Far From Vietnam: A 1967 French Anti-War Film Grapples With Its Own Contradictions
French cinema experienced a creative renaissance in the 1960s with arguably the most influential movement in its history...
'Making a Whore' Is Both Less and More Revealing Than Its Reputation Suggests
For the first time, Vũ Trọng Phụng’s novel Làm đĩ is available in English. Originally published in 1936, the novel has been translated by Đinh Ngọc Mai under the title Making a Whore and was released last year by Major Books, an independent publishing house dedicated to making Vietnamese literature more available for the English-speaking world.
Uyên Đỗ in Culture
The Surprisingly Global History of Monobloc, the Chair Vietnam Loves and the West Despises
In 2024, The New York Times published a list of the 25 most iconic pieces of furniture from the past century, selected by a panel of designers, artists, and curators from the world's leading museums. Unexpectedly, the Monobloc, a plastic chair found in almost every corner of Vietnam and across the globe, had somehow secured a seat.
How Richie Fawcett's Saigon Sketches Illuminate a Decade of Change
It’s been hidden right there in the heart of Saigon for over half a decade.
Water as a Metaphor for Trauma, Memories and Unspoken Histories in Quế’s Art
Through installations and animated films, Quế traces the flow of water as they move through personal memories and collective histories, carrying generational trauma amidst urbanization, and even natural disaster.
Insights, Polished History Lessons Await in Hanoi's Massive, Brutalist Military Museum
When I pitched a review of Hanoi’s massive new Vietnam Military History Museum to the Saigoneer editorial staff, I expected to find the museum somewhat boring. After all, although I am a historian, I am not really that interested in military stuff, and I’d been to the original location on Điện Biên Phủ Street several times — how could this new museum improve on the old one? What could this new museum say that the old one didn’t? What could I learn here that I haven’t already learned at Saigon’s War Remnants Museum and Hồ Chí Minh Campaign Museum, at Điện Biên Phủ’s war museum, at Hải Phòng’s naval museum, and at the countless other shrines to Vietnamese martial prowess across the country? Quite a lot, it turns out.
Tourists Generate Up to 3 Times More Plastic Waste Than Locals, UNDP Finds
A recent report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warns that plastic waste pollution poses increasing pro...
Thi Nguyễn in Music & Arts
The Facetious Gender Politics of Gỗ Lim, Hanoi's Feminist Post-Punk Quintet
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 Nhí), the lead singer of Gỗ Lim — a Hanoi-based female post-punk band that, albeit short-lived, struck a blow for women’s representation in rock and metal music in Vietnam in 2011 and 2012.
Vietnamese Film 'Taste' Wins Berlin Film Fest Award, Is Fined at Home
This is why we can't have nice things.
Event Series Photo Hanoi ’21 Celebrates Storytelling Through a Camera's Lens
A major series of events dedicated to photography will be available to Hanoians interested in the craft starting this month.
Rapper Wowy Auctions off Blood Portrait to Raise Funds for Children's Hospital
A joint exhibition by rapper Wowy and artist Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn began last month with an auction that yielded hundreds of million of dong that will go towards humanitarian causes.
Vietnam's Traditional Indigo Dyes and Kimono Come Together in Kimono Ơi's Designs
Will there be a day when the image of a woman wearing a helmet, clad in a kimono with ripped jeans while driving around the streets of Saigon becomes the next trend?
Paul Christiansen in Music & Arts
Pull up a Plastic Stool, Break out the Watercolor, We're Painting Saigon
What is worthy of being painted?
Mầm in Quãng 8
Dzũng Phạm, the Progressive Metal Guitarist Enamored With Folk Music
“I want to elevate Vietnamese traditional music to the most glorious and heralded position. There, it's the center of attention, not merely something added just for the sake of embellishment.” Buildin...
Saigon's Young Voice Actors Learn There's More to Dubbing Than Pretty Voices
Voice actors are rarely given enough attention, for they are always working behind closed curtains, giving the movie its "life."
Park Chan-Wook to Direct TV Series Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's 'The Sympathizer'
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 novel The Sympathizer will be getting a TV adaptation directed by Park Chan-wook, the auteur behind the success of The Handmaiden and Oldboy.
Saigoneer Podcast: Recreation; Sustainable Trends in Hanoi and Saigon
A new Saigoneer Podcast is available now!
Inside 'Little Lotus,' the Adorable Japanese Manga Set in Saigon
Images of a Japanese manga with scenes of modern Vietnam have won the hearts of Vietnamese netizens recently.
Q&A: An Interview With 'Raya and the Last Dragon' Co-Writer Qui Nguyen
When Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon was released in March, it was a cultural milestone for Southeast Asians. Raya is the first Southeast Asian Disney princess in the Walt Disney Company’s...
Saigoneer Podcast: 'Things We Lost to the Water' Author Eric Nguyen
We hope you had a good, safe holiday weekend!
Vietnamese Artist Shows Incredible Skills in Hyperrealistic Hảo Hảo Noodles Painting
The much-shared image looks so real that its artist, Lê Đại Phát, was forced to upload a video of him creating it to prove it was in fact a painting.
Mầm in Quãng 8
The Marriage of Electronic and Folk Instruments in DJ Teddy Chilla's Music
DJ and producer Teddy Chilla is among a few artists in the current music scene who are known to experiment with Vietnamese traditional music in their electronic works.
[Video] The Absurdist 'Sài Gòn Đẹp Lắm' Music Video That Makes You Question Reality
What in the world is going on here?
Saigoneer Podcast: Vietnam's Contemporary Coffee Culture and a Street Food Update
A new Saigoneer Podcast episode is now available!
A Lotus 'Startup' in Hanoi Goes Back to Its Roots
For Lã Quang Khanh, a resident of Me Linh District, the term khởi nghiệp, or startup, has nothing to do with technology.
Inside the Extravaganza Using Literature to Highlight Hoi An History
Directed by writer Nguyễn Quang Vinh, “Hội An Show – Gratitude” was launched last month in the central Vietnam town. It featured 150 artists portraying the history of the ancient town via stories of H...
Sold for $3.1m, Mai Trung Thứ Portrait Becomes Highest-Valued Vietnamese Artwork
Artworks by Vietnamese artists have been sold at record-breaking amounts in recent years.
Saigoneer Podcast: Domestic Tourism Amid the Pandemic with Urbanist Travel's Chau Nguyen
A new podcast episode is out now!
