Screening of UK Documentary Film “Ping pong”

Hanoi: Tue 11 Jun 2013, 7 pm
National Studio for Documentary and Scientific Film
–
HCMC: Thu 27 Jun 2013, 7 pm
Hoa Sen University

From British Council:

Cinema fans in Hanoi and HCMC can enjoy a wide selection of documentary films at the EUNIC Documentary Film Festival 2013 catering for audiences of all ages.

The British Council is participating in the 5th EUNIC Documentary Film Festival in Hanoi and HCMC with ‘Ping Pong – Never too old for gold’ directed and produced by Hugh and Anson Hartford. This recent film was official selected at many documentary festivals such as Hotdocs, Sheffield Docs, Docs New York City, and Warsaw International Film Festival 2012.

Free entrance.

Synopsis

Pensioners from across the planet compete in the World over 80s Table Tennis Championships in Inner Mongolia.

From retirement, care homes, mental and physical health to death and loneliness; 8 players from 4 continents, with 703 years between them; guide us through the extraordinary world of Veteran sports. The film interweaves the competition with intimate and candid portraits that explore the hope, passion, prejudice, and immediacy of growing old.

Terry (81) having been given a week to live, gets in sight of winning gold. Inge (89) has used table tennis to train her way out of the dementia ward she committed herself to. Australian legend Dorothy DeLow is 100, and finds herself a mega celebrity in this rarefied world and Texan Lisa Modlich, a new-comer at 85 years old, is determined to do whatever it takes to win her first gold. This film is as much about the tenacity of the human spirit as it is a meditation on mortality.

From the outset, the film challenges perceptions of what it is to grow old. With humour and sensitivity it emotionally engages us with the issues we all face in an ageing global population. Right now 1 in 6 people on the planet are over the age of 60. By 2030 that figure will be 1 in every 4.

REVIEWS

“Delightful, hilarious and completely inspirational”
Empire ****

“It is about ageing, mortality, friendship, ambition and love. The stories stay with you for hours, weeks, after the credits have rolled. But perhaps its most powerful achievement is to leave us with a more humane conception of sport, and of life itself.”
Matthew Syed – The Times

Who could have imagined there were people over 100 years old with more passion and determination than most people 1/5th their age! The film is baffling, inspiring and sweet, and it’s wonderful to see how ping-pong has transformed their lives.”
Susan Sarandon