Entertainment

After several delays, the Art Performing Department began to draft plans to start granting work permits for artists starting in July, one official has said.

Nine foreign troupes and 16 local ones have registered to attend the Vietnam International Dance Festival 2014, which will be held in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue from April 14-18.

The first-ever caricature festival will be held in HCM City to bring the art closer to the public and provide a comic playground for professional caricaturists and the audience.

The large amount of USD1 million to be poured into the film project of the Dien Bien Phu victory has caused concerns about wastefulness in production.

The World Music Awards 2014 nominees have been published and two popular Vietnamese pop stars – My Tam and My Linh– have nominations in three categories.

The fifth International Kite festival is set to get underway in Vung Tau and Ba Ria cities from May 8-12, announced Ho Van Nien, Deputy Chairman of Ba Ria Vung Tau province’s People’s Committee.

A cultural programme entitled "Mua xuan ton vinh van hoa dan toc 2014", or ‘Spring Honours National Culture 2014" will take place from April 5-9 as part of activities to honour the country’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

There has been an ongoing discussion within the Vietnamese film industry as to why the South seems to produce so many more prestigious film stars than the North.

Eighty local singers, together with English singer Shayne Ward and international DJ Scott Kirby will perform in the first picnic music festival in Vietnam, called YAN Beatfest, to be held at Phu Tho Stadium in HCM City on April 12.

Martial arts fantasy "The Grandmaster" dominated the Asian Film Awards on Thursday with seven wins including best movie, as its emotional director mourned the film's stuntman who was on the missing Malaysian jetliner.

Music researchers are worried about the profusion of new tai tu (amateur) music clubs in HCM City and southern provinces after the music was recognised by UNESCO as an intangible world heritage.

Twelve Russian painters and three Vietnamese painters are showcasing 110 paintings at a joint exhibition called Handshake Again, at the HCM City Fine Arts Museum.

Cultural heritage with integration and development will lie at the heart of the 2014 Hue Festival, which is slated to take place in the former imperial city from April 12-20.

Dozens of singers and musicians will perform the works of late songwriter Trinh Cong Son at a free outdoor concert in praise of love and friendship in HCM City on April 5.

Master pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy and his son Vovka Ashkenazy will play at a concert tonight at the Hanoi Opera House.

Vietnam's first Book Day will be organised throughout the country on April 21.

Many Vietnamese celebrities have recently incurred large debts or fallen on hard times due to financial difficulties.

The Hue Festival, a biannual cultural event to be held next month, will feature contemporary pop, rock and flamenco music in order to attract young audiences.