STATUE OF HỒ - The copper statue “Bác Hồ với Thiếu Nhi” (Uncle Hồ with Children) created by late artist Diệp Minh Châu is one of 50 outstanding literary and arts works of HCM City over the past 50 years. Photo courtesy of Children's Cultural House

HCM CITY – HCM City has announced a list of 50 outstanding literary and arts works over the past 50 years to mark the 50th anniversary of Southern Liberation and National Reunification (April 30, 2025).

The list was voted on by around 50,000 residents from February 24 to March 9 and then re-selected by reputed scholars and researchers.

It includes five works in fine art, five in photography, five in architecture, five in literature, five in ethnic minority literature, seven in music, five in dance, seven in theatre and six in cinema.

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thúy, deputy director of the Department of Culture and Sports, emphasised that the artists created numerous excellent literary and art works expressed in diverse forms, reflecting deep love for the city and its people.

One of the highlights is the copper statue “Bác Hồ với Thiếu Nhi” (Uncle Hồ with Children) created by late artist Diệp Minh Châu in 1990 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of President Hồ Chí Minh's birth.

The statue was installed in front of the People’s Committee’s headquarters in 1993 and moved to the Children’s Cultural House in 2004.

Late composer Xuân Hồng’s Mùa Xuân Trên Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh (Spring in HCM City) is an all-time favourite song of the city’s people. It was written from 1975 to 1978 to celebrate independence and national reunification.

The cinema category’s highlight is Cánh Đồng Hoang (The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone), a 1979 drama directed by late People’s Artist Nguyễn Hồng Sến.

The movie focuses on a guerrilla couple and their newborn son struggling to survive in the Đồng Tháp Mười region in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta. It won the Gold Medal and the Prix FIPRESCI at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1981.

SOUTHERN ART - The cải lương (reformed opera) play Người Ven Đô (Farmers of the South), written by playwright Minh Khoa, is one of the city’s excellent theatrical works. It was restaged by the Đại Việt cải lương Theatre in 2024. Photo courtesy of Đại Việt Theatre

The cải lương (reformed opera) play Người Ven Đô (Farmers of the South), written by playwright Minh Khoa, is one of the city’s excellent theatrical works.

The play was first performed in 1976 by the Sài Gòn 1 cải lương troupe.

It portrays soldiers and people living in Củ Chi guerrilla warfare tunnels in Củ Chi District in the 1960s.

The tunnels were built by South Vietnamese liberation forces as shelter from the US and Sài Gòn troops during the war, contributing to outstanding victories of the army and people of Củ Chi during the resistance war.

The Đại Việt Cải Lương Theatre restaged the play in May 2024.

The list also names a book of short stories and essays titled Quê Hương Địa Đạo (Home of Tunnels) by late author Viễn Phương, and a literary work titled Học Tập Tấm Gương Đạo Đức Và Tư Tưởng Hồ Chí Minh Về Chính Sách Đoàn Kết Dân Tộc (Studying President Hồ Chí Minh’s Morality and Thoughts of National Unity Policy) by Trần Thanh Pôn.

Dương Cẩm Thúy, chairwoman of the HCM City Cinema Association, said that through the voting process, the organisers expected to introduce and promote the city’s excellent literary and arts works to the public.

She added that the list would also be a guide for writers and artists to create better works, which not only offer entertainment to people but also spread ideological education and humanitarian values, contributing to the sustainable development of the city’s literature and arts scene. – VNS