Screening of Hanoi Eclipse: The Music of Dai Lam Linh at Le Cooperative

Le Cooperative

Le Cooperative is pleased to present the screening of the documentary film “Hanoi Eclipse: The Music of Dai Lam Linh” (Directed by Barley Norton, 56 minutes, 2010).

HTX – La Cooperative wrote:

About the documentary: “Hanoi Eclipse: The Music of Dai Lam Linh” follows the challenges faced by the groundbreaking and controversial Vietnamese band Dai Lam Linh. It shows how the band came together to create a unique form of popular music, which is both international in outlook and rooted in Vietnamese traditions and aesthetics. Followed by scandal at every turn for their experimental sound and their use of sexually explicit lyrics, the band have dared to flout taboos and fight for their creative freedom. Dai Lam Linh’s story of creative, political and financial struggle reveals what it is like to be a contemporary musician in a one-party state where cultural expression is tightly controlled.
The film explores how composer Ngọc Dai overcame the trauma of war by writing songs to honour the memory of the war dead and how the singers Lam and Linh embarked on an inner journey to discovery their extraordinary voices. With vivid footage of the band working in the city of Hanoi, the film documents the process of recording Dai Lam Linh’s debut album in 2009 and features an album-launch concert in the prestigious Hanoi Opera House.

About the director: Barley Norton is a senior lecturer in the music department at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he teaches courses on world music and ethnographic film. A specialist in Vietnamese music and culture, he is the author of a book and DVD titled Songs for the Spirits: Music and Mediums in Modern Vietnam (University of Illinois Press, 2009). The documentary Hanoi Eclipse: The Music of Dai Lam Linh, which was funded by the Getty Foundation, is Barley’s directorial debut.

Free Entry

Translation into Vietnamese by Nguyễn Trinh Thi.