in Music & Arts

Cá Hồi Hoang to Disband After National Tour Marking 10 Years of Making Music

On the cusp of their current nationwide tour, indie band Cá Hồi Hoang abruptly announced that they would disband after touring finishes.

in Culture

The Hanoi Village Where Making Folding Fans Involves Every Family

One summer day, I made a trek into suburban Hanoi to Thạch Thất District. Walking along the dirt road surrounded by green maturing rice fields, I reached Chàng Sơn Village.

Paul Christiansen

in Music & Arts

Art Exhibition 'Ngẫu Biến' Invites Viewers to Find Their Own Meaning

“When you write, you go inside yourself, when you paint, you go outside,” said poet and painter ng. anhan.

in Film & TV

Filmmakers Trần Anh Hùng, Phạm Thiên Ân Win Awards at Cannes Film Festival

At the 76th Cannes International Film Festival, Phạm Thiên Ân's Bên trong vỏ kén vàng (Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell) was awarded the Camera D'or while Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Trần Anh Hùng won the best director prize for The Pot-au-Feu.

in In Plain Sight

In Hanoi, the Vietnam Museum of Nature Is an Inquisitive Child's Heaven

Amidst the dull, grey buildings of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, a giant dinosaur model stands out. The T-Rex was guarding the entrance to the Vietnam National Museum of Nature (Bảo tàng Thiên nhiên Việt Nam), and as I approached it I felt a sense of childlike wonder wash over me. I thought I would learn much about Vietnam’s natural history; I was wrong.

Khôi Phạm

in Film & TV

Review: Wow! This Brochure for Vietnam Tourism Has a Plot and a Romance.

I was prepared to hate A Tourist’s Guide to Love on sight. As a movie setting, Vietnam has been burned by foreign productions one too many times, so I often find myself dry-heaving whenever any international project announces its intention of portraying Vietnam on screen.

Paul Christiansen

in In Plain Sight

An Ode to Saigon’s Chò Nâu Trees

It’s too cold for chò nâu to grow where I’m from, but we still gave it an English name: dipterocarp.

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Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

The Fraught Human-Earth Dynamics in 'Revenge of Gaia,' a Collection of Vietnamese Eco-Fiction

Stories focusing on the natural world and humanity’s relationships with the environment existed before the term eco-literature became popular in the west in the 1970s, but since its coinage, writers a...

in Music & Arts

How Young Artists Are Bringing Mural Arts to Schools in Rural Vietnam

On their fifth journey off the beaten paths, Tô Đậm is heading to the highland of Ma Bó, Lâm Đồng Province for a new season of lessons, stories, and adventures previously unfolded.

in Film & TV

HBO Adaptation of 'The Sympathizer' Casts Kiều Chinh, MC Kỳ Duyên, Sandra Oh

Hollywood stars Sandra Oh and Robert Downey Jr. are joined by a number of diasporic Vietnamese actors for the anticipated HBO adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sy...

in In Plain Sight

Hanoi's Literature Museum Is Not Neglected, but It's Not Thriving Either

From the side road of Âu Cơ Street, I turned into ngõ 275.

Khôi Phạm

in Quãng 8

Hồ Trâm Anh Writes Music for Those Who Walk City Streets Yearning for the Open Sky

When I begin my interview with Hồ Trâm Anh, a light shower starts sprinkling over Saigon’s overcast maudlin sky. I apologize if any errant pitter-patter might distract our call, but Trâm Anh brushes i...

in Music & Arts

Q&A: Nguyễn Quí Đức on Tadioto, Zone 9, and How He Fell for Hanoi's Charms

Countless are the number of hours Hanoi creatives have spent sipping whisky and contemplating the world at the famous drinking hole that is Tadioto.

in Culture

In Ninh Thuận's Chăm Community, a Joyous Celebration of Katê, the Year's Most Important Festival

The Katê festival is the oldest and most unique festival of the Chăm ethnic minority and has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage by Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tou...

in Quãng 8

From Rapper to Singer-Songwriter: Minh Đinh and the Trials to Find Himself

Minh Đinh's journey of self-discovery is one that represents the effort of the multi-talented artists in the Vietnamese indie community.

in Music & Arts

The Hanoian Artisan Carving Intricate Reliefs From Leather to Make Book Covers

The enduring pages in our history deserve book covers that match their significance.

Paul Christiansen

in Culture

Need a Sign From the Universe? Lương Hữu Khánh Street Has Every Color, Shape, and Size.

Saigon is filled with addresses you aren’t looking for, announcements not aimed at you and signs for businesses you have no plans to frequent. Sign street demands delving into the oft-ignored.

in Music & Arts

A Brief History of Paris by Night, the Anchor of Vietnamese Culture Abroad

If home cuisine could satiate exilic tongues that resist strange flavors, art might condole with nostalgic hearts. Paris by Night is one such therapeutic art, or the hallmark of performing arts for Vi...

Paul Christiansen

in Culture

In Đà Nẵng, a Vintage Money Aficionado Forgoes Professorship for Life in the Night Market

What gives one’s life meaning? For some, it’s faith, family or art. For Trần Văn Nam, it’s money, but not in the way you probably imagine.

in Music & Arts

'Đông Nam Bộ' Project Invites 14 Young Artists to Draw the History of Their Hometowns

“Đông Nam Bộ” is a collection of illustrations reflecting the culture, history and local charms of provinces in the Southeast Region of Vietnam. The artworks were all created by artists who live or gr...

in Culture

Meet Chú Hai Bạc, Saigon's Veteran Vespa and Lambretta 'Doctor'

Even in his 70s, Phan Văn Bạc — better known among friends and fans as chú Hai Bạc — is still getting his hands dirty every day working with engines, screws and bolts to take care of vintage Vespas an...

in Culture

Vietnam's Cultural Diversity via 3 Versions of Sọ Dừa in Kinh, Chăm, Raglai Folklore

On Sọ Dừa’s birth certificate, how should one fill in the “ethnic group” field?

in In Plain Sight

How a Plane Carcass Became a Museum and Community Hangout in Hanoi

The massive chunk of metal greeted me as soon as I stepped through the gate.

in Film & TV

'Đêm Tối Rực Rỡ!' Wins Best Feature Film at 2021 Golden Kite Awards

In addition to Best Feature Film, Đêm Tối Rực Rỡ! (The Brilliant Darkness!) earned Lý Nguyễn Nhã Uyên a win for Best Leading Actress and Best Screenplay for the drama co-written and directed...

Khôi Phạm

in Film & TV

Review: 'Cù Lao Xác Sống' Is the Worst Movie I've Ever Watched. I Love It to Death.

When we entered the auditorium to watch Cù Lao Xác Sống, no theater attendant was there to check our tickets. Perhaps the telling emptiness of the room made them realize they could be doing better thi...

in Quãng 8

Meet Humm, the Music Collective Blending Soft Tunes With Orchestral Instruments

Though palpably yearning in nature, Humm's music invites listeners to embark on a journey where healing is the quintessential experience.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'Bronze Drum,' an Entertaining, TV-Ready Reimagining of the Legend of Hai Bà Trưng

Turning a beloved but brief legend based on scant historical evidence into a page-turning novel is no easy task. But Phong Nguyen’s book Bronze Drum succeeds in depicting the upbringing and rebel...