The Onion Cellar’s Sounds by Southeast Film Festival is screening this week in Hanoi, to coincide with ASEAN Pride 2015. Festival curator Trần Duy Hưng introduces the films, and explains why they are so worth watching.
Words by Trần Duy Hưng
With its impressionist approach to film making, its atmospheric cinematography and unhurried pace, its lush and delicate soundscape that takes in summer rains, wind chimes, countryside cicadas and boat engines Y/Our Music feels like a breath of fresh air in an age where music documentaries are often jam-packed with static talking-head sequences and trivial biographical anecdotes. And best of all is the array of music featured in this film, it’s hypnotic, chaotic, raw and psychedelic.
In its elegant unconventionality and important subject matter – musicians operating on the fringe of society and outside the mainstream’s music – Y/Our Music brings to mind some of my personal favourites from The Onion Cellar ‘film catalogue’: the wonderful Japan-based duo of We Don’t Care About Music Anyway (Cedric Dupire & Gaspard Kuentz) and KanZeOn (Neil Cantwell & Tim Grabham), Werner Penzel’s portrait of Fred Frith in Step Across The Border and Vincent Moon’s exploration of Hanoi’s left-field music scene Hanoise (which will be screened by the The Onion Cellar early next month).
And I hope this is not too big a claim, but in my opinion this charming, surprisingly-low-budget affair is right up there with contemporary Thai arthouse hits like the Last Life in the Universe and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.
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Coinciding with ASEAN Pride 2015, The Onion Cellar is putting on a film festival celebrating the sounds of Southeast Asia by showcasing an array of great music documentaries.
Film Festival Program
10. June Harana – Cinematheque
17. June Yangon Calling – Cama ATK
19. June Y/our Music – Cama ATK
