Organizer: Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Type/Location: In Person / Brooklyn, NY
Description:
Join us for a special one-night-only presentation of A Life in Cinema, a cine-concert by Sundance Award-winning filmmaker Tony Bui, who serves as Artistic Director, featuring the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra in a rare New York appearance.
Bringing together scenes from decades of Vietnamese cinema, A Life in Cinema tells the story of Viet Nam through the lives, memories, and experiences captured on screen. Moving from youth and innocence through upheaval and war, into peace, renewal, and a new era, the cine-concert traces a nation and its people in transformation across generations.
Presented at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, one of New York City’s historic performance stages, A Life in Cinema transforms unforgettable images into a continuous cinematic and musical journey, celebrating the richness of Vietnamese stories, cinema, and culture.
The event takes place during United Nations General Assembly Week as part of a Viet Nam-U.S. cultural program.
About the Performers:
Tony Bui is a Sundance award-winning writer, director, and producer. He served as Artist-in-Residence at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute and teaches in Columbia’s School of the Arts graduate film program. He is the founding director of Vietnam Arts in Action (VAiA), an initiative at Columbia that advances cross-cultural dialogue through cinema and the arts.
The Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1997. It is one of the best orchestras in Vietnam. At present, the Orchestra comprises of professors, lecturers of Vietnam National Academy of Music. Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra performs annually with foreign guest conductors such as Wolfgang Groehs (Austria), Xavier Rist (France), Hikotaro Yazaki (Japan), Robert Ryker (USA), Mats Lilijefors (Sweden), Stephen Ellery (UK), Max Olding (Australia), Mark Gorenstein (Russia), Dariusz Waszak (Poland), Shuichi Komiyama (USA), Leonid Nikolaiev (Russia). The Orchestra also played under the baton of Vietnamese conductors such as Prof. People’s Artist Nguyen Trong Bang, Artist of Merit Nguyen Thieu Hoa and Le Phi Phi (Vietnam/Macedonia).
Registration:
To attend the event in person, please register here.
Please arrive at least 30 minutes before the program begins—by 7:15 p.m.—to allow sufficient time for security screening and entry.
Co-organizers:
Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the United Nations, Viet Arts in Action at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, and the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra
Presented in partnership with the New York Asian Film Festival.