Running between 15–25 October and adapting the Stories model developed by Scottish Documentary Institute, FAMLAB x STORIES works with 16 emerging Vietnamese filmmakers – as well as musicians and sound artists – to celebrate the lives of five female traditional music practitioners of Hanoi.
Linked by their connection to folk music and traditions, the lives and destinies of the five main characters, nevertheless, could not be more different from each other's. Moving beyond both the confines of music documentaries and the parameters of character portraits, the films shed light onto nuanced and often-overlooked stories of memory, identity and heritage (across cultural, collective and personal dimensions), at the same time exploring how these elements co-interact within the fabric of 21st-century life in the 8-million-people capital city, and in so doing engendering new acts of ‘civil resistance’.
At the core, the philosophical questions: Why do we do what we do? And what does it mean to be human?
Following this beginning, we hope that the films – and the conversations they initiate – will enjoy an extensive life thereafter in various international contexts and sites.
* All films will screen with subtitles in English.
* A question and answer session with all film-makers and various characters from the films will take place following the screening.
* Workshop participants: Vu Minh An, Nguyen Hien Anh, Tran Hoai Anh, Nguyen Diep Thuy Anh, Ho Minh Chau, Do Quang Dung, Tran Mai Khanh Ha, Huong Donna, Nguyen Dieu Linh, Nguyen Ngoc Thao Ly, Nguyen Duc Minh, Le Thu Minh, Dao Thi Bich Ngoc, Pham Anh Sang, Nguyen Phuong Thao, Nguyen Thanh Toan, Ly Ha Trang, Huynh Kim Khanh Tran, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Nguyen Thi Thanh Van.
* Workshop guest speakers: Noe Mendelle (Director of Scottish Documentary Institute), Yasmin Fedda (Independent documentary Film maker)
* Workshop facilitators from TPD: Nguyễn Hoàng Phương (TPD Director), Đào Linh Trang
* Music Advisor: Artist Nguyễn Xuân Sơn
