Japanese artist performs ancient comic monologue

Rakugo master Utazo Katsura will treat Hanoi audiences to a
traditional Japanese form of entertainment in performances on Oct.
19-20.

Rakugo is a unique form of Japanese comic
monologue originating in the 16th century but coming into full flower
during the Edo era of the 17-18th century. The art has been passed
down orally from master to apprentice, from one generation to another.

Katsura is a member of Rakugo Artists Association, attaining the rank of rakugo master in 2005.

He has since been actively appearing in Tokyo and been
enthusiastically sharing with the world the fun of rakugo, performing
the seated monologues to audiences in Thailand , the US and Brazil
.

While there have always been a language barrier
preventing foreigners from fully enjoying rakugo, Katsura will perform
the monologues in English as well as in Japanese, with Vietnamese
subtitles.

Sitting on a stage and with only a paper
fan and small cloth as props, Katsura acts out long and complex comic
stories. Famed rakugo stories include the Time Noodle and Gonsuke's
Fish, but the highlight of his performance is The Tree-Head Man, which
he delivers with an avant-garde rock music soundtrack.

Such a fusion of traditional and contemporary styles is one of
Katsura's unique attempts to make rakugo funny and new to modern
audiences, according to organisers from the Japan Foundation Centre for
Cultural Exchange.

The performances will take place
at Vietnam Contemporary Song, Dance and Music Theatre, 16 Le Thai To
street, and the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities,
336 Nguyen Trai street .

Free tickets are available at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange, 27 Quang Trung street./.

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Japanese features, anime to screen

Japanese director Nobuhiro Doi's latest film Hanamizuki is one of ten
films scheduled to show in competition at the first Vietnam
International Film Festival, which runs until Oct. 21 in Hanoi.

Hanamizuki is a romantic drama which tells the story of high school
student Sae Hirasawa, played by Yui Aragaki, who lives a simple life
with her mother in a peaceful northern fishing town but dreams of a life
overseas.

She meets two special men in her life.
One is another high school boy who she falls in love with. They
encourage each other to pursue their dreams, even as their dreams pull
them apart. The other man is an upperclassman who shares her same
dreams.

Doi, with the support of the Japan
Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange, is scheduled to arrive on Oct.
19 to attend the festival and conduct question and answer sessions about
the film.

Born April 11, 1964 in Hiroshima
Prefecture , Doi began as director for the hit TBS television series
Good Luck!! in 2003 and Orange Days in 2004 until striking it big with
the 48 million USD box office hit Be With You the same year, his
directorial film debut.

Hanamizuki was released in Japan in August and is his third feature film.

My Darling Is a Foreigner, the directorial debut by Kazuaki Ue, will also compete for the festival's top prize.

Eatrip by Yuri Nomura, and Mental by Kazuhiro Soda will compete in the
documentary and short film categories, respectively. Mental won the
Best Documentary Award at the Pusan International Film Festival and the
Dubai International Film Festival in 2008.

Japanese
animation will also make a showing at the festival with Summer Wars
(2009) and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), both directed by
Mamoru Hosoda. Both films have received numerous awards not only in
Japan but throughout the world, including the Best Animation Award at
the Japan Academy Awards in 2007 (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) and
in 2010 (Summer Wars).

Please see the What's On section on page 27 for the festival calendar./.

New European Vovinam Federation ready for battle

The European Vovinam Federation was established on Oct. 16 at the
conclusion of a congress at the French Karate Federation.

Twenty-six delegates from Belgium , Germany , Italy , England ,
Rumania , Switzerland , Denmark , Spain , and France attended the
congress. Poland and Belarus were absent but nominated Germany
as their proxy.

An executive board comprising seven
members was elected. Francis Didier, the head of the French federation,
was named the president while Masters Juan Cid of Spain , Tran Dai
Chieu of Germany, and Florin Macovei of Rumania were chosen vice
presidents.

Master Victtorio Cera of Italy is the
general secretary and Thanh Nha Berrier of England , the deputy
general secretary.

EVVF will organise technical and
referee classes as well as the first European Vovinam Championship in
the Tenerife Islands in Spain next month.

Milan (early 2012), Paris (2013), and Bucharest (2014) will host the next championships.

France will organise the third World Vovinam Championship in July 2013.

HCM City will host the previous edition in July next year.

The martial art was founded in 1938 in Hanoi by late Grand Master Nguyen Loc.

It is practised in 40 countries and has more than 100,000
practitioners. It is popular in France , Italy and the US .

The traditional Vietnamese martial art will feature at the 26th
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games 2011 in Indonesia as a competitive sport
for the first time, according to the SEA Sports Council.

Vovinam's inclusion in the games will help promote the sport, which
has gained recognition internationally in recent years, especially after
the success of the first WVVF World Vovinam Championship in HCM
City and the third Asian Indoor Games last year./.

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Football club manager, Team China linked to graft

The former boss of Shanghai Shenhua and two former national team members have been taken into custody for questioning in China's ever-widening football graft scandal, state press said Tuesday.

All have been brought in to "aid" the police investigation, which has already led to the arrest of two chiefs of the Chinese Football Association, the Xinmin Evening News said.

Without citing sources, the leading Shanghai paper outlined an intricately orchestrated scheme of pay-offs and bribes in China's professional league that determined who won the championship and which teams were relegated.

Former Shanghai Shenhua manager Lou Shifang could be facing a probe into 200 million yuan (US$30 million) in alleged bribes paid in 2003 when the team won China's Super League title, the paper said.

Lou is also believed to have been involved in a scam with the arrested former manager of Tianjin Teda, Zhang Yifeng, to help Tianjin avoid relegation that same year, the paper said.

Both allegedly had dealings with former CFA boss Nan Yong, who was arrested earlier this year and charged with fixing matches and accepting bribes.

Gambling, match-fixing and crooked referees in the nation's professional leagues have made the sport the laughing stock of fans and a matter of mounting state concern.

Earlier this month, police arrested Nan's predecessor Xie Yalong, the ex-manager of China's national team Wei Shaohui, and Li Dongsheng, the former director of Chinese football's referee committee.

All three were charged with match-fixing and accepting bribes, China Central Television reported at the time of their arrests.

According to Shanghai's Eastern Sports Daily, former national team players Qi Hong and Jiang Jin were taken into custody, reportedly to aid in a probe into alleged match-fixing during China's qualifying run for the 2002 World Cup.

Six former national team players are suspected of involvement in irregularities related to the Cup drive, the paper said, without naming names or detailing their alleged crimes.

According to state media, CFA officials routinely fixed matches, including national team and league games, by allegedly buying off the teams or referees involved.

As soon as matches were fixed, the officials would allegedly gamble on the outcome, the leading Titan Sports Weekly reported in September.

The suspect CFA officials also reportedly accepted pay-offs from players wanting to be named to the national team—a practice that was also widespread among league clubs.

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Vu aims to knock ‘em out at Dutch tourney

World's best: Duong Anh Vu takes aim during the men's singles carom 3 final against South Korea's Cho Jae-ho at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games held in HCM City last year. — VNS Photo Tien Thanh

HCM CITY — Viet Nam's top three-cushion billiards player Duong Anh Vu will compete in the 63rd World Three Cushion Championships from tomorrow to Sunday in Sluiskil, the Netherlands.

"The tournament brings together the world's best players," Vu, who recently dropped to 21st place, said.

"So my goal is to reach the knock-out and improved my ranking."

Forty eight players will play in 16 groups from which one each will qualify for the knock-out. Another Vietnamese Ly The Vinh, who won the Southeast Asian Games gold medal in 1997, will also take part.

"This is also good preparation for the Asian Games (ASIAD) in Guangzhou next month."

Viet Nam, South Korea, and Japan are the three strongest Asian countries in the format and will be the main contenders for medal places.

Vu's main opponents at the ASIAD, South Koreans Kym Kyung-roul, Choi Sung-won, and Heo Jung-han and Japan's Ryuuji Umeda, will also compete in the world champs.

After the event, the HCM City-born will play in the Three Cushion Masters in France before flying to Guangzhou for the ASIAD.

The three-cushion event offers Viet Nam one of their best medal hopes. At the 2006 ASIAD in Doha, Qatar, Vu had to settle for a silver medal after losing to Umeda in the final.

Vu, 30, also won a silver medal at 2009 the Asian Indoor Games in Viet Nam. — VNS

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Dong Nai sets up U.21 final against Nghe An

Dong Nai will face Nghe An in the final match of the 2010 National U.21 football competition after a 1-0 win over Binh Dinh in Gia Lai on Friday.

The new squad has proved very strong at the 14th edition of the Thanh Nien-sponsored event this year, and with Binh Dinh also a familiar name at the contest, the semifinal at Pleiku Stadium was expected to be a hard fought match.

The expectations were not belied. Both teams played hard, attacking football, but their defenders proved equal to the task. The first half ended without a goal.

The second half continued to be exciting but a handball by a Binh Dinh player in the penalty area 15 minutes from full time cost them dear.

Huu Phat made no mistake from the penalty spot, helping Dong Nai advance to the final match of the country’s number one youth football contest where they will challenge Nghe An, who’ve won the event for three consecutive years from 2000 to 2002.

In an earlier semifinal match on Thursday, Nghe An overcame hosts Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) in another close encounter.

The Central Highlands team took the lead just 10 minutes before full time, but Nghe An didn’t give up. The found the equalizer in the final seconds of the game and went on to beat the hosts 5-4 in the penalty shootout.

Semifinal losers HAGL and Dong Nai both shared the third place, each getting a VND60 million cash prize.

The final match between Nghe An and Dong Nai will take place at Pleiku Stadium on Sunday, October 17.

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Dong Nai sets up U.21 final against Nghe An

Dong Nai will face Nghe An in the final match of the 2010 National U.21 football competition after a 1-0 win over Binh Dinh in Gia Lai on Friday.

The new squad has proved very strong at the 14th edition of the Thanh Nien-sponsored event this year, and with Binh Dinh also a familiar name at the contest, the semifinal at Pleiku Stadium was expected to be a hard fought match.

The expectations were not belied. Both teams played hard, attacking football, but their defenders proved equal to the task. The first half ended without a goal.

The second half continued to be exciting but a handball by a Binh Dinh player in the penalty area 15 minutes from full time cost them dear.

Huu Phat made no mistake from the penalty spot, helping Dong Nai advance to the final match of the country’s number one youth football contest where they will challenge Nghe An, who’ve won the event for three consecutive years from 2000 to 2002.

In an earlier semifinal match on Thursday, Nghe An overcame hosts Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) in another close encounter.

The Central Highlands team took the lead just 10 minutes before full time, but Nghe An didn’t give up. The found the equalizer in the final seconds of the game and went on to beat the hosts 5-4 in the penalty shootout.

Semifinal losers HAGL and Dong Nai both shared the third place, each getting a VND60 million cash prize.

The final match between Nghe An and Dong Nai will take place at Pleiku Stadium on Sunday, October 17.

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