Listeners' letters sent to VOV's English service

A: With modern technology, dropping something off at the post office has become less of the norm. VOVWorld Service has received fewer letters from listeners than 5 years ago, just about 40 letters together with over 300 emails and phone calls a week.

B: I’m reading a letter from Paul Simmonds of Australia. He always sends us photos of the wildlife where he lives with a reception report. In the photos, we can see how lovely the animals living around his house are!

A: Paul lives on a small property in Ashbourne, about 65 km south-south-east of the city of Adelaide. He told us that various types of wildlife can be found on his property and the surrounding countryside, including Western grey kangaroos, koalas, and various birds. We’ll post the photos on the Letter Box menu on our website at vovworld.vn

B: Paul noted: “The overall reception of your station on August 21 on the frequency of 9840khz was good. Your signal strength was strong and there was only slight fading of the signal. There was some interference from RTM Sawawak broadcasting on the frequency of 9835khz. The signal was ‘bleeding over’ to your frequency.”

A: Thank you very much Paul. Your detailed notice is useful for our technicians to monitor our overseas broadcast. We also appreciate the story of your family, your children, and the environment where you are living. We hope to receive more letters from you soon.

B: Ashik Eqbal Tokon of Bangladesh told us that in the last couple of days, it was a little difficult for him to listen to VOV’s English program crystal clear in Bangladesh. For example, on November 8^th at 16:00 UTC on the frequency of 7220khz, the reception had some noise with poor signal strength. He has to use an outdoor loop to make it clear.

A: Thank you Ashik for your notice and the attached audio files, which are useful for our technicians to monitor the transmission quality.

B: Ding Lu, a listener from China, told us that he received the English language program signals on the frequencies of 7220khz, 9730khz, and 11885khz. The signal was very strong.

A: Thank you Lu for listening to VOV’s English program on different frequencies for compassion and sending us the wave files. We hope to receive more feedback from listeners from other parts of the world on VOV’s shortwave frequencies in winter broadcast.

B: Bidhan Chandra Sanyal of India emailed us on Tuesday to say that VOV’s Current Affairs on the G20 summit 2022 and challenging missions is very timely. 

A: He wrote: “The two-day G20 Summit is very important. It focuses on three issues: food and energy security, global health architecture, and digital transformation. All eyes are on what direction Russia will take, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and elsewhere.  The world is watching with keen interest to see what role the G20 plays in making the world safer and more prosperous. Many thanks to the Voice of Vietnam for shedding light on this issue.”

B: S B Sharma, President of the SBS World Listeners’ Club of India, listened to last week’s Letter Box, which is very informative and interesting. VOV talked about straw or tube liquor, a unique drink of ethnic groups.

A: Sharma said: “Rice liquor is commonly made and used throughout the world, but taste getting varying, because every nation has their own process of making rice liquor and adding herbs and flavors. In my country there is also rice liquor and taste getting varying from state to state. Thanks for informative and interesting programs.”

B: Thank you all for sharing your opinions on VOV’s commentaries and reports. Later in the show, we’ll review some winners from the just concluded Hanoi International Film Festival.

A: Last week the Hanoi International Film Festival (Haniff) attracted a lot of our listener’s attention. They said that it’s a pity that the films are only screened at cinemas in Hanoi.

B: Danilo P. Delfin, M.D. of the Philippineswants to hear about the movie Kontrabida-The Villain of the Philippines, which was registered for the long film category at Haniff.

A: This year’s film festival attracted 123 cinematographic works from countries and territories. The Network for Promotion and Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award was given to the films Kontrabida-The villain of the Philippines and Bone Marrow from Iran.

B: “Paloma” of Brazil won the “Best Feature –Length Film” and “Actress in a leading role” awards. With cinematic frames and hauntingly emotional content, Paloma by Director Marcelo Gomes tells not only the story of small, anonymous people, but also conveys a strong message about the right of people of the LGBT communityto live and pursue happiness.

A: Due to busy work, director Marcelo Gomes could not go to Hanoi to attend HANIFF VI. A representative of the film delegation told VOV: “Paloma is really a touching and moving story with the strong and beautiful characters. We can find in Paloma both faith and prejudice, love and hate. And it’s so important that we recognize that other stories are possible to be seen on the movie screen and touch us deeply. This award reinforces that representativity in cinema matters and it’s urgent.”

B: The “Best Short Film” award went to “Pao’s Forest” by director Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat of Vietnam. Dat said: “The Hanoi International Film Festival is an opportunity for me to introduce the film to a larger audience in Vietnam and the world. It’s a story of a H’Mong boy, who had an arranged-marriage at 14-years-old. When he was 18, he felt in love with a girl for the first time. He had to decide between personal love and family responsibility. It’s the story of my friend named Phá.”

A: Other awards included the Best Actor, the Best Feature Film Director, the Best Short-Film Director, and the Best Young Short-Film Director.

B:Thank you, listeners, for tuning in to VOV and sharing your views. We welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVWorld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@v ov.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs.

A: Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platforms, to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye.