Vietnam is preparing to celebrate its national day at Expo 2020 in Dubai.

Proceedings will begin at 10:15 on December 30th with an opening flag-raising ceremony and a beautiful traditional art performance.

This will take place at Al Wasl Plaza in the very heart of the event, with Ta Quang Dong, the Vietnam deputy minister of culture, sports and tourism, on hand to lead proceedings.

The opening will be followed by an exciting street parade along Ghaf Avenue and around the Expo grounds.

The event will welcome the participation of 54 artists from the People’s Police Academy Vietnamese Traditional Drum Troupe.

During a day of celebration, industry leaders and government officials from Vietnam will also meet for a country business briefing in the afternoon themed ‘Vietnam: The Land of Opportunity’.

Eternal Flow

In the evening, the Vietnam pavilion will welcome the Eternal Flow, a show designed to introduce to the world a Vietnam with a rich culture and imbued with national identity.

Showcasing the cultural quintessence of the country, the event will highlight the traditional values of the community of 54 ethnic groups that will continue to be cared for, preserved and promoted during the sustainable development of the country.

The event will portray a panorama of a colourful Vietnam with cultural characteristics stretching from north to south, all forming creating a symphony of timbre that blends with the majestic poetic features of the mountains and rivers of Vietnam.

In particular, brocade hand-woven products of ethnic minorities are used and designed by the organisers into unique applied fashion collections.

The blend of traditional national costumes, designed by designers Diego (Chula), Vu Viet Ha, and Ly Qui Khanh, blows a new breath into the Vietnamese national costume.

The show contributes to promoting the cultural value of traditional brocade weaving; introduce and promote to domestic and foreign tourists about applied products of the ethnic minorities in Vietnam.

At the same time it supports brocade weaving products in the international market, aiming to build a national brand in the culture and garment industry from brocade.

Vietnamese Film Week

Vietnamese Film Week will follow at Expo 2020, taking place from December 30th until January 5th.

The first major film event in the Middle East from the country, it is supported by Netflix and will screen seven internationally acclaimed Vietnamese movies produced within the past five years.

The Film Week will kick off on December 30th at Terra Auditorium with ‘Dad, I’m Sorry,’ Vietnam’s highest-grossing movie of all time.

Recently winning the prestigious Silver Lotus for Best Feature Film at the Vietnamese National Film Festival 2021, the film centres around Sang, an aging motorbike driver who continually sacrifices for his family.

The following day, the Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre will screen ‘Furie,’ an action and martial arts masterpiece directed by Le Van Kiet.

The piece Furie stars Veronica Ngo as Hai Phuong, an ex-gangster living a peaceful life in the countryside who is forced to revisit her violent past when her daughter is kidnapped.

Vietnamese Film Week will also feature ‘Father and Son’ (January 1st at Terra Auditorium), a touching family movie that won accolades at the Arizona International Film Festival 2017, Asian Film Festival Barcelona 2019, and Boston International Film Festival 2019.

The film was the only Vietnamese movie to be screened at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in 2020.

Other titles include ‘Dreamy Eye,’ an unrequited love story between two childhood friends; ‘The Tailor,’ a comedy putting the Vietnamese traditional dress (Ao dai) in the spotlight; ‘Yellow Flower on the Green Grass,’ a tender tale of innocent love, friendship and brotherhood with a magnificent scene of Vietnamese landscapes; and international sensation ‘Yen’s Life,’ about a young woman forced into marriage at the age of ten.

According to the commissioner general of Vietnam at Expo 2020 Dubai, Nguyen Phuong Hoa, the seven movies all reflect current and contemporary themes and will appeal to a wide range of audiences.

“People no longer see Viet Nam as a country of war. We want to show our Viet Nam as a peaceful but dynamic country, always treasuring its national identity and human values,” said Hoa.