Screenings: Vietnam. Now. | IN THE YEAR OF THE PIG | Canon of Short Film

Vietnam – Asia's Rising Tyger

Due to the country's colonial history, Vietnamese cinematic expression is young and its local film production was officially started only in 1953. The delicate narration of Vietnamese film has shifted to individual perspectives and emotional expression from the emphasised communality and traditional values characteristic to a socialist society.

The Ngo Manh Lan animation screening Vietnam. Now. 1 is an exellent opportunity to observe the thematic progress in Vietnamese cinematic expression from the 1960s to the mid-90s. The works of the award-winning animator ponder everyday moral questions playfully through the adventures of animal characters such Little Cat and Frog.

The Vietnam. Now. 2 screening speaks of war in its own language. Le Manh Thich's award-winning follow-up documentary Returning to Ngu Thuy (1998) returns to the origins of a 30-year-old tale about a small fishing village's women, who fought succesfully with cannons against U.S. warships. Lai Van Sinh's The Path of Justice (2005) is an impassionate look at the consequences of spreading millions of litres of herbicide called Agent Orange.

The Vietnam. Now. screenings 3–5 are a collection of fascinating documentaries, fiction, and animation, mostly from the 2000s. The selection mirrors the Vietnamese state of mind which looks hopefully towards the future while still aching from the wounds of the past. As the traditional way of life and urbanisation collide, problems such as substance abuse, poverty, and discrimination surface. One example of this is seen in Bui Kim Quy's Why is There No Moon in the Daytime? (2005), in which an HIV positive woman is shut out of her village's community.

Emile de Antonio's (1919–1989) main work In the Year of the Pig (1968) is a stern crystallisation of the "mad year" 1968. The Vietnam War chronicle, made using compilation film methods, was created during the peak period of the war's bombings and protest rallies.

Cuban Santiago Alvarez's masterful Vietnam-themed short documentary 79 Springs (1969) is also screened in the Canon of Short Film programme, the theme of which this year is Unrest 60s.

In the Vietnam. Now. discussion event held in the Werstas auditorium on Thursday at 12.00, the audience has an opportunity to meet animator Ngo Manh Lan, directors Bui Kim Quy and Lai Van Sinh, journalist Luu Van Thao, and film critic and researcher Ngo Phuong Lan.

MORE INFORMATION

Riina Mikkonen, Press Coordinator
tel. +358 3 213 0034 or +358 40 532 2912
riina.mikkonen@tamperefilmfestival.fi

Sanna Kyllönen, Press Coordinator
tel. +358 3 213 0034 or +358 40 067 7667
sanna.kyllonen@tamperefilmfestival.fi

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