In its second edition, the Cooler Lumpur Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, attracted writers, filmmakers and those from the literary industry from across the world to its three-day event from 20 to 22 June.
#Fast was this year’s theme of the festival presented by PopDigital, the British Council and BMW Group Malaysia. Nearly 50 sessions represented an “ultra-marathon of conversations” around the idea of fast-forwarding the cultural agenda by sharing and experimenting with new ideas.
From Vietnam, Nguyen Truong Quy, a young writer and book curator joined a session on “Rock, Paper, Scissors: Cultural Censorship and the Death of Ideas” where he spoke about censorship in a country where it has become the norm.
Quy believed artists including writers and filmmakers helped create the cultural identity of a country and their imagination and creativity should never be hindered by any barrier, including censorship. OnThat only their readers and audiences hold the ultimate power on the fate of their works.
“I’ve learned a lot from others participants, especially from their sociology understanding,” said Quy - “I’m really impressed with the book Maggie and me by Damian Barr, it’s not only the story about the author’s childhood under the Margaret Thatcher regime but also reflects this special period in British society. I hope that readers in Vietnam can read the book in the near future.”
Photo caption: (From left) Katelijn Verstraete, Regional Director of Arts, British Council East Asia, Marc De Faoite, Truong Quy and Dain Said, on “Rock, Paper, Scissors: Cultural Censorship and the Death of Ideas” a session at the Cooler Lumpur Festival 2014.