Vietnam

Saigoneer Bookshelf: A Touch of Magical Realism in ‘The Cemetery of Chua Village’

Vietnam transitioned to a market economy like an old train lurching to life: momentous shakes and shudders, steam bursting out busted gaskets, disheveled cargo tumbling from luggage racks, sparks shooting off wheels screeching across warped rails and a whistle ripping into the placid sky. As the government enacted new policies, tossing aside the institutions to […]

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Kevin Lee

In Saigon’s Latest Indie Workshop, a Heaven for Eco-Friendly Risograph Prints (via Saigoneer)

Nestled above inpages in Thao Dien, a new print studio is offering artists and other creatives a new way to express their ideas and visions. Kho Muc is the brainchild of a team including Long Dang and Simon Phan, who have been responsible for other creative endeavors such as Saigon Artbook. The name of the studio

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Son mai

‘Son mai’ – the painstaking Vietnamese art of lacquer painting (via Tuoi Tre News)

Once chiefly employed in the decoration of wooden objects, son mai, or lacquer painting, has grown over the last century into a freestanding art form in Vietnam, to a point where it is now widely considered to be the country’s national painting technique. The traditional Vietnamese lacquer used in son mai is made by mixing the resin

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Hanoi EDM

Organizers decry last-minute cancelation of Hanoi EDM festival (via Tuoi Tre News)

An EDM (electronic dance music) festival scheduled to take place just outside Hanoi from November 23 to 25 was asked to cancel only hours before its opening, despite sold tickets and foreign and local artists and volunteers already heading to the venue. Artists and visitors on dozens of buses traveling some 40 kilometers from central

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Finding Phong

Vietnam’s Award-Winning Documentary About a Trans Woman (via Saigoneer)

A critically acclaimed documentary about a member of Vietnam’s trans community will finally see an official premiere in Vietnam next month. Finding Phong, or Di Tim Phong in Vietnamese, tells the story of the titular character, a trans woman named Le Anh Phong who documented the journey from when she decided to undergo sex reassignment surgery to

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Smoking

Vietnam to Ban Gratuitous Smoking in Movies, Stage Productions (via Saigoneer)

Starting from November, filmmakers will need to carefully deliberate their decision to include smoking in their works or risk the ire of the culture ministry. As Tuoi Tre reports, from November 15 this year, Circular 25 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on smoking in theatrical works will officially take effect, tightening the ministry’s control

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Third Wife

Vietnamese director’s debut feature The Third Wife wins award at Toronto Film Festival

The directorial debut from Nguyen Phuong Anh, also known as Ash Mayfair, won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award at last week’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The Third Wife tells the story of a 14-year-old girl in northern Vietnam who becomes the third wife of a wealthy 19th-century landowner and must learn the

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dep to ong

How Dép Tổ Ong Goes From Timeless Family Keepsake to Millennial Icon (via Saigoneer)

Back in 2014, amid the weekly cycle of news, a particular image was more striking than most: Doctor and Professor Ngo Bao Chau stood in the middle of a makeshift classroom in a rural village in Thai Nguyen Province while teaching local kids. Chau is a Vietnamese-French mathematician who’s currently based at the University of Chicago, USA,

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Tuan Le

Q&A: AO Show Creative Director Tuan Le Had a Vision for Performance Art in Vietnam (via Saigoneer)

Some may say that modern performance art in Vietnam looks the way it does thanks to the works of Tuan Le and his colleagues. Almost two decades into a series of smashing theatrical successes across the country, Le invites Saigoneer into the creative power behind AO, Teh Dar, and Lang Toi. About 17 years ago, Le decided to turn his

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Vietnamese artist wins prestigious Signature Art Prize (via SEA Globe)

In a dark room, two suspended video screens play images of rice paddies and derelict schoolrooms in rural Vietnam. Where one might expect to see adults, there are only children: working in the fields, resting in their dormitory, or studying soberly in the classroom. At times, children’s bodies are strewn across the agricultural landscape, leaving

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Deadmau5 Arrives in Saigon as the City’s Electronic Dance Music Scene Expands (via Saigoneer)

Thousands of dancing fans gathered before an enormous digital cube covered in screens displaying memes, video game cutscenes, clips of endorphin-addled cartoon cats and random flashings of screensaver-esque visualizations while synthesizer strings slithered across a thumping bassline punctuated with warped blurts distorted to the point of warbling. This overwhelming performance was all controlled by the

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Mai Khoi Detained

Mai Khoi, ‘Vietnam’s Lady Gaga’, detained for eight hours in Hanoi after European tour (via SEA Globe)

Vietnamese singer and political activist Mai Khoi was detained for eight hours in a move that Human Rights Watch says points to intensified government efforts to stifle political opposition Vietnamese singer and pro-democracy activist Mai Khoi was detained for eight hours by authorities at Hanoi airport yesterday morning as part of an ongoing government crackdown

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Mekong Review

Mekong Review, The Accidental Southeast Asian Literary Journal (via Eksentrika)

Good Southeast Asian literature and its related commentary can be hard to find for some of the people living in this region’s – however, it is possible. One such gem is the Mekong Review, a quarterly literary journal that aims to bring the region’s literary and intellectual life to a broader audience. Publishing fiction, essays, reviews

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radar-hanoi-go-lim
Lizo Glennard

The Facetious Gender Politics of Go Lim, Hanoi’s Feminist Post-Punk Quintet (via Saigoneer)

In an example of cruel irony, October 20 is when we celebrate annual Vietnam Women’s Day, and also the anniversary of the passing of Mai Nga (commonly known as Nga Nhi), the lead singer of Go Lim – a Hanoi-based female post-punk band that, albeit short-lived, struck a blow for women’s representation in rock and

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Eva Korinkova

Vietnam’s answer to Pussy Riot furiously dissents (via The Sydney Morning Herald)

Hanoi: Mai Khoi Do Nguyen has long been described as Vietnam’s Lady Gaga. In more recent years, as her political activism has come to the fore, her expressions of rude dissent, she has also been compared to Russia’s infamous protest band, Pussy Riot. Both comparisons hold true, and yet neither do. Mai Khoi is both a serious

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Art, Autism and Love

Art, autism and love: the world of Nem

The Asia Europe Foundation’s Culture360 and ArtsEquator present a series of 5 co-commissioned articles that look at arts groups, artists and performances in Southeast Asia that are comprised of or address artists with disabilities. In this fifth and final article in the series, Ha Dao meets with Nem, 11, a prolific young artist in Vietnam with autism,

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Yellow Music (via Mekong Review)

“We arrive at Dan Sinh market in Ho Chi Minh City on a sweltering afternoon. The monsoon season is just starting. After parking our scooters, we dive into the stands, which sell everything from army apparel to fruit and vegetables. A middle-aged man directs us to an antique stall. Immediately I spot discs inside a

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Artists, writers urged to promote culture, people development [Vietnam]

“President Tran Dai Quang has asked artists and writers to show stronger performance in implementing the Party and State’s orientations in building literature and art in the new period as well as developing the culture and people of Vietnam to suit the requirements of the country’s sustainable development. The President made the request while addressing

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Two Vietnamese Film Projects Gain Support from Cannes Festival [Vietnam]

“Two Vietnamese directors — Pham Ngoc Lan with the film project “Culi Never Cries” and Le Bao with “Taste” — are amongst the 16 directors that have made their way to the L’Atelier supporting programme for young filmmakers, organised by the film foundation Cinéfondation of the Cannes Film Festival. The sixteen directors whose projects have

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#not pho your entertainment [Vietnam]

“Over the past year and a half, May Tran (writer, student and professional procrastinator of Vietnamese descent) has been inundated with PR for two professional and sixteen-hundred amateur productions of Miss Saigon. The following piece has been cobbled together from segments of the largely incomprehensible fury essays she wrote during her frequent and violent rage

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Public Art in Ho Chi Minh City

As a communist country, Vietnam isn’t always the easiest place to find publicly displayed art, especially modern or controversial work. However, the country seems to be changing – and Ho Chi Minh City is leading the way. Here are some of the best places to see public art in the city. Tags: Spaces  The Culture Trip

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Supernatural Vietnamese Comic “Gateway to Underworld” Wins International Manga Award

Can Tieu Hy is one of the most prominent young artists in the Vietnamese comic scene, known for her refined drawing techniques and stories with mysterious, supernatural elements. From nearly 300 submissions, hers was one of a total of 14 winners, including one Gold Award and three Silver Award winners, that were chosen following the selection

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