Astral Travelling with The Mukang Fields and Vu Nhat Tan
Sat 31 May 2014, 8 pm
ATK
73a Mai Hac De, Hanoi
Hao Nam and New Jersey share the launch pad as Hanoi’s live electronica stalwart – sound-artist Vu Nhat Tan – joins forces with The Mukang Fields (Bill Badger) for a night of live electronic music and astral travel.
Having played many of the same events, this is their first true collaboration. While the two musicians have found similar musical ground, the varied paths to get there make this music a unique sonic experience.
Each will play his own solo set, and then the two will play material they have written together – for electronic instruments and also for their roots in piano and percussion.
One of the “godfathers” of Hanoi’s electronica scene, Vu Nhat Tan began studying piano at Vietnam National Academy of Music in Hanoi in 1980, and turned his attention to digital in 2000, studying computer music in Cologne, Germany.
He has performed around the world including the Louisiana Festival of Contemporary Music in Baton Rouge, the Totally Huge New Music Festival in Perth, the Asian Music Festival in Tokyo, the Arts Network Asia in Singapore and the Space of Traditional and Contemporary Music in China.
Today Tan remains focused on electronic music, performing solo works for laptop, electronic equipment and sound instruments, while still returning to piano, and has played numerous concerts in collaboration with other local and international artists in Vietnam.
The Mukang Fields have been making original music in Vietnam since 1997. Having collaborated on percussion with myriad Hanoi music projects and recorded two solo albums, the Fields are delving further into the psychedelic sounds of live electronica, writing songs for Jupiter T analog synthesizer, drum machine and Animoog.
Entry VND 50,000
Australian Rock’n’roll Showcase with The Love Junkies
Fri 30 May 2014, 8 pm
Holyland
89 Bui Ngoc Duong, Hanoi
Celebrate the start of summer with a showcase of the best sounds Hanoi and the Great Southern Land have to offer.
Featuring: The Love Junkies (AU) – The Offensive (VN) – Cát (VN)
Take a dose of late 60’s soul grooves, a shot of delta blues, add a hefty dash of grunge, light it all up with a short fuse and you have the newest rising stars from Perth’s exploding rock scene – The Love Junkies.
Straight from their international debut at Asia’s biggest music industry showcase, Music Matters in Singapore, with three 2013 Western Australian Music Awards under their belt The Love Junkies are ready to set Hanoi on fire!
Joined by Hanoi punk stalwarts The Offensive and homegrown new rock favourites Cát (The Sand), this is the show not to miss this summer!
Tickets: 50,000 VND at the door
Jazz Nights with Carl Winther and Johnny Åman
29, 30, 31 May and 01 Jun 2014, 8.30 pm
Oyster Bar, Don’s Tay Ho
16 Quang An, Hanoi
You are invited to jam sessions with Carl Winther and Johnny Åman.
Free entry.
Group Exhibition “Out of Nowhere”
Opening: Fri 30 May 2014, 5.30 – 8.30 pm
Exhibition: 30 May – 27 Jul 2014
Saola
1 Le Thi Hong Gam Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Opening hours: 9 am – 5 pm, Tuesday – Saturday and by appointment
Come to the grand opening of Sao La, a non-profit initiative located on the grounds of the HCMC Fine Art Museum. Sao La’s much anticipated inaugural show OUT OF NOWHERE features work in a range of media from painting and photography to installation and video by ten young artists based in Saigon: Do Thanh Lang, Hoang Nam Viet, Le Nguyen Duy Phuong, Le Vu Anh Nhi, Ngo Dinh Bao Chau, Nguyen Duc Dat, Nguyen Uyen Minh, Nguyen Vuong Thao, Pham Vuong and Tran Minh Duc.
Revealing the dynamic and diverse creative voices in the community, the exhibition brings together a group of artists with disparate ideas and practices working in a range of media from painting and photography to video and installation. By featuring in its inaugural show a number of emerging artists, many of whom have never held public exhibitions before, Sao La demonstrates its commitment to working with creatives outside the established art community. OUT OF NOWHERE is the starting point where ideas can be exchanged and stories told.
Youth Melody Program in May: Concert with Artists from University of North Texas
Thu 29 May 2014, 8 pm
HCMC Opera House
Following free Youth Melody program every month, you are invited to the May concert with the performance of 5 artists and conductors Clay Couturiaux from University of North Texas (United States) as well as HCMC Symphony Orchestra. Don’t miss the chance to enjoy their talent through famous works of W.A.Mozart, J.Brahms, etc.
Program
Part I
Edward Elgar Introduction and Allegro for String Quartet and String Orchestra, op. 47
Violin I: Felix Olschofka
Violin II: Vu Viet Chuong
Viola: Daphne Gerling
Cello: Grace Ho
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola orchestra in E-Flat Major, K.364
I. Allegro maestoso
I. Andante
II. Presto
Violin: Felix Olschofka
Viola: Daphne Gerling
Part II
Johannes Brahms Concerto for violin, cello orchestra in A Minor, op. 102
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Vivace non troppo
Violin: Vu Viet Chuong
Cello: Dan Totan
Conductor: Clay Couturiaux
Performers: HBSO Symphony Orchestra
Tickets
Free tickets are being distributed at:
– Student Support Center HCMC, 33 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai – Ben Nghe Ward – District 1 – Ho Chi Minh City, Tel: 08.38274709
– Ticket Office at Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), 7 Lam Son Square, District 1, HCMC., Viet Nam, Tel: 08 3823 7419, Ms. Huong: 0989874517.
HCMC Opera House
No. 7 Lam Son Square, D.1, HCMC
Exhibition “Carefree Flowers”
Exhibition: 26 May – 06 Jun 2014
Casa Italia
18 Le Phung Hieu, Hanoi
The exhibition “Carefree Flowers” presents 18 paintings of Prof. Arch. Hoang Dao Kinh painted in 2014 with the wish that art will release all the sad thoughts in the soul.
The exhibition is held within the framework of Y-Viet 2014 Programme, with the support of the Embassy of Italy in Hanoi and the collaboration of Uni-Italia Vietnam. During the exhibition there is a Conference on Conservation and Restoration and courses in Italy on this field.
It is expected that several of 18 paintings will be sold to fund a scholarship for Master level in Conservation and Restoration. If you are interested in the programme please contact Office of Uni- Italia Vietnam via info@uni-italia.vn (uni-italia.vn hoặc duhocy.vn).
Prof. Dott. Arch. Hoang Dao Kinh is an expert in Conservation and Restoration of Heritages, Architectures and Urbans, Architectural critics and teaching in several architectural institutions.
He has participated in researches, projects and implements of hundreds of heritages in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, towers of Cham, … and in Poland, Mongolia. For more than 10 years since 2003, he has collaborated with Italian experts in Project of Restoration for G towers in My Son Sanctuary, sponsored by Italian Government through UNESCO. He is the author of 4 books on conservation and restoration of cultural heritages.
During the 80s, Hoang Dao Kinh held his exhibitions in Hanoi, Hue and Warsaw (Poland). In 2013, he presented 40 paintings in the Exhibition “Nostalgia and Flowers” in Hanoi and Hue.
Experimental Concert – ‘Arrival Cities: Hanoi’
Thu 29 May 2014, 8 pm
Manzi Art Space
14 Phan Huy Ich, Hanoi
Manzi is proud to bring you an experimental concert by contemporary music group ‘The Six Tones’ and Swedish composer Kent Olofsson entitled ‘Arrival Cities: Hanoi’. The music is part of an emerging bigger project titled Arrival Cities: Hanoi and will become a large-scale piece in several installments. The first version, for three performers, video and electronics will be premiered in Sweden in December 2014. The final version will be a big installation work and a triple concerto for three soloists, video and orchestra to be finished in 2016. The Six Tones have spent a few weeks in Hanoi working with the Swedish director and playwright Jorgen Dahlqvist, filming in various sites in Hanoi and also working with an actor in the Tuồng theatre.
The Canadian journalist Doug Saunders discusses 21st century migration in his book entitled “Arrival Cities” (2010). Building on research on five continents, his book chronicles the final shift of human populations from rural to urban areas, which Saunders argues is the most important development of the 21st-century. Saunders argues that this migration creates “arrival cities,” neighbourhoods and slums on the urban margins that are linked both to villages and to core cities, and that the fate of these centres is crucial to the fortunes of nations.
Arrival Cities: Hanoi deals with the dissolution of the relationship with tradition that urbanization brings. This is the third installment in a series of experimental music theatre productions on migration entitled “Arrival Cities”. Arrival Cities: Hanoi builds a narrative from the life story of Lưu Ngọc Nam, an actor and costume maker in traditional Tuồng theatre. In Arrival Cities, his travels in the country, the homesickness and the tension between traditions that he experiences becomes the source for a further exploration of hand gesture in Tuồng theatre and an expansive portrait of a city vibrant of memories from the Vietnamese countryside.
Free tickets.
Due to limited seating capacity, please pre-register at manzihanoi@gmail.com before 8.00 p.m, Tues, 27 May 2014.
Exhibition “Affordable Art” at Dong Phong Gallery
Exhibition: 29 May – 29 Jun 2014
Dong Phong Art Gallery
03 Ly Dao Thanh Street
Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Dong Phong Art Gallery is pleased to present more than 30 works by some of the best artists in Vietnam. The show contains works both by artists with established international reputations and by new and existing talents. These artists have produced a collection of works in collaboration with Dong Phong Art Gallery, which we are now happy to present to our friends and customers.
These accomplished artists have contributed works to the “Affordable Art” show:
Do Minh Tam
Pham An Hai
Le Quy Tong
Ly Hung Anh
Doan Hoang Lam
Ha Manh Thang
Luu Vu Long
Doan Xuan Tang
Vuong Thao
Nguyen Dinh Hoang Viet
This is a rare opportunity to see and acquire works by some of Vietnam’s most prominent artists. The works include oil and acrylic paintings, mixed media art, ink sketches and digital art. The works are available at prices from US$50 – US$500.
Visit Dong Phong Art Gallery in the period May 29th – June 29th to see “Affordable Art – small works by big artists”.
Conference “Meeting with Mây Hồng”
Tue 27 May 2014, 9.30 am
L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội
You are invited to the conference “A meeting with Mây Hồng” on the occasion of publishing her first work titled “Ba áng Mây phiêu rạt sứ bèo”.
Language: Simultaneous translation French – Vietnamese.
For more information, please refer to the Vietnamese version of this post.
The Onion Cellar Book Party
Sun 25 May 2014, 4.30 pm
Hầm Hành
170 Doi Can Str, Hanoi
We at HẦM HÀNH have a bunch of great books… But we’re greedy. We want yours! And we thought: what better match than tea and books?
Here’s what’s better: a lazy Sunday afternoon with tea and books!
Therefore, allow us to introduce THE ONION CELLAR BOOK PARTY
It’s not much of an excuse, but we know it’s good enough for true book lovers: pick a book (or two, or three) you like and want to share with others, bring it to HẦM HÀNH, and READ US A PAGE, OR TWO, OR THREE.
What will it be, then, a short story? Some random pages in your favorite novel? A snippet of philosophy that you connect with? Anything goes, all languages welcome, and all readers receive a free cup of our famous (and beautiful) flower tea.
And we’re not very good at scones yet, but hopefully we can arrange cookies.
So do come, share your love for reading with other lovely like-minded people, and hopefully go back home with a few new reading ideas.
Program for ASEAN Pride Music Festival
Sat 24 May 2014, 1 pm – midnight
American Club
Don’t forget the ASEAN Pride Music Festival this Saturday! Program as follow:
1.00 pm: Door Open
1.15 – 1.45 pm: Tank 27
1.45 – 2.00 pm: DJ Ngoc
2.00 – 2.35 pm: Nok La Fiesta
2.45 – 3.20 pm: Xai
3.20 – 3.40 pm: DJ Ngoc, To Lam (solo)
3.40 – 4.30 pm: Mark Gergis DJ Set
4.30 – 5.20 pm: Stylish Nonsense
5.20 – 5.50 pm: DJ Ngoc / flash mob
5.50 – 6.35 pm: Protocol Afro
6.35 – 6.45 pm: US Embassy
6.45 – 7.10 pm: DJ Ngoc, Ruby Fashion, To Lam The Mix #1, DJ Ngoc
7.10 – 7.55 pm: The Pinholes
7.55 – 8.25 pm: DJ Ngoc
8.25 – 8.35 pm: DJ Ngoc, To Lam The Mix #2
8.35 – 9.10 pm: Recycle
9.20 – 10.05 pm: Big Bag
10.15 – 11.00 pm: DCNXR
11.00 – end: DJ Ngoc
Information about band line-up here.
Tickets:
Free tickets for ASEAN nationals. You can collect tickets from CAMA ATK (73a Mai Hắc Đế – Opening hours: 18h-24h, from Wed to Sat), The Closet (1 Cửa Đông) The American Club (19 Hai Bà Trưng). Passport or ID is required at the entrance.
For everyone else, a limited number of advance tickets priced at 320,000VND are available from the start of May at CAMA ATK, 73A Mai Hac De St.. Tickets at the gate will be 400,000VND.
Book Presentation “Dietro le mie quinte” and Meeting with Author Lorenzo Angeloni
Sun 25 May 2014, 11 am
Casa Italia
18 Le Phung Hieu, Hanoi
Opening hours: 9 am – 9 pm all days
Phone (via Uni – Italia): 043 824 0579
You are invited to the book presentation of ”Dietro le mie quinte” (“Phía sau mỗi người”) and a meeting with the author Lorenzo Angeloni, led by female writer Di Li, with many journalists and other famous writers as guests.
It is in the framework of 4th European Literature Days, part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
“Dietro le mie quinte” (“Phía sau mỗi người” in Vietnamese) is a unique psychological novel by Lorenzo Angeloni, an Italian writer as well as a diplomatist.
Phia sau moi nguoi 2
Language: Vietnamese and Italian
Free admission.
The Book Talk on Fantasy Literature and J. R. R. Tolkien
Fri 23 May 2014, 7.30 pm
Manzi Art Space
Manzi Art Space
14 Phan Huy Ich, Hanoi
Continuing our monthly literature series called ‘The Book Talk’, in collaboration with Nha Nam publishing house and the British Council, the talk this month will focus on fantasy literature and J. R. R. Tolkien.
Free entry.
Please note that the talk will be conducted in Vietnamese only.
Screening of “Broken Flowers” and “The Tree of Life”
Screening of ”Broken Flowers”: Fri 23 May 2014, 7.30 pm
Screening of “The Tree of Life”: Sat 24 May 2014, 2 pm
Centre for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents
51 Tran Hung Dao Str (4th floor), Hanoi
In the last week of Cannes month, you are invited to the screening of 2 other Cannes winners: “Broken Flowers” (Grand Prix at the 2005 Cannes film festival) and “The Tree of Life” (2011 Golden Palm).
Original language with Vietnamese subtitles. The screening is for educational purpose and supportive to TPD Centre’s Young Cinema Fund.
About films
Broken Flowers (2005)
BROKEN FLOWERS is a 2005 French-American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and produced by Jon Kilik and Stacey Smith.
The film focuses on an aging “Don Juan” who embarks on a cross-country journey to track down four of his former lovers after receiving an anonymous letter stating that he has a son. The film stars Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, Julie Delpy, Chloë Sevigny, and Mark Webber.
At the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or and won the Grand Prix.
The Tree of Life (2011)
THE TREE OF LIFE is a 2011 American epic experimental drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain. The film chronicles the origins and meaning of life by way of a middle-aged man’s childhood memories of his family living in 1950s Texas, interspersed with imagery of the origins of the universe and the inception of life on Earth.
After several years in development and missing 2009 and 2010 release dates, the film premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. THE TREE OF LIFE ranks #1 on Metacritic’s “Film Critic Top Ten List of 2011.”
Oil Painting Exhibition “Impression and Dream”
Opening: Mon 26 May 2014, 6 pm
Exhibition: 24 May – 07 Jun 2014
Exhibition Hall
16 Ngo Quyen, Hanoi
You are invited to an oil painting exhibition “Impression Dream” by two artists Do Thu Thuy and Vu Tuyen. Two artists with two completely different styles, but having one thing in common, which is the love for art and oil paintings.
Summer Exhibition by Simon Redington
Exhibition: 11 May – Oct 2014
21North Club
49 Lang Yen Phu, Ho Tay, Hanoi
You are invited to summer exhibition by Simon Redington.
Simon Redington’s work over the last twenty five years has a continuous thread to it, a vibrant jagged energy that is redolent of the past and a visceral insight that simultaneously informs and embraces a contemporary edge.
His latest work is a fusion of 21st century Americana, martial arts forms and media impressions of war. Redington has arranged a vocabulary of symbols to explore a personal view of the prevailing mood in today’s world. Working from bases in London, Vietnam and France he has antennae that are alert to the vibrancy and energy of these varied cultures, absorbing it and re-imagining it.
Music Night with Le Cat Trong Ly “Anh chưa từng có tên”
23 and 24 May 2014, 8 pm
Heritage Space
Dolphin Plaza, 17 Tran Binh, My Dinh, Ha Noi
You are invited to the music night with Le Cat Trong Ly “Anh chưa từng có tên”.
Stick to her simple but characteristic style, Le Cat Trong Ly will play guitar and sing, in cooperation with the 2-member band: Vu Dang Quoc Viet – Piano, Nguyen Thanh Tu – Cello.
For more information about ticket price and how to buy, please visit this link.
Book Presentation “Il cimitero di Praga” (The Prague Cemetery)
Sat 24 May 2014, 10.30 – 11.30 am
Casa Italia
18 Le Phung Hieu, Hanoi
Opening hours: 9 am – 9 pm all days
Phone (via Uni – Italia): 043 824 0579
You are invited to the book presentation of “Il cimitero di Praga” (The Prague Cemetery). It is in the framework of 4th European Literature Days, part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
More than 30 years after publishing his first novel Il nome della rosa (The Name of the Rose) (1980 ), Umberto Eco – an Italian semiotician, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist – published another bestseller titled ”Il cimitero di Praga” (The Prague Cemetery) (Italy, 2010). It is a perfect combination of historical and detective materials, showing a different aspect on history.
Language: Vietnamese
Free admission
Documentary on Vietnamese LGBT Singers Screened at French Film Festival
The Last Journey of Madame Phung – a film project from Nguyen Thi Tham that highlights a group of wandering LGBT Vietnamese singers, was recently screened at the 36th Cinéma du Réel Festival in Paris where it received critical acclaim.
Captivated by the roaming life of these singers, Nguyen Thi Tham joined and filmed the daily routines of the small, ever-wandering troubadour troupe through Vietnam’s poor country side. Overcoming her initial hesitation to spend a year filming, the director was able to capture genuine elements of this so-called “unorthodox” group and breathed real life into the sensitive topic.
Her 86-minute-debut documentary centers on a man named Phung, a former monk who fell in love with another monk and left the pagoda where he had stayed to form the troupe. Though the group of transvestites who wandered the Vietnam’s southern countryside was considered deviant, it drew curiosity and the performers were able to make a living out of it.
The film captures the candidness of the troupe’s daily life – unfavorable weather, coping with ups and downs, hostility and discrimination from locals – and the melancholy scenes of the protagonist’s struggle and eventual death from a critical illness.
Well-cinematographed and intriguing, The Last Journey of Madame Phung projects the raw aspects of life and emotion while showing the common people’s ignorance and prejudice in addition to the group member’s yearnings for life and subsequent disappointment of unattainably fair acknowledgement. It contains a multitude of metaphors for one to absorb, and offers a chance for sharing and understanding.
Rock Concert with Dissonant Nation
Sat 31 May 2014, 8 pm
L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội
You are invited to the Rock concert with Dissonant Nation.
With the resonating album titled WE play We are in their credit, the trio from Aubagne started a dynamic style of rock performed in 3 languages: French, English and Marseilles. Their energy guarantees to burn the night away! Expect a vigorous yet refreshing performance that will certainly bring in a good mood.
Tickets:
Ticket price: 120 000 VND
Special price for members of L’Espace and students: 60 000 VND
Tickets are available at L’Espace from 26 Apr.
Spring Concert – Classical Voices
Fri 30 May 2014, 7.30 pm
HCMC Conservatory of Music
112 Nguyen Du, Dist 1, HCMC
Sat 31 May 2014, 7.30 pm
RMIT
702 Nguyen Van Linh, Dist 7, HCMC
Come to the spring concert, Classical Voices. The concert will feature a delightful mix of Movement 4 from Brahms Ein Deutches Requiem (How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place), Handel’s Chandos Anthem Number 2, Morten Lauridsen’s setting of Ave Maria, a newly transcribed piece by Michel Richard de Lalande, and Mozart’s Trinitatis Mass.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased online here and are available as follows:
Regular admission: 300,000 VND
VIP admission: 500,000 VND
Student Admission: 100,000 VND
Screening of “Le Jour des Corneilles”
Fri 30 May 2014, 8 pm
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội
You are invited to the animated film screening “The Day of the Crows” (France, 2010, 96 mins) directed by Jean Christophe Dessaint. based on a novel with the same title by Jean-François Beauchemin.
“What a beautiful animated film! A world of unique, strong emotions created by voices which express the happiness”
For more information about synopsis, please see L’Espace website (in French) or refer to the Vietnamese version of this post.
Language: French with Vietnamese subtitle.
Tickets:
Ticket price: 40 000 VND
Special price for members of L’Espace and students: 20 000 VND
Tickets are available at L’Espace.
Short Film Festival “Impressions”
28 May and 04 Jun 2014, 7.30 pm
DeciBel Lounge
79/2/5 Phan Ke Binh, D1, HCMC
Impressions is a bi-annual film programme which aims to showcase cutting edge Vietnamese and South East Asian short films from new, upcoming filmmakers.
The first event, Voices through the Prism, will be organized this year.
15 Vietnamese and Viet Kieu cutting-edge shortfilms, selected from YxineFF Film Festival since its origin in 2010 until today, will be screened over two nights and run for around 90 minutes.
Free entrance.
Rock Concert with Dissonant Nation
Fri 30 May 2014, 9 pm
Q4 / Cargo Bar
7 Nguyen Tat Thanh, D.4, HCMC
Come to a rock concert with Dissonant Nation.
With the resonating album titled We play We are in their credit, the trio from Aubagne started a dynamic style of rock performed in 3 languages: French, English and Marseilles. Their energy guarantees to burn the night away! Expect a vigorous yet refreshing performance that will certainly bring in a good mood.
Composition of the Group:
Lucas Martinez: Vocals / Guitar
Granier Simon: Drums / Chorus
Loic Sanchez: bass / Chorus
Tickets
– On website Ticketbox or call to 0916 001 706 with 100.000 VND
– On the door with 150.000 VND
The band also plays at L’Espace Hanoi on Sat 31 May.
HITS Summer Show “Sweaty Shorts”
Sat 31 May 2014, 3 pm (matinee)
Chez Xuan
41, lane 76, An Duong, Tay Ho, Hanoi
Now in it’s the thirteenth year, Hanoi International Theatre Society (HITS) has continued to blossom with high interest amongst press, volunteers, sponsors, and live theatre lovers, helped by the momentum of many off-shoot productions. Today, HITS’ audience figures have grown tremendously. Our shows play to hundreds of people and are talked about by even more!
From 29 – 31 May 2014, 3 HITS’ “old timers” Kelly Brennan, Christope Barthe and Nadia Engelbrecht, along with HITS’ newer members Nic Sando and Matt Barns are taking on the exciting role of directing. Together, these five directors have selected a series of four one-act plays to be performed during the three days.
About HITS “Sweaty Shorts”
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a sweaty mix of . . . a monkey in a dress, a few too many martinis, some nipple plugs, a dead wife, a cockroach, a rubber tyre and a toilet. Pretty? Pretty bloody exciting! All in the name of comedy.
This summer’s collection of short plays has a little something in store for every palate. One thing we can guarantee is that you will leave with a smile on your face. Even if it is against your better judgment . . .
With each show that HITS puts on, a percentage of the proceeds go to a local charity or organization. In the past, HITS has given grants to local arts foundations, assisted with art scholarships and raised money for various local organizations. With the success of HITS’ last show “Enemies”, performed last December 2013, HITS donated funds to Hagar, a local organization that rehabilitates and empowers women affected by human rights issues. This time around, HITS will continue supporting Hagar by donating proceeds to the organization.
Hagar International is an international organization committed to the recovery, economic empowerment and reintegration of women and children from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and domestic violence.
Tickets
Ticket prices: 200,000 VND and 150,000 VND (matinee)
Tickets are available at:
Chez Xuan, 41, lane 76, An Duong, Tay Ho, Hanoi
Puku, 16 – 18 Tong Duy Tan, Hanoi
Joma, 43 To Ngoc Van, Hanoi
Hanoi Social Club, 6 Hoi Vu, Hanoi
or call Thu at 0904 613 758
Exhibition “Life: Up and Down”
Opening: Fri 30 May 2014, 6 pm
Exhibition: 30 May – 30 June 2014
L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội
You are invited to the painting/photo/poetry exhibition by Eric Huynh, Marie-Cécile Marques and Ton That Thanh Van.
The series of paintings/photos by Eric Parent and Marie-Cécile Marques will feature the contrast between the bustling streets and peaceful life of Vietnamese people.
Through 15 ink paintings by Marie-Cécile Marques and photos by Eric Huynh, the inner and outer, noisiness and serenity will be combined. In particular, these works are painted on Do paper, a unique material of Vietnamese fine art, which is perfect for ink.
Free admission.
Concert of the Trio Alicja Smietana
Wed 28 May 2014, 8 pm
Youth Theater
11 Ngô Thì Nhậm
Hà Nội
Within the framework of the European Days and on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the EU, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Hanoi has the honour to invite you to a Concert of the Trio Alicja Smietana. The Trio will present various kinds of music from classical and traditional melodies to the jazz pieces mixed with the snare drum.
With the participation of artists:
Violinist: Alicja Smietana
Pianist: Grzegorz Mania
Drummer: Adam Czerwinski
About Alicja Smietana
Award-winning violinist Alicja Smietana has a highly successful career as a virtuoso violinist of international reputation. Gaining respect of many world-famous musicians, Alicja has performed as a soloist and chamber musician together with Nigel Kennedy, Gidon Kremer, Ivan Monighetti and others all around the world.
Alicja Smietana
Alicja Smietana performs works from Bach to Contemporary music with – what was described by music critics as – “Extraordinary brilliance and sensibility…”. As a soloist she’s been also performing together with many world-renowned orchestras and ensembles. She’s also been a guest at many prestigious festivals playing as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestra member in Verbier, Les Musiques and Schleswig-Holstein. Since 2003 she’s being invited to play with Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra – an internationally renowned group led by Gidon Kremer – which gave her the opportunity to work closely with many of the world’s finest musicians and conductors of our time.
Free tickets are available from 22nd May 2014 at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Hanoi, 3 Chua Mot Cot (from 8 am) and at Goethe Institute- Hanoi, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc (from 10 am). Tickets will be served on the basis of first come first serve.
An Oboe Music Night – ‘Keri and Friends’
Sun 25 May 2014, 8 pm
Manzi
14 Phan Huy Ich, Hanoi
manzi is proud to bring you a special music night entitled ‘Keri and Friends’
‘Keri and Friends’ is the first ever concert in Hanoi for oboe music. The concert features Dr. Keri E. Mc Carthy from the U.S.A and her oboist friends in Hanoi who are from the Vietnam National Academy of Music, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, and the Vietnam National Opera Ballet.
Artists
– Oboe: Keri E. McCarthy, Ngô Phương Đông, Nguyễn Mạnh Trí, Hoàng Minh Phương, Phan Việt Cường, Đỗ Kiên Cường, Hoàng Mạnh Lâm, Nguyễn Minh Ngọc, Nguyễn Xuân Sơn, Sitthi Sỏn, Lê Ba Anh, Nguyễn Tiến Dũng, Vũ Tuấn Anh, Hoàng Đình Cương
– Piano: Vân Cơ, Lâm Đức Chính
– Cello: Hà Miên
Program
Ensemble – Charle Henry – arr. Andre’ Sablon – It is clearing up
Lê Ba Anh – J.B. Lully – Piosenka
– L.V.Beethoven – Swistak
Nguyễn Tiến Dũng – Glink – Polka
Vũ Tuấn Anh – Mozart – Allegro
Hoàng Đình Cương – Marcello – Concerto in d minor – 1st mvt
Sitthi Sỏn – Schumann – Romanzen No.1
Nguyễn Xuân Sơn – Schumann – Romanzen No.3
Keri E. Mc Carthy – Nguyen Phuc Linh – Romance
Phan Việt Cường – G. Ph. Telemann – Sonata g-moll
Keri E. Mc Carthy – Patricia Morehead – Arioso
– Yii Kah Hoe – My Spirit is Dancing
Keri E. Mc Carthy – Britten – Six Metamorphoses
Hoàng Mạnh Lâm – Hummel, Johann Nepomuk – Introduction, Theme and Variations
Keri E. Mc Carthy – Do Kien Cuong – Three Pieces
Ensemble – Do Kien Cuong – Rice Field
Ticket at door: 150,000 VND or pre-register at manzihanoi@gmail.com before 8PM Friday, 23 May 2014
Info about Dr. Keri E. McCarthy
Dr. Keri E. McCarthy currently teaches as Associate Professor of Oboe and Music History at Washington State University. In 2013 she helped to found the Light through Music project, bringing double reed instruments (oboe and bassoon) and instruction to music centers in Myanmar. In 2011, she completed a Fulbright award in Bangkok, Thailand, researching connections between Thai traditional and contemporary musics, and commissioning Thai and Malaysian composers, and performing new works with professional oboists in the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore. She also completed a 2008 solo tour of Southeast Asia, premiering works by composers from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Keri currently performs as co-principle oboist of the Washington-Idaho Symphony and in the Solstice Wind Quintet. She has held oboe and English horn positions with the Salaya and Evansville Philharmonics and the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with the New Haven, Binghamton, Syracuse, Spokane and Louisville Symphonies, and the Nashville and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestras.
Dr. McCarthy completed her doctorate in Music Literature and Performance at Indiana University under the tutelage of Linda Strommen, Roger Roe, and Ted Baskin, having previously completed her Masters degree with Ronald Roseman at the Yale School of Music, and a Bachelors degree at Ithaca College.
Book Presentation and Screening of the Film Adaption ”Rubinrot”
Sun 25 May 2014, 3 pm
Goethe Institut
56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học
Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Come to a presentation for young readers of the bestseller fantasy novel “Rubinrot” by Kerstin Gier and screening of the film adaption. The book will be presented by Le Quang and Tran Le Thuy Linh. 3 copies will be raffled!
The author reading and film screening is within the context of 4th European Literature Days, part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
Basically Gwendolyn aka Gwen is a relatively normal 16-year-old from London: She visits the 10th class of the Saint Lennox High School and her grades are relatively good. She has a best friend named Leslie and very wiry relatives along with her conceited cousin Charlotte.
But her family has a secret: Cousin Charlotte is a time traveler. At least that is what everybody thinks. For her earliest days the has been prepared to travel through time. Now it seems to be the moment for Charlotte to travel to the past for the first time.
But confusingly, suddenly Gwen instead of Charlotte finds herself in the past turn of the century. Gwen does not only have to cope with the anger in her family but also with the surprising happenings in London at the turn of the century. All this gets even more complicated as Gwen falls in love – with somebody from another century!
This book has everything that makes a book a bestseller for young readers: Love, friendship, adventure and many fantasy elements. It has been translated into 27 languages and now also into Vietnamese by Nha Nam.
Language: Book presentation in Vietnamese. Then the film will be screened (Original Version in German with Vietnamese subtitles).
Free entrance.
A Night at the Opera – Carmen
Sun 25 May 2014, 7 pm
Hanoi Cinematheque
22A Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội
At the end of the alley leading to Artist’s Hotel
Come to the screening of a classic version of Carmen by the composer Georges Bizet.
Carmen is considered by many to be the original verismo (realism) opera that deals with issues faced by regular people, rather than gods, kings, and aristocrats. In the Carmen story, a young soldier falls in love with a gypsy woman who does not reciprocate his feelings. Nevertheless, she manipulates him into freeing her from a jail sentence, then joining a band of smugglers who are operating on the edges of society.
Many consider Carmen to be the perfect opera, combining a universal story with timeless melodies. We will screen what many consider to be the finest film version of the opera. This version uses spoken dialogue between all the musical numbers rather than being sung all the way through. This is the way Bizet intended the opera to be performed; in most versions the dialogue was set to music after Bizet’s death in order to make the realism of the opera less shocking to a nineteenth century audience (based on the assumption that music made the realism less “painful”).
For those with membership at the Cinémathèque, make a reservation as usual by phoning the Cinémathèque, daily between 14:00 – 21:00 at 3936-2648. A limited number of tickets are also available through the Opera Guild, send an email to info@hanoioperaguild.com. A donation of VND 60,000 is suggested.
Photography Exhibition “Now is When”
Opening: Sun 25 May 2014, 5 pm
Exhibition: 25 May – 08 Jun 2014
MODULE 7
83 Xuan Dieu Str, Tay Ho, Hanoi
“Now is when” is the title of the photographic exhibition by Suzette Mitchell on abstractions of Buddhist monks and nuns. The title is a reflection on “being in the present” which is the focus of Buddhism. The images are simple and meditative.
The profits will go to the work of the Charity Organisation of Dinh Quan Pagoda. Through the work of this remarkable nun support is provided to poor cancer patients, disabled children, orphans and poor rural students coming to Hanoi to sit university entrance exams. She also makes chao (rice soup) to feed poor patients.
ASEAN Pride Music Festival – Celebrating Diversity
Sat 24 May 2014, 1 pm – midnight
American Club
19–21 Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi
The United States Embassy in Hanoi and CAMA Vietnam are proud to announce the second annual ASEAN music festival. ASEAN Music Fest returns after its huge inaugural success of last year, this time as ASEAN PRIDE Celebrating Diversity. On Saturday 24 May live music, performances, food and beverage are to be enjoyed throughout the day and night, all set in a beautiful outdoor setting in the heart of Hanoi: the American Club, 19-21 Hai Ba Trung Street.
The day will feature bands from the ASEAN region as well as art and community groups in and around Hanoi. With confirmed acts such as Protocol Afro (Indonesia), Big Bag (Myanmar), The Pinholes (Singapore) and Stylish Nonsense (Thailand), as well as many Vietnamese acts, this event is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to enjoy ASEAN Pride and youth culture in Vietnam. The festival will also feature a creative arts market run by the Hanoi Flea Market, a section for artists, and a children’s play area.
As well as promoting the cultural vibrancy of nations in South East Asia, the festival also aims to raise ASEAN PRIDE awareness. The United States is dedicated to eliminating barriers to equality, ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and engaging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. The United States is committed to working towards creating the brightest future for individuals and a vision which includes equality for the LGBT community. Secretary of State John Kerry maintains promoting LGBT issues abroad is “at the very heart” of U.S. efforts. This is important because it is an affirmation of fundamental freedoms—people taking pride in who they are, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Tickets
Entrance is free for ASEAN nationals (passport or ID may be required).
Film Screening “The Love of Books”
Thu 22 May 2014, 7 pm
Goethe Institut
56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học
Ba Đình, Hà Nội
From British Council in Vietnam:
The British Council shows a moving film about the saving of irreplaceable manuscripts during the Bosnian war. The film will be shown within the context of 4th European Literature Days, part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
Year of production: 2011
Directed by: Sam Hobkinson
Country: UK
Language: English and Vietnamese subtitles
War-torn Bosnia in 1992: The city of Sarajevo is besieged and burning, great art treasures are lost in the flames. Only one library remains. Amid bullets and bombs, a group of book-lovers risk their lives to rescue 10,067 irreplaceable Islamic manuscripts. At stake is a nation’s history and identity.
“The Love of Books: A Sarajevo Story”, is the thrilling tale of how a group of passionate book lovers risked their lives to save the Gazi Husrav-Beg Library from destruction during the siege of Sarajevo. This is a film about the importance of books, about how libraries are the heart of our cultural identity, repositories for history and memory.
Free Entrance.
Seminar on French Writer Patrick Modiano
Fri 23 May 2014, 3 pm
L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội
You are invited to the special seminar about Patrick Modiano on the occasion of publishing his books in Vietnamese ”Ở quán cà phê của tuổi trẻ lạc lối” and ”Phố những cửa hiệu u tối”.
The seminar is under the framework of European Literature Days – a part of Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
Patrick Modiano was born in 1945 in Boulogne-Billancourt. He did not do any further study after receiving his baccalaureate in 1967. From 1968 after publishing his first novel “La Place de l’Étoile” he focused merely on writing. In 1978 he received the Prix Goncourt for his novel “Rue des boutiques obscures” (Missing Person) and in 2000, Modiano was honored with the prestigious Grand prix de littérature Paul-Morand for his lifetime achievement.
Speaker: Duong Tuong
Free admission.
Seminar language: Vietnamese
Love for Literature and Life”
Fri 23 May 2014, 9.30 – 11.30 am
L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội
French literature specialist Le Hong Sam and French novelist Nuage Rose will analyse works by major French female authors in the 20th century (Colette, Yourcenar, Duras, and some other contemporary writers), whose books have been translated into Vietnamese and well known in Vietnam. German writer Katharina Hagena, the UK based poet Aoife Mannix and Polish author Magdalena Witkiewicz will join the discussion to represent female voices in European contemporary literature.
The event will be moderated by Vietnamese cultural researcher Uyen Ly. The round table is organised by the Institut Français.
The conference is within the context of 4th European Literature Days, part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
About the speakers
1. Prof. Le Hong Sam is a French literature specialist, she has translated to Vietnamese works by many major female French author of the 20th century including Marguerite Duras, Marguerite Yourcenar…
2. French writer Nuage Rose is the author of Trois Nuage au pays des nénuphars, published by Writers Society (Société des Ecrivains) in Paris.
3. UK based author Aoife Mannix demonstrates versatility of literary modes and has become an instantly recognisable voice on the UK live literature scene. Her latest poetry collection is Cocktails from the Ceiling (2013).
4. Katharina Hagena is a well-known German author. Her work Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen was translated to 25 languages and adapted into a film in 2013 which starred Hannah Herzsprung and Friedrich Mucke.
5. Magdalena Witkiewicz is a Polish writer and marketing analyst. In her novels she mentions the most important problems of nowadays women. In 2013 she published four bestsellers Castle of sand, School of wives, Ballad for Aunt Matylda, Lika and her company and three of them are chosen the best books of spring and summer in the website.
Language: Vietnamese, French and English
Free entrance.
‘Encounter’ Presents David Teh
Thu 22 May 2014, 6.30 – 8.30 pm
Melbourne Theatre
RMIT, Saigon South Campus
702 Nguyen Van Linh, Dist 7, HCMC
‘ENCOUNTER’ talk series welcomes Dr. David Teh from National University of Singapore, a curator, critic and theorist in visual culture with a public lecture on Thursday 22 May 2014.
What is an animate image?
This lecture is about the poetics of mediation. It proposes a theory of the ‘animate image’ – an image that moves, that breathes, that remembers. I begin by considering the encounter between contemporary art and an older, ‘traditional’ kind of image, at an animist festival in Thailand’s northeast. The encounter serves as an entry-point into some of the challenges I have faced as a curator and a theorist, doing research on contemporary visual art in Southeast Asia.
As producers, critics or students of visual culture, how do we make sense of a contemporary image that mobilizes all the powers of mechanical reproduction, yet without surrendering a much older valence, grounded in local attitudes and practices?
Artists and anthropologists offer us some answers, and I shall introduce several who have guided my own thinking. Along with better description of Southeast Asian art, their insights provide critical perspectives on how the ‘animate image’ is framed and assimilated under the would-be global rubric of ‘the contemporary’. With reference to some recent, large-scale international exhibitions, I will challenge popular curatorial assumptions about how artworks exercise their claims on the past.
David Teh works at the National University of Singapore in the fields of critical theory and visual culture. His research centres on contemporary art in Southeast Asia. From 2005-09, he was an independent critic and curator based in Bangkok, where his curatorial projects included Platform (The Queen’s Gallery and The Art Center, Chulalongkorn University, 2006) and The More Things Change… (5th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival, 2008). David’s writings have appeared in LEAP magazine, Art Asia Pacific, artforum.com, Art Australia and The Bangkok Post. His recent scholarly essays have been published in Third Text and Afterall Journal. David is also a director of Future Perfect, a new gallery and project platform in Singapore’s Gillman Barracks precinct.
The event is free of charge. Seats inside the auditorium are limited. Please arrange to come early for the best available position.
Language: English and Vietnamese translation will be provided
Screening of “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai”
Ghost Dog The Way of the Samurai
Thu 22 May 2014, 8.30 pm
Madake
81 Xuan Dieu Str, Tay Ho Dist, Hanoi
You are invited to the screening of ”Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai”.
GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI (1999)
116′ / Dir – Jim Jarmusch
“A surreal crime drama told as only Jim Jarmusch could, Ghost Dog tells the story of an African-American hit man living in an unidentified but run-down city.
Known for his gift of being able to come and go without people noticing him, Ghost Dog is a self-taught samurai who is obsessed with order and his strict personal moral code, drawn from the philosophies of the Japanese warriors.
When a gang of Italian mafia decide he must be executed, Ghost Dog leaps into action, methodically wiping out his many enemies.
Along with a dizzying series of stylized shoot-outs, Ghost Dog also features carrier pigeons, characters who read Rashomon, a French-speaking ice cream man, and a score by RZA from the top-selling hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan.”
Language: English, with English subtitles
FREE ENTRY.
The film is curated by The Onion Cellar
Exhibition “oNiReaKHoWaRiGNoRaLiSMe”
Opening: Thu 22 May 2014, 6 – 8 pm
Exhibition: 22 May – 19 Jul 2014
Galerie Quynh
65 Đề Thám
District 1, HCMC
+84 (8) 3836 8019
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 6 PM; closed Sundays and Mondays
You are invited to the exhibition “oNiReaKHoWaRiGNoRaLiSMe” – Truc-Anh’s solo exhibition.
This new body of work draws from the artist’s continued interest in the dichotomy of belief and disbelief, of certainty and doubt, reality and imagination, and the ambiguity of chaos. His oeuvre once again destabilizes the viewer, creating a sense of vertigo akin to the irrationality of dreams, and plays on the ability to see, observe, recognize and abandon our worldly knowledge and rational perception.
The title of the exhibition poses itself as a riddle and alludes to some of the diverse ideas, concepts and sources of inspiration for the artist, which range from art and human history to the history of representation and contemporary popular culture. The ‘isme’ (ism) ending of the indecipherable word suggests a school of thought, to which the artist adheres and which he invites us to participate in.
At the entrance to the exhibition, Ready to see – a small drawing of a dead woman transported by two angels inspired by William Bouguereau’s 1878 A soul in the sky – greets visitors, in much the same guise as Dante’s passage written on the infernal gate welcomed and warned those who would enter. But Truc-Anh is not alluding to a loss of hope, rather he incites us to forgo rationality and points to the beginning of wonder: the image stands as an invitation to losing oneself in a parallel world, where our perception of reality and certitude need to be abandoned and our minds let to roam freely.
Truc-Anh’s world is one of enigmas and myriad references charged with personal cum universal symbolism. Small portraits are drawn from German photographer Juergen Teller’s book Woo!, (a smorgasbord of imagery that collapses the boundaries between art, fashion and advertising) while large one-panel and multi-panel canvases include depictions of fictional characters, such as Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘No Face’ spirit from his award winning Spirited Away cartoon epic, or from the Harry Potter saga, such as in his ink drawing of Voldemort.
Truc-Anh seems to be particularly attracted to cast-away figures, at times potentially or clearly evil, who embody the darkest and most hidden truths of human nature. However, these malevolent or alienated individuals are balanced by the presence of benevolent ones, such as the Brothers Grimm’s Rapunzel or the powerful fighter Oni in the Street Fighter video games, transformed into a woman in Croco Queen. In his most elaborate works, Truc-Anh often communicates a sense of loss, confusion and alienation from reality, with a savior or powerful entity who appears to restore a precarious emotional and visual equilibrium.
Truc-Anh’s paintings are rich in overlapping tales, juxtaposed to create an enigmatic, greater narrative that functions like a puzzle. His stories do not follow a chronological or linear structure but rather a circular one, almost viciously so that his imagery has the power of confounding and questioning reason, challenging the viewer’s knowledge. His inspiration for the multilayered stories in his oeuvre is well explained by controversial French author, filmmaker and poet Michel Houellebecq – the subject of one of his drawings – who wrote in his book La carte et le territoire (The map and the territory, 2010): “I think I’ve more or less finished with the world as narration – the world of novels and films, the world of music as well. I’m now only interested in the world as juxtaposition – that of poetry and painting.”
ABOUT TRUC-ANH
Born in 1983 in Paris, Truc-Anh studied at École Boulle, École Supérieure des Arts Appliqués, Paris; ECAL, Haute École d’Art et de Design, Lausanne, Switzerland; and La Cambre, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels, Brussels, Belgium. Throughout his career, he has worked in a variety of media, including painting, photography, video, drawing, sculpture and performance. He has exhibited in several group exhibitions in Europe, most notably in 30 ans du Mai-Photogaphies curated by Claire Bresson, and White Spirit Part 1 and 2 curated by Tania Nasielski. Recent exhibitions include Jaquoire en Patrioche at Galerie Sator, Paris; Pop-up Gallerie, Galerie Albus Lux, Knokke, Belgium; Solo Project Art Fair, Basel; Drawing Now, Paris; and Delhi Photo Festival, New Delhi. In September 2014, his work will be included in Tentoonstelling: Sounds of Silence (De stem van de stilte) at Museum CODA, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. Truc-Anh lives and works between Ho Chi Minh City and Paris.
Creative Writing Workshop with UK Writer Aoife Mannix
Fri 23 May 2014, 4 – 6 pm
Goethe Institut
56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học
Ba Đình, Hà Nội
The British Council would like to invite you to join the Creative Writing Workshop with Aoife Mannix as an activity in EU Literature Days 2014, part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
Creative Writing Workshop – a fun and practical session suitable for all levels of experience. We will look at using poetic language to celebrate the imagination and explore how writers develop their own personal voice.
Language: English with Vietnamese consecutive translation.
Please confirm your participation to Hong Pham at hong.pham@britishcouncil.org.vn before 22 May.
About Aoife Mannix
Aoife Mannix was born in Sweden of Irish parents. She grew up in Dublin, Ottawa and New York before moving to the UK. She studied English and Sociology at Trinity College Dublin and has an M.A. in creative writing from Goldsmiths, University of London. She is the author of four collections of poetry and a novel ‘Heritage of Secrets’. She has been poet in residence for the Royal Shakespeare Company and BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live.
Author Reading and Screening of ”The Taste of Apple Seeds”
Sat 24 May 2014, 6 pm
Goethe Institut
56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học
Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Katharina Hagena reads aloud from her novel “The Taste of Apple Seeds”, afterwards screening of the film adaption.
The author reading and film screening is within the context of 4th European Literature Days, part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
In Germany, this book was immediately a great success. Meanwhile, it has been translated into many languages and filmed: Katharina Hagena’s family novel about women of three generations, about remembering and forgetting – moving, humorous and wise.
About ”The Taste of Apple Seeds”
When her grandmother Bertha died, Iris inherits her house. After many years, this young woman is standing inside the old house of her grandmother again where she used to play dress-up with her cousin during summer holidays. She wanders through the rooms and the overgrown garden, and the longer she stays inside this house, the more intensive her memories become. Old family stories and impressions from her childhood, impressions on what her mother used to tell about her sisters, and Iris‘ own memories of an accident where her cousin died… so many stories, so many secrets.
Iris stays one week inside the house. She doesn’t even know whether she wants to keep it. She swims in a lake, has a visit, kisses the brother of a former friend and paints a wall. While going from room to room, she goes through her own memories and her own forgetting: What has her grandfather really done before going to war? Which men did Bertha’s daughters love? Who has eaten his apple with its seeds? Finally, Iris gets back to the night when her cousin Rosmarie had the accident: What has Rosmarie done on the rooftop of the winter garden? And did she want to tell Iris something before?
About the author
Katharina Hagena was born in Karlsruhe in 1967. From 1986 to 1992, she studied Anglistics and Germanistics. She did a doctor’s degree in James Joyce’ “Ulysses” and lectured in literature at several universities in Ireland and Germany. Today, Katharina Hagena is a freelance author and lives with her family in Hamburg.
Screening of “Fanny”
Fri 23 May 2014, 8 pm
L’Espace
24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội
You are invited to the film screening “Fanny” (France, 2013, 102 mins) directed by Daniel Auteuil, an adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s trilogy with the second part – Fanny.
For more information about synopsis, please see L’Espace website (in French) or refer to the Vietnamese version of this post.
Language: French with Vietnamese subtitle.
Tickets:
Ticket price: 40 000 VND
Special price for members of L’Espace and students: 20 000 VND
Tickets are available at L’Espace.
Screening Short Documentary Films from TPD
Thu 22 May 2014, 7.30 pm
Hanoi Cinematheque
22A Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội
At the end of the alley leading to Artist’s Hotel
This month, FVH proudly introduces five short documentary films from The Center for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD).
1. “The Destiny”
Director: Ha Thai (Bui Thi Ha)
Length: 16 minutes – Year of production: 2012
Ca Tru, a song accompanied by clappers, is an original performance form of academic character. It first appeared about a thousand years ago in Vietnam but gradually it became unfashionable and is now almost lost.
This is the story of Bach Van, a woman who became fascinated by Ca Tru and loved it so much that she devoted her life to helping bring about this art form’s revival.
To do that she has had to sacrifice her private life; she has no husband, no children and no money.
Awards: Silver Kite Awards 2012 – Vietnam Cinema Association
2. “I Put Myself on Sale”
Director: Mac Pham Ngoc Ha
Length: 16 minutes – Year of production: 2013
There are a thousand different types of markets in Vietnam: small street markets, used motorcycle markets, wholesale markets, fruit markets, flower markets, and many others.
Yet there is one unusual and unique market: a porters’ market.
This market features a group of untrained individuals who offer their services to perform manual labor in exchange for, sometimes, very low wages.
The Director joins this small army of porters and manages to record a series of real-life interactions and events, bringing to a broader audience a voice from within this unique group.
3. “Oasis of breeze”
Director: Le My Cuong
Length: 14 minutes – Year of production: 2011
“Oasis of breeze” is a movie about the life of people at the leprosarium Qua Cam – Bac Ninh.
Director Le My Cuong wants to bring to his audiences a feeling of the normality in the daily life of people with Hansen’s disease (leprosy). There is no doubt that it is a life of pain and losses but that is not everything they experience.
They have their own happiness, their own dreams, and most of all, their desire to live their home lives just like the people who do not have the disease.
This Hansen’s disease care community stands as a symbol of an oasis, in the middle of a desert – the desert of life.
4. “Give me a ticket to childhood”
Director: Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong
Length: 14 minutes – Year of production: 2012
The film shows the conflict between two parents and their young son – the struggle between two different generations.
But, beyond that we see the care and love of the parents, as they help prepare their son to grow up in his” new” world.
Awards: Golden Lotus Bud – Audience Award
5. “Listen by eyes”
Director: Do Thu Hieu
Length: 15 minutes -Year of production: 2013
This is an unable-to-describe-with-words documentary. It is a moving story of hearing impaired people and their struggles in their family and daily lives; and it accomplishes the telling without using a single word.
• The films total time is: 75 minutes
• There will be a “Question and Answer” session with selected talented TPD Directors afterwards.
Cost: 150,000vnd
Limit: 80 participants
To reserve seats contact: nguyenvunganhang@gmail.com
Book Presentation: Mein Leben (My life) by Marcel Reich-Ranicki
Thu 22 May 2014, 6 pm
Goethe Institut
56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học
Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Come to the presentation of the autobiography “Mein Leben” from the literate, jew and contemporary witness Marcel Reich-Ranicki. This event is in the framework of 4th European Literature Days, part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
The book will be presented by Le Quang and Kieu Van in Vietnamese with summarizing translation into German. The book is available at a discount price after the presentation.
Marcel Reich-Ranicki has lived a colorful and picaresque life. Born in 1920 of Polish Jewish parents, he spent his youth in Berlin until the Nazis came to power. In 1938 he was deported with his family back to Poland, where he spent the war. In its subtlety, intelligence and clear-headedness, his account of the Warsaw Ghetto, the relations between Poles and Jews, Poles and Germans, Poles and Poles is one of the most compelling and dramatic ever recorded. After the war, Reich-Ranicki returned to Poland and joined the communist party, for which he performed secret intelligence work.
Meine Leben-Marcel Reich-Ranicki
He then spent two years in London at the Polish embassy, during which time he fell out with the communist party. Then, in 1958, he decided to return to the German city of his youth. Once back in Germany, Reich-Ranicki’s rise was meteoric: First as a book reviewer and then on to national celebrity, as the Culture Czar’ on the influential German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He has been described as ‘the Pope’ of German letters. As well as being a remarkable life, this book is also a love letter to literature.
“Oh Boy” – German Film for the European Film Festival 2014
Hanoi: Wed 21 May, 6 pm and Thu 22 May, 8 pm
National Cinema Center
Danang: Fri 23 May, 7.30 pm
CGV Cinemas Danang
HCMC: Fri 23 May, 6 pm and Mon 26 May, 8 pm
BHD Star Cineplex
You are invited to enjoy German film for the European Film Festival 2014: ”Oh Boy”.
No degree, no job, no money: In the much acclaimed film Oh Boy! Niko Fischer (played by Tom Schilling), who is in his late twenties, is wandering around Berlin’s streets where he is confronted with his former passivity: His girlfriend breaks up with him, his father cuts off his supply of money, a psychologist confirms “emotional imbalance” and there seems to be no normal coffee in the whole city.
It’s a self-ironic-melancholic portrait of today’s young generation, all black and white and with jazz music in the background. “Oh Boy” is Jan-Ole Gerster’s final project at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin and was an immediate success.
Tickets
Free of charge tickets can be collected from 12 May 2014 for screenings in Hanoi and Danang and from 14 May for screenings in Ho Chi Minh city at the following locations:
HANOI
Goethe Institut: 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Str
Tel.: 04 3734 2251
British Council: 20 Thuy Khue Str
Tel.: 04 3843 6780
National Cinema Center: 87 Lang Ha Str
Tel. : 04 3514 1791
HO CHI MINH CITY
Goethe Institut: 18 Road no. 1, Cu xa Do Thanh, Ward 4, Dist.3
Tel.: 08 3600 9587
British Council: 25 Le Duan Str., Dist. 1
Tel.: 08 3823 2862
BHD Star Cineplex: Bitexco Financial Tower, 02 Hai Trieu, Dist.1
Tel: 08 626 70670
DANANG
CGV Cinemas: 4th Flr, Vinh Trung Plaza, 255-257 Hung Vuong Street
Tel: 0511 3666 222
Guitar Recital with Gabriel Bianco
Thu 22 May 2014, 8 pm
IDECAF
28 Le Thanh Ton, Distr 1, HCMC
20 May 2014, 8 pm
L’Espace Hanoi
Come to a guitar recital with Gabriel Bianco.
Beside his young age, Gabriel Bianco has established himself as one of the most active guitarists of his generation. His constantly-updated repertoire comprises both original works and transcriptions covering all periods of classical music.
An eight-time First Prize winner at the most prestigious international competitions (notably at Vienna 2006, San Francisco 2008, Madrid 2011), Gabriel Bianco gives recitals all over the world (Tchaïkovsky Hall in Moscow, Central Conservatory of Beijing, Herbst Theatre at San Francisco, The Luis Angel Arango Library at Bogota, The Centre Culturel of Sao Paulo, at Bucharest with the Romanian National Orchestra, the Auditorium of the Music Academy at Poznan, among others). He has also performed at around fourty international guitar festivals (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Greece, Russia, Thailand, India, Peru, etc).
His first CD was released in 2009 by the Naxos label. It received high praise in the musical press, Classical Guitar Magazine, Guitare Classique, and La Guitarra. He made the cover of Thai Guitar Magazine.
He teaches at the Maurice Ravel Conservatory (13th district) and the Jean-Philippe Rameau Conservatory (6th district) in Paris.
Program
Francesco Da Milano, Fantaisie – De Mon Triste – La Compagna
Napoléon Coste, Fantaisie Dramatique – Le Départ, Le Retour
Agustin Barrios, Julia Florida – Choro da Saudade – Valse n°4
Niccolo Paganni, Grande Sonate pour Guitare – Romanze, Andantino Variato
Johann Sebastian Bach, Sonate BWV 998 (extraits) – Prélude, Fugue
John Duarte, Variations sur un thème Catalan
Joaquim Turina, Sonate pour Guitare – Allegro, Allegretto Tranquillo, Andante, Finale : Allegro Vico
Tickets
Entrance: 100.000 VND (50% discount for students)
Tickets on sale at the IDECAF (Tel : 08 38 23 99 68)
4th European Literature Days
22 – 25 May 2014
Goethe Institut, L’Espace and Casa Italia
European Literature Days is part of the Europe Days in Vietnam 2014.
For the fourth time, EUNIC, an association of European cultural institutes and embassies, is presenting new literature from Europe in Hanoi: Bestseller novels from France, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and Sweden, books for kids and teenagers from Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy – lots of discoveries await book lovers, both young and old. Meet the writers Aoife Mannix (UK), Katharina Hagena (GER), Christoph Links (GER) and Magdalena Witkiewicz (POL), listen to talks and readings or register for a workshop on creative writing, not to forget the film screenings that enrich this year’s program. All events are taking place at the Goethe-Institut, at L’Espace or at Casa Italia.
In Focus: Books by and about Women
Books by female authors featuring strong women and reflecting the role of women in society represent an important issue in this year: German writer Katharina Hagena will read and talk about her novel “The Taste of Apple Seeds” about three generations of women in a family, their fates and secrets. “School of Wives” by Magdalena Witkiewicz has been very successful in Poland and is now released in Vietnamese, as well as the uncommon love stories by Swedish author Katarina Mazetti. The UK based poet Aiofe Mannix will give a workshop about creative writing and participate in a panel discussion about female writing and women in contemporary European literature.
Organised by the Institut Français with Mrs. Le Hong Sam, specialist in French literature and the novelist Nuage Rose, this round table will focus on the major French female authors in the 20th century (Colette, Yourcenar, Duras, but also younger ones), whose books have been translated into Vietnamese and who are thus well known in Vietnam. Moreover the German writer Katharina Hagena, the British author Aoife Mannix and Polnish Literature translater Nguyen Thi Thanh Thu will also take part in this round table discussion, which will be moderated by Uyen Ly, a familiar culture researcher.
New Books for Kids and Teenagers
European countries have a long tradition in children’s literature. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen has become world-famous with his fairy tales, including “The Little Mermaid” or “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”. Who wants to immerse himself into Andersen’s fairy tale world, has the opportunity to do so at the European Literature Days. “Jip and Janneke” is a popular Dutch children’s book, now available also in Vietnamese, which will help the droll main characters to make many new friends here. Two beautiful children’s books from Italy, “The Night of the Toys” and “The Fairy Tales on the Telefone“, will be presented in the stylish ambience of Casa Italia.
Austrian writer Thomas Brezina has won the hearts of millions of young readers with his books „Wilde Wahnsinnsengel“: First love, friendship, adventure and a fantasy setting have proved to be an extremely successful mix. This is also true for the teenager novels by Kerstin Gier. “Rubinrot” is a Fantasy novel with lots of romantic love and exciting action across several centuries and continents, made recently into a film. In Germany, the book and the film are as popular with young readers as with adults, and the release of the Vietnamese version of the book will certainly get “Rubinrot” lots of new fans.
New in this year: Films about Books
For the first time, there will be also film screenings in the program of the European Literature Days. The Goethe-Institut presents two films based on very successful books: “The Taste of Apple Seeds”, after the novel by Katharina Hagena, and “Rubinrot”, the all-age fantasy book by Kerstin Gier. Through the film, one can get to know the story, which then is more than motivating to read the book afterwards.
Would people risk their lives to rescue books threatened by bombs and devastation? Yes, as you can see in the award winning documentary “The Love of Books: A Sarajevo Story” about the dramatic evacuation of the famous library of Sarajevo during the Balkan war. This film is presented by British Council at the opening night of the European Literature Days at the Goethe-Institut.
What else is there for book lovers and professionals?
Some people have lived a life much more exciting and dramatic than any novel could invent. This is true for Marcel Reich-Ranicki, the Jewish intellectual surviving the Warsaw Ghetto, whose autobiography “Mein Leben” is presented now in the Vietnamese edition at the Goethe-Institut. The threat of persecution and death under the Nazi regime is also a topic in many books of French writer Patrick Modiano who has also got Jewish roots. The Institut Français presents this important writer and his works in a roundtable discussion.
Umberto Eco is not only the most famous and important contemporary semiotician, but also numerously awarded bestseller author. With “The Prague Cemetery” he gives conspiracy fans a new breath-taking novel. Still being hot off the press, the Vietnamese translation will be presented by the translator Nguyen Thuy Hien at the Casa Italia. On the next day, the Casa Italia invites all those who want to begin their Sunday with a brilliant philosophical consideration, to a literary cocktail with H.E. Ambassador Lorenzo Angeloni. Besides being the ambassador of Italy to Vietnam, he is an active intellectual and writer. During the cocktail he will present his latest book that is now released in Vietnamese.
The Goethe-Institut invites representatives of publishing houses to a seminar with Christoph Links, a German publisher and former CEO of the Frankfurt Book Fair, about book market and book marketing: How to bring books to the audience? Best practices from Germany will be presented and analysed in the discussion.
The comprehensive program of presentations, round table discussions, workshops and film screenings will be supplemented by publishers’ book stalls on Saturday at the Goethe-Institut, where books can be purchased at discount prices.
For detailed program, download the program in PDF file European Literature Days 2014.
Free entrance.
Goethe-Institut Hanoi
56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hanoi
Tel.: +84 4 37342251
Fax: +84 4 37342254
info@hanoi.goethe.org
Institut Français de Hanoi – L’Espace
24 Trang Tien, Hanoi
Điện thoại: (84-4) 39 36 21 64
info@espace-ccfhanoi.org
www.ifhanoi-lespace.com
Casa Italia
18 Le Phung Hieu, Hanoi
Opening hours: 9 am – 9 pm all days
Line-up for ASEAN Pride Music Festival
Sat 24 May 2014, 1 pm – midnight
American Club
ASEAN Music Fest returns after its huge inaugural success of last year, this time as ASEAN PRIDE Celebrating Diversity. On Saturday 24 May live music, performances, food and beverage are to be enjoyed throughout the day and night, all set in a beautiful outdoor setting in the heart of Hanoi: the American Club, 19-21 Hai Ba Trung Street.
Check it out line-up for this festival:
Protocol Afro (Indonesia)
Representing Indonesia for the first time at ASEAN Music Festival in Hanoi are the mighty 6-piece Protocol Afro. This is a type of band who invite people to head bang and dance like crazy in equal measure, loaded with two guitars, bass, synths, drums and vocals. Coming from the sprawling metropolis capital city of Jakarta, they are the perfect group to let off steam with and indulge in their electrifying combination of anthemic rock combined with danceable beats.
Stylish Nonsense (Thailand)
Bangkok’s post-punk electric-funk two piece Stylish Nonsense are a pair well-renowned for their live performances, which combine spontaneous improvisation with a dedicated, raw musical talent. Stalwarts of Thai’s alternative punk rock scene for over a decade, they have released music on several labels and produced and remixed major pop acts from Thailand. Their home country loves them, so let’s see if the craze will catch on in Hanoi!
Big Bag (Myanmar)
Han Htue Lwin, Vno Tun and Ye Zaw Myo are from the Myanmar’s largest city and former capital city: Yangon. They make up one of the country’s most dynamic rock bands: Big Bag, who came about in 2003. A punk sensbility with splices of jazz and hints of metal, this noisy trio will simultaneously rip the floor and your socks off. One of their past shows in Yangon was the most crowded show in the city on record, and you are advised to see why!
Nok La Fiesta (Thailand) (Rhythm of Passion) (feat. Cajun player)
Nok La Fiesta is a Thai singer-guitarist with an incredible talent for spurring audiences into a dance-frenzy through her energetic blend of Spanish guitar with rumba fusion, reggae, blues and as she calls it, ‘down-and-dirty rock n’ roll’. Often coming to Hanoi on her own, this time she will be spicing up the stage even more, as she will be joined by her talented Cajun-playing brother. Come dance the afternoon away under the sun with this summer-soulful pair!
The Pinholes (Singapore)
Who would’ve thought Singapore would produce a band making psychedelic sixties pop in 2014? The Pinholes are doing just that. Steeped in the sounds of Syd Barret era Pink Floyd, the group have recently released an EP of repetitive guitar riffs that demand floppy-necked dancing and geometric light shows in celebration of youth, sunshine and rock and roll.
Dance to the Youth of GoldEP in your bedroom, then break out your moves on the grass and in the afternoon sun of ASEAN PRIDE.
DCNXR (Thailand)
Experience intergalactic night-time festivities with the Bangkok-based electronic four piece DCNXR (pronounced de connextor). Perfectly capturing that moment you wake up from an awesome dream, this is one band who will blow you away with their electro-dream pop vocals, multiple synthesisers, heavenly sampling and glorious visuals. DCNXR have been big making waves in Thailand in 2014, making it into Bangkok magazines’ ‘Best New Band To Watch: 2014′, so we would strongly recommend catching them at ASEAN PRIDE before they are swooped up by the rest of the world!
Tank27 (Vietnam)
Tank 27 are the hottest new rock band from Hanoi, consisting of Nam on lead acoustic guitar, Hùng on keyboard, Quang on electric guitar, Hà on bass, Đăng vocal harmonica and Triệu on drums. They became well known after regular busking in the streets in Hanoi, and they won first place in a local street art festival competition. They have known each other for a long time, and have been performing blues and rock ballads for over six months to great response. Come down to ASEAN PRIDE early to catch them in all their open-air glory!
High-Heeled Dance Troupe (Vietnam)
It’s got to be seen to be believed: ASEAN Pride presents Vietnam’s very own high-heel dance troupe, for a very special performance.
Tickets
Entrance is free for ASEAN nationals (passport or ID may be required).
For everyone else, a limited number of advance tickets priced at 320,000VND are available from the start of May at CAMA ATK, 73A Mai Hac De St. Tickets at the gate will be 400,000VND.