My Tran
The workshop will also feature discussions with local filmmakers such as Nguyen Dang Di and Marcus Vu Manh Cuong on the topical subject.
Vietnamese filmmakers have been paying more attention to the topic of gay and transgender groups in recent years and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people) characters are being portrayed more often on TV and in the cinema. The topics of gender and sexuality are also commonly mentioned in local media.
Related feature films Choi voi (Adrift, 2009) by director Bui Thac Chuyen, and Bi, Dung So! (Bi, Don’t be Afraid, 2010) by director Phan Dang Di netted awards from renowned international film festivals. Director Vu Ngoc Dang through the hugely-successful movie Hot boy noi loan (Lost in Paradise, 2011) brought the film to both international and domestic audiences.
Through the demonstration of LGBTs in cinema, the event aims to discuss gender equality for a broader audience of cinephiles, art lovers, LGBT citizens and heterosexuals. They will talk about how LGBTs are being portrayed on screen, if cinematic representation of LGBTs manipulates, discriminates, or protects their rights and encourages them to raise gender equality awareness; how social, political, and economic influences have shaped their images; what do these movies tell us about LGBT communities in Vietnam; what they tell us about the relationships between our dominating culture (where heterosexuality is the norm) and LGBTs and lastly what action can we take to fight any discrimination against LGBTs.
*The Goethe Institute will also screen Indian movie Bitter Seeds – a 2011 documentary exploring the relationship between escalating rates of suicide among Indian farmers and the crippling cycle of debt, crop failure and dispossession brought about by the introduction of genetically modified cotton seeds – at 7 p.m. on Friday.
This beautifully done and emotional documentary portrays the critical aspects of genetically modified seeds and how it affects India’s cotton farmers and their families, and invites audiences to reflect on how we are cultivating our lands.
At the end of the film the audience will have a chance to exchange with Le Thi Phi Van, an expert in rural development and food security who works as a scientist at the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
