Film Screening “A Dream in Hanoi”

Thu 23 Jun 2016, 7.30 – 9 pm
Cinematheque

From the organizer:

Come to film screening “A Dream in Hanoi” (2002) by director Tom Weidlinger.

Twenty five years after the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese and Americans joined forces in a unique collaboration. Two theatre companies, one American, one Vietnamese, join forces in Hanoi to stage a polyglot version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, complete with ballet dancers and onstage musicians. “A Dream In Hanoi” follows the actors, directors, producers and technicians from both countries as they struggle to surmount the obstacles of language, culture, ideology and a history of war—on their journey to opening night at Hanoi’s famous Opera House.

Creative differences abound, especially between the celebrated Vietnamese director Doan Hoang Giang and producer Lorelle Browning, each of whom is attempting to stay true to diverse visions — one based on Asian heritage, the other holding Shakespeare sacrosanct. At the same time, the stage manager rails against 2-hour lunch breaks while Vietnamese producer Do Doan Chau laments the pathological American obsession with timetables.

Meanwhile, the American lead actor starts a small revolution by introducing his Vietnamese leading lady to a level of on-stage intimacy taboo in rational Vietnamese theatre. American feminism clashes with Vietnamese expectations of female behaviour when leading man Do Ky chastises his co-star for her assertively physical portrayal of “a woman that no Vietnamese man ever could love.”

President Obama’s rapturous reception on his end-of term visit highlighted the current positivity of US-Vietnamese relations, but the mood at the turn of the millennium was very different. President Clinton’s own visit to Vietnam sends a thrill of possibility and risk through the events of the film. While diplomatic relations were officially restored under Clinton, this film documents the early days of rapprochement on a cultural and personal level, and was the first American documentary on Vietnam on a subject other than the war and its legacy.

Duration: 91 minutes
Language: English and Vietnamese with English subtitles
Cost: 150,000vnd
Limit: 90 people
Contact: Ms Hang, [email protected]

See the film’s trailer here:

[youtube width=”700″ height=”393″]https://youtu.be/D_ln1W34Ksw[/youtube]

Notes: Your reservation is not confirmed until you receive our email. Please pick up and pay for your tickets on the evening of the event at the cinema (6:45 to 7:15 pm). As a courtesy to those on the waiting list – please cancel if you can’t come (phone 090 602 0960). Reserved seating tickets are allocated on a first come – first served basis. We don’t pre-book seating but if you come early you can pick your favourite seats.