Bay về nhà

No need for comment... but... I'm FLYING HOOOOOOME!!!!

Parents

Một buổi chiều với cha mẹ vui vẻ tràn ngập ánh sáng.

Last visit to my parents before I fly back to Taipei. The contrast between the sadness of our separation and the lightness of being that afternoon was overwhelming.

Một triệu tia sáng cho cha tôi.

Ảnh mình chụp vào năm ngoái, tại quê hương của ông ở Huế.

A million beams of light for my father. 

Photo taken last year, in his ancestral home in Huế.

"Each time my foot hits the sofa, the sound the metallic structure makes is like a bell with a very long resonance. I have to put my hand on it to stop it!" François said to me a few weeks ago. 

"Then I have to record it! One never knows what can come out of it in my music!"

"The sofa as musician!" we exclaimed.

And yes, for the Weinert documentary project, one of my new musicians is... the sofa! Recording it was a pain for the knuckles, but totally worth it.

Once edited and assembled together other the voices and other instruments, it sounded oddly spectacular!

Merci François! 

 

Ròm in Vietnam

The new poster for the release of Ròm in Vietnam!! So happy!!!

Cuối cùng Ròm cũng có chiếc poster chính thức mọi người ơi!

Giới thiệu với mọi người, đây là khu chung cư mà Ròm sống. Người dân ở đây nghèo, khổ nhưng họ xem nhau như gia đình, vui sướng hoạn nạn gì cũng có nhau. Với Ròm thì hên xui: có ngày được coi như thần hộ mạng, có ngày thì bị đuổi đánh như đuổi tà... 

Cũng trong lô chung cư cũ nhàu này, những câu chuyện về phận đời xô nghiêng, về ước mơ đổi đời và cả về tình người sẽ được kể...

Rừng - into the woods

Into the woods with Kevin for this second short film of mine, Rừng. I was on the verge to cancell it all, our shooting session in the forest, as I didn't have any proper camera, and felt a bit restless with what had been happening in recent time. Kevin sounded slightly disappointed on the phone, although the said he understood. But if not now, then when?

And I always enjoy seeing Kevin - perhaps too much he he. He was glad when I said I would come anyway and that we would just go with the flow.

And...

The light was beautiful, with its game of sunshine and clouds. We forgot we were near Paris...

That time in the forest was just perfect. I will find something to do with what I shot. Kevin was very happy.

That boy is so kind and full of passion, although he himself says he isn't exactly sure passion for what...

Petites turpitudes d'un voyageur distrait

The original situation was: to have taken the flight in March, but then, we what know happened and I had to stay in Paris for a few more months. (all this after I extended my stay when a friend invited me to come with him to see Madonna's Madame X concert, which got evnetually cancelled due to the pandemic...)

After the lockdown was lifted and I saw the possibility thanks to Jay of flying back with a working permit which was to help issue a visa to Taiwan, the situation was simple: just book the next available flight once my visa is validated! But... flights are full (so they say at the agency). I found myself on the wailist and was 'offered' to pay nearly 400 euros to have a confirmed seat. Nah...

So the next (less simple) situation was to show up at the airport on that given day and see what happens.

But... my visa cannot be issued if I do not produce a flight ticket showing that I will leave Taiwan afterwards. However I still had a cancelled flight from Taipei to Saigon that could be rescheduled. Hope hope hope...

That would be too easy, wouldn't it? A mischievious elf set up that my wallet got stolen at the bus station a few days ago. Inside were useful things like credit card and other personal documents... The bank stated that I had to wait for a new card to be issued and sent to me, that it usually would take a couple of weeks, and that not much could be done until then. So in the illusory hope that I got the credit card in time, I can book a new flight from Taiwan to Vietnam so that my visa for Taiwan gets validated in time for this Saturday, for a fight on June 20th, then everything will/would/could be perfect!

Well... if ever there is a seat, as that agency pointed out again, otherwise... it's the big blue unknown. But not the unknown I know. Another kind of unknown...

Why make things simple when there's so much joy in complication?!?

Oh, and apparently, the man who stole my wallet immediately ran to the nearest five star hotel to have a nice drink, then to another fancy place where he had another drink. Fortunately, there was a payment limit after which a magical secret four-digit number is required... Apparently, there has been an Amazon purchase which was attempted a couple of hours later....

Oh yes, onec back in Taipei I will have to go through two weeks of quarantine....

If....