Digitizing Việt Nam marks a digital leap forward in Vietnam Studies through a Columbia - Fulbright collaboration, formalized through that began with a 2022 memorandum of understanding between the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the Vietnam Studies Center. The Digitizing Việt Nam platform began with the generous donation of the complete archive by the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation to Columbia University in 2018.
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On the evening of July 19, 2025, Columbia University played host to Vietnam on Screen: Generations in Dialogue, a landmark event celebrating the dynamic voices shaping contemporary Vietnamese cinema. Co-hosted by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute (WEAI) and the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), the event brought together filmmakers, artists, and audiences for a night of conversation, connection, and cinematic exploration.
The evening opened with remarks by Ambassador Đỗ Hùng Việt, Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, whose presence set a tone of cultural diplomacy and artistic bridge-building. This was followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion moderated by filmmaker Tony Bui, director of the award-winning Three Seasons, Artist-in-Residence at WEAI, and curator of Criterion’s Legacies of War series.
The panel featured three generations of Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American creative voices:
Together, the speakers reflected on their creative journeys, the evolution of Vietnamese film at home and abroad, and the role of cinema in fostering global dialogue around history, identity, and imagination.
Following the panel, guests gathered for a lively reception that furthered the spirit of community and cross-cultural exchange.
The evening concluded with the U.S. premiere of Skin of Youth, the latest feature from Vietnamese-born director Ash Mayfair, celebrated internationally for her debut The Third Wife. Set in a dreamlike vision of 1990s Saigon, the film tells the story of San, a transgender cabaret performer, and Nam, her lover and underground fighter, as they navigate love, danger, and the search for liberation amidst societal constraints. With lush cinematography and a tender but unflinching gaze, Skin of Youth is a bold meditation on gender, intimacy, and resilience. The screening was introduced by representatives from the festival and the director.
More than just a celebration of film, Vietnam on Screen spotlighted the power of storytelling to connect generations, geographies, and futures. In its blend of art and dialogue, the evening underscored Vietnamese cinema’s growing role on the global stage—and its ability to speak to our shared human experiences.
Weatherhead East Asian Institute (Columbia University)
A premier research institute for East Asian studies, WEAI fosters dialogue across cultures and disciplines through events, residencies, and academic programming.
New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF)
Founded in 2002, NYAFF is one of North America's leading showcases for Asian cinema, renowned for celebrating bold and original voices from across the continent.
The Vietnam Studies Center at Fulbright University Vietnam, in collaboration with the Department of Vietnamese Studies at Universität Hamburg, cordially invites you to the third session of the Vietnamese Culture Forum lecture series:
“Chữ Nôm: Script Ideology and Language Preservation Strategies among the Kinh (Việt) Minority in Southern China”
🗓 Date: Friday, 11 July 2025
🕑 Time: 2:30 – 4:00 PM (Central European Summer Time)
7:30 – 9:00 PM (Vietnam Time)
📍 Venue: Universität Hamburg – Asien-Afrika-Institut, Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Room 121 (in person)
💻 Zoom Livestream:
Zoom ID: 656 2963 9166
Password: 53265783
This talk will examine the symbolic and functional role of chữ Nôm as a cultural script and explore the strategies used by ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) communities in Southern China to preserve their language and cultural identity. Through insights from fieldwork and interdisciplinary research, Dr. Nguyễn Tô Lan will present a critical perspective on script consciousness, linguistic identity, and transnational heritage politics.
The event will be conducted in English and is open to the public.
The Asia Research Institute (ARI) will host a webinar on August 14, 2025, titled Bibliotactics: Libraries and the Colonial Public in Vietnam, featuring Dr. Cindy Anh Nguyen, Assistant Professor at UCLA. In this seminar, Dr. Nguyen will examine how Vietnamese readers reimagined and repurposed colonial libraries in Hanoi and Saigon, turning them into spaces of critique, education, and civic engagement that challenged imperial intentions. Drawing on her book published by the University of California Press, she explores the complex role of libraries in shaping colonial and postcolonial publics in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia.
📍 Hybrid format: NUS AS8 04-04 and Online via Zoom
🕓 Time: 4:00–5:30 PM (SGT)
The event promises insights into the history of information, censorship, and public knowledge under colonial rule.
