand why our football teams are afraid of attending the Asian C1 Cup and they often lose.

Q: What do you think about your rivals?

I don’t care! The nature of a film festival is to appreciate and discover the most special of the contemporary movies in the world. Invited films can be proud that they are something special. For big film festivals like Cannes, Venice, Berlin or Tokyo, invited movies must be new ones.

Hai Yen (standing) and Linh Dan in "Lonely".

Film festivals are not struggles. They are competitions, but not struggles, so I have no conception about rivals there. I’m happy because if I go there, I will know about new and special things in movies from throughout the whole world. And I’m honoured to be the representative for Vietnam, contributing something special of Vietnam to a big game of the world’s movies in Venice.

Q: Which actors in “Lonely” will go to Venice with you?

Chuyen: I hope many actors can join this festival. Perhaps I will go with Hai Yen and Linh Dan.

Q: Could you reveal your schedule?

Chuyen: We will go to Venice on September 5. “Lonely” will be presented on September 6. We will stay in Venice until September 12 and then leave for the Toronto International Film Festival. This is also one of the biggest and most important film festivals in the world. “Lonely” has been chosen for its Contemporary World Cinema programme.

VietNamNet/VNE

Swine flu should not close all schools, says official

VietNamNet Bridge – School closures due to suspected or confirmed cases of swine flu (H1N1) are necessary, the deputy health minister, Trinh Quan Huan, recently said. However, it does not mean all schools should close.

A medic gives a patient Tamiflu pills gratis at the Ho Chi Minh City-based Tropical Diseases Hospital ( Photo: Tuoi tre)

School closures due to suspected or confirmed cases of swine flu (H1N1) are necessary, the deputy health minister, Trinh Quan Huan, recently said. However, it does not mean all schools should close.

The deputy minister was speaking after Hanoi’s Department of Education and Training decided to shut school doors in the capital.

Sixty-three new A/H1N1 infections - a record number for a single day - were reported on August 14, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said, taking the total number of cases across the country to 1,363.

Of them, 1,024 cases have recovered and been discharged from hospital, with the remaining 399 under quarantine and receiving treatment. All are in a stable condition.

Ten eleventh-graders at Ho Chi Minh City-based Le Hong Phong Senior School were the same day allowed to stay at home as they from suffered flu-like symptoms of cough, soar throat and fever.

Health workers have taken blood samples for tests.

Their classmates were later permitted to stay home and preventive health workers sprayed disinfectant around the school.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Nguyen Thien Nhan, ordered the MoH to guide its subdivisions to tighten prevention of the flu, as well as send a report to assess prevention tasks carried out by relevant agencies and provinces to the Government before August 25.

Regarding public concern that Government stocks of Tamiflu are being secretly sold, the head of Vietnam Drug Administration, Dr Truong Quoc Cuong, told Sai Gon Giai Phong the drug has to be sold with a doctors’ prescription.

He said pharmaceutical trading units or pharmacies will be breaking the law if they sell Tamiflu without prescriptions.

Dr. Cuong warned people not to use the pill without advice of physicians, as the drug can cause unexpected problems and raise the possibility of resistance.

Doctors will provide the Tamiflu free if a patient is diagnosed with swine flu.

VietNamNet/SGGP

Can Vietnam lure more tourists with ’Happy Country’ brand?

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam was recently ranked fifth of 143 nations on the ‘Happy Planet’ index calculated by the New Economics Foundation (UK). In this article, Saigon Businessman Weekend asks if Vietnam can learn how to build up the brand “happy country” to promote the country’s tourism industry.

An ethnic minority mother and her child.

Vietnam among happiest countries

Smiling Vietnamese

Many foreigners remark that Vietnamese people, both old and young, smile a lot, and most are optimistic though their lives are still difficult.

The famous scholar Nguyen Van Vinh wrote: “An Nam people laugh at everything, both when they are praised or criticised.” This is an advantage for the tourism industry because visitors always want to see friendly and hospitable local residents. Thailand has had great success with the slogan: “The country of smiles”.

Regrettably, many foreigners still Vietnam as a war-devastated and backward country. They think of Vietnamese people as shabby and sad, like the people depicted in Hollywood movies about the Vietnam War. Other foreigners, this time with more accuracy, are apt to observe that ‘the Vietnamese always work very hard.’

It is said that Hannibal Marco Polo, one of the biggest travel companies in North Europe, advertised tours to Vietnam as follows: “Vietnamese smile as much as Thai”.

Vietnam could build and advertise the image of a happy country, where the people are always joyful and optimistic.

“Happy country” and tourism

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the number of international tourists fell 8 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008. This institution forecast that the total number of tourists in 2009 will be down four to six percent for all of 2009.

However, UNWTO also calculated that after the world economy recovers, world tourism will rise by four or five percent annually to about 1.6 billion in 2020. Of the number, 1.2 billion people will travel in their region and 378 million will buy far-away tours.

Compared to Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam’s market share in the world tourism market is higher than only Cambodia and Laos. In 2007, it was 1.8 percent for Vietnam, 2.8% for Indonesia, 7.7% for Malaysia and 8.2% for Thailand, according to UNWTO Barometer 2008 report.

Vietnam needs to prepare for the post-economic crisis period. Its advantages include its political stability, no terrorism threat or absence of active religious and ethnic conflicts and its image as a “new” destination in the world.

The magazine Condé Nast Traveller chose two Asian countries, Sri Lanka (14^th) and Vietnam (18^th), as two of the its “20 Destinations for 2009.” According to this magazine, though Vietnam is luring more tourists, it still has many interesting things to discover, especially good food and many beautiful beaches.

Countries that earn a lot from tourism, like Spain, Greece, Croatia and Thailand, are successful in getting visitors to return by winning a reputation for high quality tourist services. Tourism service quality in Vietnam is far below that of Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Moreover, Vietnam lacks a good slogan and logo for tourism. Slogans like “The Hidden Charm” or, this year, “Impressive Vietnam” are too vague compared with Malaysia’s “Truly Asia” or Thailand’s “Land of Smiles.”

The local tourism industry always complains of limited budget for advertising. However, marketing campaigns on the BBC, CNN or National Geographic are likely to be ineffective until Vietnam can help tourists avoid beggars, touts and overcharging, and supply them with better services. Visitors’ comments are the best or the worst means of advertisement for a travel destination.

After a tour to Laos in June 2009, the Danish movie critic Ebbe Iversen gave the best words to praise the mild, simple people and the peaceful life in this country in the Berlingske Tidende Daily. He called Luang Prabang city “the peaceful world for the soul” and said “if anybody wants to become a good person, he/she should go to Laos”. Perhaps this is the best unpaid advertisement for Lao tourism.

VietNamNet/DNSGCT

Old and in the way

VietNamNet Bridge – Many men in the former province of Ha Tay who have been farmers all their lives are being forced to seek a new line of employment having sold their agricultural land. Meanwhile, many are succumbing to the trend of building modern, urban-style houses by money they earned from selling their land.

All agricultural land area in An Khanh commune has been reclaimed for developing new residential areas and industrial zones. Losing land and becoming unemployed but building new, urban-style houses has become a movement in this land because farmers have been paid a lot of money for their fields.

Some farmers in Kien Hung ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi still hold half of their fields, but they are facing unemployment because their remaining fields will become luxurious apartments in the near future.

VietNamNet reports on the situation in photos:

Most people in An Khanh commune have worked as farmers since they were kids. It is very hard for them to learn a new job between the ages of 40-60. So most of them have become unemployed since selling their fields.

In An Khanh commune, there is only one village – Van Lung -- that has an additional occupation, producing bamboo-made door shades. With 8 members, Mr. Nguyen The Thanh’s family earns 40,000 dong ($2.2) per day from this job.

Though many people are unemployed, new houses are being built in An Khanh with the money farmers got from selling their fields.

A farmer named Nguyen Dinh Vinh in An Khanh commune spent the whole amount of money he received in compensation for his fields to build a big house. This house was built three years ago but it has not been painted yet because Vinh ran out of money.

This rare garden of Mrs. Cao Thi Hien in An Khanh commune is being offered for sale at a price of 4-5 million dong ($220-280) per square metre.

This traditional house, the sole one in An Tho village, An Khanh commune is also up for sale.

Because of urbanisation, many “former” middle-aged farmers in An Khanh are seeking new jobs.

Since Ha Tay province was merged into Hanoi last August, urban-style houses have been built everywhere in Kien Hung ward, Ha Dong district (the capital of Ha Tay province in the past). Last year, Kien Hung was still a commune of farmers.

Modern houses have risen on the banks of a traditional pond in Kien Hung.

In the one year of Ha Tay being a part of the capital, real estate agent offices have mushroomed in Kien Hung.

Traditional houses with gardens in Kien Hung are being replaced by urban-style narrow houses.

Urban-style houses are rising in Tien Xuan commune, Thach That district, Hanoi, which belonged to the mountainous province of Hoa Binh last year.