Khanh Ho is writing the first Vietnamese American Detective Novel written by a Vietnamese American with a Vietnamese American Detective. But occasionally, he takes time off to support worthy causes: VIFF–the Vietnamese International Film Festival–launches March 1, 2013, 6-10 p.m. All are invited.
I’ve been volunteering with VIFF—the Vietnamese International Film Festival. As lead-up to the grueling work, we’ve been getting together and screening some of the features: films about everything from wrestling in the Midwest to child abduction in Africa. Deep topics.
The host is Ysa Le, who runs VAALA—the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association. We all sit around in her fancy screening room. Afterwards, there’s a discussion interlude, followed by a trek to the kitchen where we pig out and drink wine. I know: kind of high class.
We watched movies like Tran Anh Hung’s adaptation of Norwegian Wood–the blockbuster novel by one of this century’s greatest writers, Haruki Murakami:
Some of these movies have already garnered awards. But some of them represent the work of artists who are just at the beginnings of what, no doubt, will be fruitful careers. Some of it was super-polished; some, rough. All of it was engaging; all, exciting. Why? Because I felt like I was watching something special and new and different—unique—unfold before my eyes: like I was a witness to the blossoming of a flower that may only appear once in a desert landscape.
It was awesome to see the work. Of course, everybody has smart things to say. In the audience are several distinguished professors, doctors, lawyers—professionals of all sorts. There’s even a guy who sits on a museum board of trustees and I got to shake his hand and everything! There are also students—passionate and uncompromising, wild and woolly—who throw in more than just their two cents worth: they throw in stacks of Benjamins and make it rain…gangsta style…as if we were at a Snoop Dogg concert.
Knowledge bombs: everywhere I felt them. Blam. Blink. Shazzam.
Here’s what struck me about watching the movies and discussing them afterward: we may not have entirely agreed but the fact is that we are a very sophisticated audience…with some uncompromising tastes. We know our stuff.
And here I thought I was alone–the only one in the world who is super-smart. It is so liberating to realize that there’s a whole gang of people out there who know the same jedi mind tricks.
This reminded me of a lecture in my freshman literature class in college. We were studying Samuel Taylor Coleridge—one of the great Romantic poets. You know: he wrote that poem “Kubla Khan”—a nightmare dream vision of a pleasure dome with caves of ice…
Coleridge is one of the great poets of English Lit. But few people know that he is also one of the great critics, too. And what this professor said Coleridge said pretty much blew the top of my 19 year old head off: great literature also demands a great audience; the two develop hand in hand; they are not independent; you cannot have one without the other. And so the audience is just as important as the art object: it is the setting for the brilliant, sparkly solitaire.
The VIFF launch–a red carpet event–is about to blow up. All are invited. To learn more, click here.
March 1, 2013 > 6 – 10 PM
VAALA CULTURAL CENTER
1600 N. Broadway, Suite 210
Santa Ana, CA 92706
Khanh – What an interesting film festival this must have been! I often wish I knew more about film especially films that don’t necessarily get a whole lot of press. They’re sometimes the most interesting ones. And I’m sure that that experience gave you a lot of inspiration for your writing.
Margot, it has been an awesome experience. But it’s still ongoing: the launch is March 1–a gala event with press conference and red carpet. Everybody is invited. I have been spending quite a bit of time being a writing grunt: editing their movie catalog. It’s super fun. But mostly, I do stuff like that lounging around in sweats and an old tee shirt. Now I just have to figure out what to wear to look like a decent human being!
Khanh – That’s an easy one. You’re a writer; you don’t need to dress like a decent human being. It’s one of the job perks 😉
Oh, yes, writers are almost as slobby as professors…which is probably why I have found myself at one time or another engaged in that most disreputable line of work. But I’m anxious because the event will be tweeted and instagrammed…and my best pair of sweats are still at the cleaners!