- Dust and Metal brings together past and present stories of freedom in Vietnam. With a population of 97 million, and 45 million registered motorbikes (amongst the highest in South East Asia) that's almost one bike for every two people.
- Between tourist promotions and Hollywood films lies another Vietnam, whose stunning landscape has been evocatively captured from the country's most accessible form of transport: the motorbike. Like her ground-breaking 2016 work Asunder, Johnson's new film employs old and new footage in inventive ways to challenge preconceived stereotypes. It also explores the role of the motorbike - often the only suitable mode of transport for navigating Vietnam's vast arterial system of tiny country roads - within the country's history and culture. Accompanying Johnson's evocative montage is Xo Xinh's electronic score, conveying in equal measure the film's sense of wonder.
- Dust and Metal brings together for the first time, a live cinema documentary featuring past and present stories of freedom in Vietnam. With a population of 97 million, and 45 million registered motorbikes (amongst the highest in South East Asia) that's almost one bike for every two people. The countries urban roads, and 'hem' alleys that are too narrow for cars, are awash with the transportation of goods of all types and sizes on the back of motorbikes, including washing machines, entire families, and chickens. The sounds of engines and horns create a symphony of Vietnamese life.
- Dust & Metal brings together for the first time, a live cinema documentary featuring past and present stories of freedom in Vietnam. With a population of 97 million, and 45 million registered motorbikes (amongst the highest in South East Asia) that's almost one bike for every two people. The countries urban roads, and 'hem' alleys that are too narrow for cars, are awash with the transportation of goods of all types and sizes on the back of motorbikes, including washing machines, entire families, and chickens. The sounds of engines and horns create a symphony of Vietnamese life.
Dust & Metal takes the form of a creative documentary in the vein of director Esther Johnson's live cinema feature film ASUNDER. Through the re-positioning of difficult to access archive film, contemporary footage, and a live score composed and performed by Vietnamese artist Xo Xinh, Dust & Metal will make rare archive film available to new audiences, and illuminate unfamiliar histories of Vietnam.
A symbol of Vietnam and its history, motorbikes encompass notions of work, class, travel, technology, and escape. Owning one has enabled movement and enterprise for millions of people. During the war in Vietnam, bicycles were invaluable for transporting supplies through the narrow 'hem'. Bicycles have been replaced with motorbikes to navigate the growing waves of traffic. In response to national and international debates on climate change, urban planners in Hanoi aim to ban petrol/diesel motorbikes by 2030 in an attempt to ease traffic and curb pollution. In response companies in Vietnam are producing electric motorbikes as an alternative form of transport.
Media narratives of Vietnam tend to show the country either through a tourist lens (the Golden Bridge, Ha Long Bay) or through Hollywood versions of the war in Vietnam. These views contrast with news stories on human trafficking and the case of 39 Vietnamese nationals who died entering the UK in the back of a truck in October 2019. The contrasts are symptomatic of the country's complex opposing identities as a tourist destination, communist nation, and growing GDP in a time of flux. Stepping away from dominant depictions, Dust & Metal offers an unorthodox perspective of Vietnam that merges sound and vision for an immersive appreciation of a unique cultural heritage.
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