Event — Film screening

Framing Asia: Cityscapes: Home and Urbanisation

Three films about different phenomena associated with Asia's fast growing cities. Followed by discussion and Q&A. 'Home on Display' examines the construction of homes for China’s new rich; 'An Empty Home' focuses on another Chinese phenomenon: city homes that are fully furnished yet are empty most of the year. In the last film 'The Vanishing Village', local rurals and embedded researchers tell about what happened when the encroachment of the city of Hanoi changed the rural life of many in nearby La Tinh.

"Framing Asia" is a series of monthly film screenings organised throughout the 'Leiden Asia Year' (2017), by KITLV (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean), IIAS (international Institute for Asian Studies), the department CA-DS (Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology) of Leiden University and 'Studium Generale' (Leiden University).

For the latest information about this evening and the Framing Asia programme, please visit: www.kitlv.nl/framing-asia  

On Tuesday evening May 9, three films will be screened, followed by discussion and Q&A.

Films 

Home on Display (18 min)

Nina Gschloessl & Laura Engelhardt

Home on Display is an experimental documentary that examines the construction of homes for China’s new rich. It focuses on the desire and search for an ‘ideal’ home and the growing commercialisation of this process. As this takes place, (bad) dreams and reality start to blur.   

An Empty Home (17 min)

Willy Sier & Sanderien Verstappen

In contemporary China, cities are growing fast. For people from rural areas, buying a house in the city has become an important symbol of success. Yet, the houses they are able to afford are often located in city outskirts with few labour opportunities. Therefore many are unable to stay long-term and instead furnish and store it for the future. This film is about such a house. It is empty most of the year, but the owners still consider it their home.

The Vanishing Village (24 min)

John Kleinen

This documentary is shot around the village of La Tinh that currently lies on the outskirts of greater Hanoi. Because of the rapid urbanisation it is probably a matter of time before the city will take over the village. Local villagers and embedded researchers tell what happened in the area when the encroachment of the city of Hanoi changed the rural life of many. How did they react? What did they feel? And what do they see as their future?

Discussion

Willy Sier & Sanderien Verstappen: Willy Sier is currently a PhD student at the AISSR. Her research focuses on the experience of rural students following education in Wuhan, China. Sanderien Verstappen works as a lecturer in (visual) anthropology at the University of Amsterdam.

John Kleinen taught anthropology and history of Southeast Asia, and visual anthropology for BA and MA students. His current research interests include the history of Vietnam, the institutional dynamics of French colonial expansion, and theory and practice of visual anthropology.

Freek Colombijn works as an associate professor at the VU Amsterdam. His current research is the nexus between urban social inequality, environmental awareness, consumptive behaviour and urbanism in Indonesia.