Finland hopes to expand cultural cooperation with Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) - A week of Finnish film in Vietnam will begin in Hanoi on April 28 as part of a series of cultural cooperation activities between Vietnam and Finland .

Announcing the Finnish film week in Hanoi to the press on Apr. 20, Finnish
Ambassador to Vietnam Pekka Hyvomen said that since 1974, Finland and Vietnam
have worked together in the official development assistance field and now
Finland hopes to make bilateral relations more versatile, including cultural
cooperation.

Five well-known films in Finland will be screened during the week, including
"Black Ice", "Ambush". "Juha", "Mother of Mine" and " Leaning Tower ". The
Finnish films will be showed with English subtitles at the Hanoi Cinema Club.

After the film week, in the framework of the European Days in Vietnam scheduled
to begin on May 9, Finland will hold a piano and cello duo musical performance
in Hanoi on May 20 at the French Cultural Centre.

The Finnish Ambassador said that in May a Vietnamese art exhibition will be held
in Helsinki and more cultural events are planned for this year.

Earlier in March, the Finnish embassy presented to the public a national epic of
Vietnam, Su Thi Con Chau Mon Man (Epics of Mon Man's Offsping) of author Bui Viet
Hoa published by the Cultural Publishing House in cooperation with the Juminkeko
fund of Finland.

The compiling work of the epic poems commenced in June 2002 with funding from the
Finnish Foreign Ministry. The Finnish President described it as a typical work in
Finland-Vietnam cultural cooperation.

Ambassador Pekka Hyvonen said Finland will fund the translation of the epic
poems into English.-Enditem