Khôi Phạm in Film & TV
Review: 'Maika' Is What Happens When You Take Children Seriously
Maika is a loving tribute to Vietnam’s childhood icon of the 1980s, but for those who didn’t grow up with the original Eastern European series, what’s in it for us?
Paul Christiansen in In Plain Sight
Retracing Biệt Động Sài Gòn Hideouts, Where Grenades Were Just Below Your Feet
Elements of Saigon’s wartime espionage efforts once relegated to secret basements, hidden crawl spaces and elaborate double lives lurk throughout downtown to this day.
'The Shard, the Tissue, an Affair': A Short Story by Andrew Lam
This short story is featured in Volume 2 of In My Ear, Your Voice Still Flickering // Bên tai tôi, giọng người vẫn chờn vờn, a three-part, bilingual collection of works by more than 20 Vietnamese artists and writers, curated by Saigoneer in collaboration with Miami Book Fair.
Khôi Phạm in Film & TV
Review: 'U Linh Tích Ký' Shows Made-in-Vietnam Animation Prowess, but Is Light on Narrative
Premiered less than 24 hours ago, a made-in-Vietnam animation project has quickly become the talk of the town in the local cybersphere thanks to its high production values and intriguing concept.
Paul Christiansen in Loạt Soạt
How to Navigate Coming Out to Your Parents With the Help of 3 Fairy Tales
Sometimes stories can articulate what we cannot put into our own words. Fairy tales can function as long-form proverbs that allow people to identify and pass on important values, expectations and experiences regarding love, loss, longing, fate and hardships. Children often learn about the adult world through these stories, but they retain their value throughout one’s entire life.
Paul Christiansen in In Plain Sight
Saigon's Mobile Laminators Preserve ID Cards, Licenses, and Occasionally, Memories Too
How much would you pay for a memory? What is it worth to ensure that you’ll forever be able to recall a certain moment of happiness, important gathering, or achievement? What if I told you that all you need is a couple of bucks and some good timing?
From Commercial Releases to Heartfelt Docs: A Brief History of Vietnam's Notable Queer Films
Personally honest, socially important and commercially sexy, modern movies about gay and transgender people are among the better works of contemporary Vietnamese cinema.
Rec Tour Returns This July With Month Full of Live Music Across Central Vietnam
From a humble audio recording studio, Rec Room went from a small close-knit community of like-minded music lovers to organizing multi-event live performance tours spanning provinces.
Brian Letwin in Culture
Hanoi Train Travels Though Narrow Gap Between Houses
Just as in Saigon, Hanoi is a dense city where, outside of downtown, little attention was paid to details like infrastructure planning. This can result in some impactful visuals such as this video of ...
Brian Letwin in Culture
A Look at Vietnam's Love Hotels
Walk through any urban public space in Europe, South America or the US and chances are you’ll encounter a young couple doing…couple’s things. Public spaces are an escape from the oversight of family a...
Brian Letwin in Culture
Vietnam's Ancient Villages Face Serious Problems
Vietnam realized long ago that its ancient villages and towns would be big hits with foreign tourists. Over the last 15 years, the country has rushed to protect its historical heritage by anointing so...
Brian Letwin in Film & TV
Record Profits for Vietnam's Cinemas
For those whom frequent movie theatres, it’s probably not a surprise to learn that 2012 was a record year for ticket sales in Vietnam. The country has seen massive growth in this industry with a 514% ...
Brian Letwin in Film & TV
Local Director Heading to Cannes Film Festival
Vietnamese director, Tran Dung Thanh Huy, will be showing his short film, 16:30, at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The film follows a group of street kids who sell lottery tickets in Saigon’s street...
Brian Letwin in Culture
Vietnamese Celebrities Flaunt Their Wealth
It’s no secret that for most in Vietnam (and most of the world for that matter), success is measured by accumulation of wealth. For the country's celebrities who live in the spotlight, showing off the...
Stunning Street Art in Saigon
French street artist, Julien Malland, AKA Seth Globepainter, travels the world using buildings as a canvas for his huge murals. Collaborating with local artists, he tries to learn new artistic techniq...
A Brief Look at Catholic Funeral Rites in Saigon
For me, as most of us non-nationals living here in Saigon, the word funeral only evokes ideas of dreadful sounds emanating from a tent set up halfway in the street and haltering the flow of traffic. T...
Brian Letwin in Music & Arts
Digital Media/Art Project Launching This Month
If you’re a creative, digital-minded person who is passionate about Indochina, here’s a great project for you. Riverorchid Digital, an agency specializing in branding, PR and media, is embarking on a ...
Brian Letwin in Culture
Forget the Fockers, Meet the Nguyễns
Meeting the girlfriend’s parents is an intimidating experience in any culture. So what’s the best way to add even more awkwardness to an already awkward situation? Meeting the parents of a girl from a...
Home Has Shifted
For just over a year now, I have been living on the edge of district one, on a street named Tran Khac Chan. It is an unremarkable street on the face of it, a typical bustling hive of activity, of whic...
Brian Letwin in Music & Arts
Incredible Thai Version of the Iron Man 3 Trailer
Iron Man 3 hit theaters last week grossing a whopping $195.3 million internationally. With numbers like that, there’s no doubt that the film will be one of the most illegally copied of all time. But p...
Another Step Forward for Gay Marriage in Vietnam
Vietnam is on the path to becoming the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage. This week, in Hanoi, Deputy Health Minister, Nguyen Viet Tien, told the press: “[A]s human beings, homosexuals...
Brian Letwin in Culture
H&P Unveils Low-Cost Bamboo Home Design
When it comes to construction in Vietnam - from one-story shops to luxury office towers - one will find bricks on every site. For more than a century, these unassuming orange squares have literally la...
Brian Letwin in Film & TV
Sex Scenes Becoming More Frequent in Vietnamese Films
In a recent VietnamNet op-ed, Lao Dong takes a deeper look into the increasing eroticism of Vietnamese cinema.
Brian Letwin in Film & TV
History of Vietnamese Cinema: 1898 - 1995
Long Van Cinema. Vietnam is producing high-quality films faster than ever before. While the country is not known for its cinematic pedigree, the film industry in Vietnam has been active for over 100 ...
Brian Letwin in Music & Arts
Video: Đi uống - Always
Đi uống - Always. Check out this track from some of our brothers and sisters up north: Đi uống - Always. Frankly, we're always down to watch a video where the band performs on a motorcyle and sideca...
Brian Letwin in Music & Arts
Video: Classic Vietnamese Rock
Hoang Oanh. We're not huge fans of Americanization but there are some rare exceptions. Concidering the current state of Vietnamese pop music, it's hard to believe there was a time when it was, to pu...
