Tuesday 29 January 2013

Re-schedule January/February Event

Dear all readers and followers, we apologise for the inconvenience caused by last week's Friday's no show event. We are now set for the coming Friday 1st February and Timothy Linh Bui will indeed start the new year with a lecture.

Hope to see you all Friday morning!

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Saigon Creative January 2013 event

After a long hiatus, Saigon Creative is now up and running as we have secured new meetup facilities thanks to TBWA's expansion to new and larger office space.

We are starting the new year with a lecture from Timothy Linh Bui so please register and hope to see you all on the 25th!

TIMOTHY LINH BUI
Timothy co-produced and co-wrote THREE SEASONS, a triple award winner at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival - the first film to win both the Grand Jury and the Audience Award in festival history as well as the Cinematography Award.  The film was also in official competition at the 1999 Berlin Film Festival.  THREE SEASONS was the first American Film to shoot entirely in Vietnam; features Harvey Keitel, and released theatrically by USA films/October Films.  

In 2000, Timothy made his directorial debut with GREEN DRAGON starring Patrick Swayze and Academy Award Winner Forest Whitaker who also served as executive producer.  The film made its world premiere at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic Competition.  It is the recipient of the 2001 Humanitas Prize Award, and the 2001 Austin Film Festival Audience Award.  It was theatrically released in 2002.  

In 2004, he produced INSIDE OUT starring Eriq La Salle, Steven Weber and Kate Walsh; it had its world premiere at CineVegas 2005 and is distributed domestically by Anchor Bay Entertainment in June 2007.  In 2006, Timothy executive produced THE OWL AND THE SPARROW. The film world premiered at the 2007 Rotterdam International Film Festival and received the Audience Award Best Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles International Film Festival. The film went on to win numerous awards including Vietnam’s Golden Kite award for critics choice.

Timothy directed 2009’s POWDER BLUE about four lost souls desperately searching for love and miracles within the underbelly of Los Angeles.  The picture stars Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, Jessica Biel, Ray Liotta and Lisa Kudrow.  It was released in 2010 by Image Entertainment.
In early 2009, Timothy and fellow Vietnamese American filmmakers founded their own distribution company called WAVE RELEASING.  WAVE RELEASING’s recent releases are OWL AND SPARROW, A FOOL FOR LOVE (DE MAI TINH) which was released in 2010 and SAIGON ELECTRIC in 2011.
Timothy is in preparations to direct DIE LAUGHING – About a femme assassin and a sweet-natured pho chef, together, they take on an impossible mission to deliver a mysterious silver metal case from Saigon to Da Nang in 36 hours.



Tuesday 11 December 2012

12/12/12 – 12th December 2012



The Saigon Creative Mornings have had a hiatus due to location change. We aim to start fresh again in January 2013, more posts will follow with further information.

Today's post is a guest blog from Malin Kihlström, a Swedish copy writer and photographer who is passionate about giving back. She has shared with us a video, localized for Vietnamese language, to help inform about the terrible impact Rhino poaching has. Please read what Malin has to say:


About the Rhino Project: I got in touch with the African Conservation Foundation a while ago through Facebook, offering them to help out and consult on marketing issues on a voluntary basis. Our recent project is to release a Vietnam version of a video animation that was made for the World Rhino Day. Among other things, we are trying to get bloggers - like you - onboard, asking them if they want to share this video and be part of this very important project.

I believe that bloggers are very strong opinion builders and role models to young people and we are hoping that you will make people understand the importance of this and also make the video a viral "talk of the town". It is of utmost importance to make a change in the attitude towards the use of rhino horns, and I believe that young people are more open towards new facts than older people.

The video is being distributed to all embassies of the supply and demand countries and their governments are urged to take effective measures to halt the trade.

Why is the rhino close to extinction?: The rhino is being hunted into extinction because of human appetite for their distinctive horns. In Vietnam, rhino horn is mainly a recreational (party) drug and used by affluent people as a detoxifying beverage and body-rejuvenating tonic. Scientific studies however proved that rhino horn has no medicinal value. Rhino horns are composed largely of the protein keratin, also the chief component in hair, fingernails, and animal hooves. In short, you’d do just as well chewing on your fingernails.

The use of rhino horn has devastating effects in Africa. Rhino poaching, in South Africa alone, now accounts for 1.6 animals per day. This comes down to 1 rhino poached every 15 hours. More than 500 rhinos could die this year if current poaching rates continue. Rhino poaching has increased with 3750% in South Africa between 2007 and 2012. The only way to stop this is to stop the demand for the horns.

About the ACF: The African Conservation Foundation is working towards the protection and conservation of Africa's endangered wildlife and their habitats. Founded in 1999, ACF fills a unique niche by creating an Africa-wide network for information exchange and capacity building of conservation efforts in the region. ACF's goal is to support and link African conservation initiatives, groups and NGOs, with the aim of strengthening their capacity, building partnerships and promoting effective communication and co-ordination of conservation efforts.

If you would like more information about the ACF you are more than welcome to contact the director Arend de Haas - info(at)africanconservation(dot)org

About Malin Kihlström: I have a degree in marketing and copywriting and I have worked in advertising for many years. At the moment I am working for an advertising agency in Malmö and I have worked with clients that vary from local businesses to high-profile companies like Daimler-Chrysler, Henri Lloyd and the Swedish Football Association. I have also recently set up my own photography business. My interest in conservation issues is deeply rooted, having grown up in the countryside surrounded by wildlife.

I have a great passion for traveling and my travels have brought me to many parts of the African continent, where I have seen some of the problems that surrounds wildlife conservation. Conservation in Africa has changed quite a bit in the last years and it's now a struggle to save the few wild pieces from poachers, developers and the resource extraction industries. After years in the marketing business I grew to realize that I wanted to use my knowledge in marketing for "a better good" - not just helping big companies earn even more money.

I have therefore, on a voluntary basis, become involved in different conservation organizations that I have been getting to know during my travels and through the Internet.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Saigon Creative July event review




A new month, a new topic and a new location. Despite serving great coffee, the meet up at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was the smallest we have ever held, but it proved to be a highly interesting and lively discussion. So much, that we happily ran into overtime and had doubled the time in a blink of an eye.

Stories about monks facing their fears by tying themselves in tree tops staring down into the abyss when waking up in the morning to meditation in Indian prisons and a lot more.

A big thank you to the ones turning up, hope to see more of you next time. 

Stay tuned for the upcoming August event.







Tuesday 24 July 2012

Saigon Creative July event



Profile
Minh, with a background in Buddhist Studies & meditation, has been working and living in Vietnam for the past 5 and a half years running events, teaching, and playing music.

Topic: 
5 New Things that You Didn't know about Meditation. 

Minh will take us through the latest neuroscience research on meditation and his take from the Zen Buddhist side of meditation.

For artists, this will be a fascinating talk for people who want another glimpse into the mind and brain they use to create.


Tuesday 19 June 2012

About architecture, dialogue, ethic and art



 


It was really worth waiting for Tereza and Charles’ talk last week.  

The audience mainly consisting in non-architects was enlightened on the whole process of an architectural work, from the first discussion with a client  to the final construction. Tereza and Charles made us realize how complex this process is, ranging from a full analysis of the client’s needs, taste and budget through a permanent dialogue, up to the cooperation with authorities, engineers and contractors…

We discovered also what makes their agency T3 Architecture unique. It is this specific character in their work which is so exemplary in a developing country:  they have an ethic.  Their ethical rules include harmony with the environment, respect of people, promotion of natural and local materials and use of low energy systems.

A surprising thing in their work is that there is also something close to art experimentation sometimes, like when they decided to lay cortene steel boards under an olive tree to create a chemical reaction between the dripping oil and the steel before using the boards for the façade of a house in Provence. It is  probably this common taste for experimentation with some artists and the conscience that boundaries between creative fields are so narrow that have brought  them to conceptualize and build “la boite”, a simple wood box of 2 x 2 x 2meters that they put at contemporary artists’ disposal to be used at their own convenience.

Once again, a very interesting talk to listen to for those who could wake up early that morning…