Saigon Electric screening at the 34th annual AAIFF
August 14th, 2011 by Mr. C
SAIGON ELECTRIC made its east coast premiere at the Asian American Independent Film Festival with Stephane Gauger (director) on hand to introduce & conduct a brief Q&A session after the screening at the Clearview Cinemas in Chelsea.
Breakdancing would be the name of the game and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam would be the backdrop for this fun filled drama of b-boys and b-girls showing their goods in the hood! All elements of this form of street dance would clearly be represented as toprock, downrock, power moves, & freezes would each have their own time to shine in the gritty streets of old Saigon! The film would start out with a soundtrack of vietnamese hip hop while a viet b-boy whips around a few downrock and power moves knifing through the wind and puddles of water that lay in the way! This made for a beautiful moving image as the techniques of the dance moves displayed in slow motion & then to faster shutter speeds really enhanced the windmill and downrock breaks! Don’t sweat the technique, y’all! This would set the tone for some sweet eye candy of street expression as the story would unfold into something more than just hip hop. The plot would fuse in Mai, a young girl from the countryside making her trek into the big city to audition for a dance school with her ribbon dancing ways when she befriends Kim from the Saigon Fresh dance crew as they bust a move on the city concrete. Relationships between a country bumpkin, an urban dance team, a rich brat, & a grumpy old landlord would go from like oil mixing with water to a well infused blend of a vinaigrette by the end of the movie! As Mai battles with her insecurities, another battle would also brew in the form of breakdancing! The Saigon Fresh crew are preparing for an all out b-boy/b-girl battle on the dance floor with their more well to do counterparts, the North Killaz for the right to represent Vietnam in the next round of competions in Korea! Other complications that would add some sauce to this urban feel good dance story would be a dosage of falling in & out of love, friendships, a rediscovery for the appreciation of life from the old man, & a reality check when the saigon fresh crew gets evicted from the community center where all the orphans find refuge & solitude in favor of erecting a hotel funded by a hong kong conglomerate. The rich kid would also be an ingredient added in the pot to offer some contrast to the poor, working class of Ho Chi Minh city. The final battle between the Saigon Fresh crew vs the North Killaz will determine the destiny of the community center! The finale will be the dance offs of all dance offs! Some really intricate rocksteady break moves performed with ‘NAM flare accompanied by familiar beats and scratches will definitely enhance the dance! The use of traditional vietnamese drumming will also bridge the gap when east meets west!
I thought the film was very entertaining and refreshing to watch! I also found myself cheering on some of the characters in the film which is usually a good sign. We can all predict what the outcome of the story will be but the way the movie was presented and cinematically shot really added some whip appeal to it! Although the cast in the movie were 1st time actors/actresses, the passion in executing their art form really bled through the screen! Besides that, growing up on hip hop, trying to breakdance (I emphasize TRY), spinning on the wheels of steel, and appreciating the other 3 elements of the art form (the emcee, beatbox, and graffiti) didn’t hurt the situation either! I think the combination of an honest performance from a rookie cast coupled with an awesome display of breakdancing blended together with a great soundtrack (DJ Slim,Felt1,DJ One) definitely added to the seal of approval! The Q&A with the director would truly seal the deal! He seemed to be a real sincere & down to earth dude who presented his film with conviction! Here are some really cool points to note from the film extracted from the Q&A with the director Stephane Gauger:
*Hired real street dancers from Ho Chi Minh City & Hanoi (NO acting experience)
*All Vietnam based production cast except two NYC natives: cameraman Nguyen, & the producer.
*Director is not a dance or hip hop guy, but loves humanity and realizes that Vietnam is a changing society. He was born there & visits on a regular basis since the mid 1990’s.
*Hip Hop is a relatively new art form in Vietnam embraced by the youth for 4-5 years now.
*Soundtrack is a hybrid of hip hop artists from Vietnam & from Vietnamese Americans from San Francisco.
*Dancers in film have only been dancing 2-3 years & practice about 3 days a week.
*Dance choreographer is from L.A. who teaches at the Debbie Allen dance academy. He choreographed the Saigon Fresh crew while VIET MAX from Vietnam choreographed the north crew.
*It wasn’t a political thing that he named the north crew the north killaz. It was the vietnamese dance crews’ choice.
*Soundtrack of the film will be available for digital downloads in the future. Follow Saigon Electric on facebook to get the latest updates.
SAIGON ELECTRIC will be released in 12 major cities on October 7th! We also recommend adding the documentary, PLANET B-BOY to your watch list if you haven’t seen it yet! This will get your breakdance juices flowing with some heavy competition of B-Boy crews from the far east, local, & yonder!
Trailer of Saigon Electric via TheXocompany@Youtube
Tags: saigon electric
Posted in movies, mr. c | Comments (1)
August 24th, 2011 at 10:08 am
I’ve been living in Saigon for months, so I can see that they’re making the movie quite like the real life. Nice one and shouldn’t be missed!
Tom from Saigonstay