UH Gamelan Ensembles
Saturday, April 20, 2013
7:30 p.m., Barbara Smith Amphitheater
$12 general admission
$8 students, seniors (65+), UH faculty/staff (ID required)

Hear gamelan music from two neighboring Indonesian cultures – Java and Bali – as the UH Gamelan Ensembles present an evening of traditional and contemporary repertoire. The Balinese portion of the concert will also feature dance.
The UH Balinese Ensemble is directed by Made Widana. The UH Javanese Gamelan Ensemble, now in its 42nd year, is directed by Byron Moon, under the guidance of Pak Hardja Susilo, the ensemble’s founding director. Ensemble members include UH music students and members of the UH and local communities.

Presented in cooperation with the Hawaii Gamelan Society. View flyer.

Spring 2013 CSEAS SPEAKER SERIES
A Presentation by Consul General Toyoei Shigeeda, Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu
Japan-ASEAN Relations
Location: Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room); UHM
When: Friday, April 12th, 12:00 P.M. 

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa cordially invites you to a talk with Consul General Toyoei Shigeeda of the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu. Consul General Shigeeda will be giving a 45 minute talk titled, “Japan-ASEAN Relations” followed by a 15-30 minute Q&A/discussion session. All are welcome to attend this free talk!

Consul General Shigeeda was born on August 1, 1952. After graduating from Chuo University (Tokyo), Faculty of Law, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981. He served in Japan, as Director for Inspection with the Ministry of Foreign Affair, Counselor for Environment Affairs with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Director of Passport Division with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Senior Executive Director for International Relations with the Osaka Prefectural Government. His overseas assignments include the Embassies of Japan in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Egypt and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna. His immediate past assignment was the Consul General of Japan at Frankfurt, Germany.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies

For more information, please contact The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at cseas@hawaii.edu.

On, Friday, 2/8/13 we gave a special screening of the Thai documentary, “Baby Arabia.”  ” (The film) examines how the band’s infectiously rhythmic blend of Malay and Arab music is reconciled with the Muslim faith. The band’s sprawling lineup includes accordion, guitars, keyboards, several singers and a battery of drums and percussion.” (Source – Wise Kwai’s Bangkok Cinema Scene)

Thailand (2010, 80 minutes)
Thai w/English subtitles

Directed by: Panu Aree, Kaweenipon “Salim” Ketprasit and Kong Rithdee
Cast: Jameelah Boonmalerd, Supachai Luanwong, Suriyah Madtorhead

Baby Arabia follows one of the oldest Thai-Muslim bands specializing in the subcultural genre of Arab-Malay music – the bouncy ethnic cross-pollination of Arabian melodies, Malay throbs,Thai Luke-thoong kicks, and a bit of Latin tempo. We meet Geh, founder of the band who taught himself to play the accordion 35 year ago. Geh is joined by Umar, a former Koran teacher and now a guitarist with a knack for Egyptian numbers. Fronting their band is Jamilah, a husky-voiced, humble diva who teaches the Koran during the day and sings Arabic songs at night while wondering if the world of melody can be both faith-bound and joyously secular. Baby Arabia plays cover version of classical as well as contemporary Arab and Malay music (though the band members do not speak those languages) and they’ve been touring mosque fairs, circumcision rites and weddings at Muslim communities around Bangkok and the Central Region for three decades. Though some Islamic scholars question their brand of worldly merry-making, claiming that it’s against the law of the religion, the humanizing power of music and irresistible exuberance of their songs provide a definitive counter-argument.

-Panu Aree, Co-director

Trailer:

Co-sponsored by Muslim Societies in Asia and the Pacific

Wednesday, February 6, 2013 @6:30 PM
Center for Korean Studies Building

Singapore (2011, 90 mins)
Hokkien, Shanghaiese, Teochow, Hakka, Mandarin, Cantonese w/English subtitles

Director: Kelvin Tong
Screenplay: Kelvin Tong, Ken Kwek, Marcus Chin
Music: Joe Ng, Alex Oh
Art Direction: Tommy Chan Kok Onn
Cast: Olivia Ong, Chew Chor Meng, Nancy Sit, Yvonne Lim, Ben Yeow, including a host of cameos from well known Singapore singers and actors and celebrities from Hong Kong and Taiwan

Singapore, the present day. As the owner (Nancy Sit) of Brilliant Pearl Photo Shop packs up and prepares to close down the family business, her granddaughter, Ah Min (Olivia Ong), a fashion photographer, is intrigued by some old pictures. Ah Min’s mother tells her how the history of Brilliant Pearl and the legendary Great World Amusement Park, which finally closed in 1978 after 40 years, were intertwined. Ah Min seeks out her mother’s old friend, Goh Ah Beng, who tells her the stories behind the photographs. As the film takes us on a stroll down memory lane, we meet a clown on a quest to have his photo taken with movie star Elizabeth Taylor; hear the tale of a carnival shooting gallery operator who experiences her first teenage love with a Malaysian medicinal oil seller’s son; meet a washed up diva of the Flamingo Nightclub who used to sing for her lost love; and reminisce with a lok-lok (hotpot) seller who narrates the story of his wedding dinner with his mute wife the night the Japanese invaded Singapore during World War II. Interwoven into the film are stories of a multitude of characters that lived, worked, played, sang, danced, and even fell in love at Great World. The result is a slick, enjoyable slice of retro entertainment that…has enough ingenuous charm to work with audiences familiar with the Southeast Asian lifestyle – especially with its unique pot-pourri of Chinese dialects! -Derek Elley, Film Business Asia

Please support the distributor by purchasing all of their films!
Distributor: InnoForm Media

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 @ 6:30 PM
Center for Korean Studies Building, UHM
Thailand (2010, 130 mins)
Thai & Korean w/English subtitles

Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun
Producer: Jira Maligool
Cast: Chantavit Dhanasevi, Nuengthida Sophon

Two Thai tourists meet cute in Korea in Hello Stranger, an adorable rom-com that salutes, pokes fun at and deftly tinkers with the conventions of its own genre.

During Thailand’s Songkran Festival, a man (Chantavit Dhanasevi, who co-wrote the screenplay) joins a package tour to Korea but is stranded in Seoul when he is accidentally misses out on a mountain trip. Abroad for the first time and speaking little English, he latches on to a Thai girl (Nuengthida Sophon) he meets by chance to explore the city together. When she breaks up with her control freak boyfriend over the phone, they head to the countryside to attend her friend Min Ah’s wedding.

The film gets its spontaneous, happy-go-lucky vibe from emphasizing how the protagonists reveal more of themselves to strangers as one tends to lose one’s inhibitions abroad.

The screenplay deftly light-foots around scenarios that would have turned schmaltzy, the best example being a candle-lit dinner that becomes a gag that turns on May’s idolizing of Korean heartthrob Bae Yong-jun.

Hello Stranger makes wry observations on the Thais’ infatuation with Korean TV drama, all the while giving them what they want by shooting in all the touristy locations with K-drama references – even Min Ah’s house looks like the set of a Joseon Dynasty costume epic.

The film was Thailand’s box office top earner in 2010. Addiction to Korean TV drama is not necessary for getting the ubiquitous references to the subject, but it helps.

-Maggie Lee, The Hollywood Reporter

Trailer:

Distributor: GMM Tai Hub (GTH)

Please support the distributor by purchasing all of their films!

Reminder…dress warmly, the auditorium is heavily air-conditioned.

Spring 2013 CSEAS SPEAKER SERIES
A Presentation by Billy Tea, WSD-Handa Fellow at the Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Handle with Care: Establishing a Myanmar Style of Democracy
Location: Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room); UHM
When: Friday, January 25th, 12:00 P.M. 

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa cordially invites you to a talk with Billy Tea, WSD-Handa Fellow at the Pacific Forum, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Mr. Tea will be giving a 45 minute talk titled, “Handle with Care: Establishing a Myanmar Style of Democracy” followed by a 15-30 minute Q&A/discussion session. All are welcome to attend this free talk!  A synopsis follows:

Myanmar, a country rich in natural resources, including oil, gas, minerals, and wood has been closed for decades. However, within the last two years it has experienced a great transformation toward liberalization. Two questions come to mind.  What are the main challenges that lie ahead? What can be done to ensure Myanmar’s path toward democracy?

Mr. Billy Tea is a WSD-Handa Fellow at the Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he focuses on security issues in Southeast Asia and maritime security in the Asia-Pacific region. He was formerly an analyst with the Foreign Policy and Security Studies Bureau (FPSSB) at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia, where his research focused on conflict prevention, Chinese foreign policy in Asia, and security and defense relations among the US, Asia, and Europe.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies

For more information, please contact The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at cseas@hawaii.edu.

Spring 2013 CSEAS SPEAKER SERIES
A Presentation by Jack Suyderhoud, UHM Professor of Business Economics
Economic Development Policies in Southeast Asia: An Overview
Location: Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room); UHM
When: Friday, January 18th, 12:00 P.M. 

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa cordially invites you to a talk with UHM Professor of Business Economics, Jack Suyderhoud. Professor Suyderhoud will be giving a 45 minute talk titled, “Economic Development Policies in Southeast Asia: An Overview” followed by a 15-30 minute Q&A/discussion session. All are welcome to attend this free talk!

Professor Suyderhoud’s talk will cover:

• Motivation for economic growth
• Simple model of economic growth (roles of inputs and productivity)
• Southeast Asia development strategies and policies
• Some issues associated with development policies and strategies

Jack Suyderhoud is Professor of Business Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Shidler College of Business and teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He earned his undergraduate degree at Jamestown College and his MS and PhD at Purdue University. His research interests include economics/quantitative methods as well as Southeast Asia tax incentives on foreign investment.

More info about Professor Suyderhoud is on Shidler College’s website

Center for Southeast Asian Studies

For more information, please contact The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at cseas@hawaii.edu.

The UH Balinese Gamelan Ensemble, Gamelan Segara Madu, takes up residency at Leeward Theatre this spring and premieres A Night in Bali – an interactive performance based on a Balinese temple celebration – Saturday March 23, 2013 at 8pm.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS SHOW | PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE | RSVP & SHARE ON FACEBOOK

Wednesday, November 7, 2012 @ 6:30 PM
Center for Korean Studies Building, UHM

In support of the conference “Engaging with Viet Nam – An Interdisciplinary Dialogue,” hosted by the East-West Center from November 8-9, 2012, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies presents two films with Vietnamese themes.
DOCUMENTARY
Hanoi Public Market (Đường về cho)

Viet Nam (2012, 27 min)
Vietnamese w/English subtitles

Director: Michael DiGregorio
Producer: Ha Thuc Van
Cinematographer: Henry Mochida

Nguyen Le Hang is one of the fortunate ones. Hanoi’s Hom Market has been spared the wrecking ball – at least for now. Dinh Thuy Hang has not been so lucky. Hang struggles to survive in a temporary market, waiting for relocation in a new commercial center. HANOI PUBLIC MARKET follows these two women, caught in a conflict that is undermining their lives. As they struggle to make sense of their worlds, they come to realize the false promises made by developers. Once edged out, vendors return not to the warm and welcoming markets they left, but rather, the detention center gloom of underground spaces in new commercial centers. As this conversion takes place, fortunes are being made. But what is Hanoi losing?

NOTE: This documentary will be introduced by the director, Michael DiGregorio.

FEATURE FILM

Living in Fear
(Sống trong sợ hãi)

Viet Nam (2005, 110 min)
Vietnamese w/English subtitles

Director: Bui Thac Chuyen
Screenplay: Bui Thac Chuyen, Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc
Cast: Tran Huu Phuc, Mai Van Thinh, Dang Thuy My Uyen, Mai Ngoc Phuong, Ngo Pham Hanh Thuy

Living in Fear is a touching psychological drama depicting the trauma of survivors who are forced to endure a constant threat from the unexploded bombs left behind by the war.

Set in the aftermath of the war, Living in Fear tells the story of an ex-Saigon regime soldier, Tai (Tran Huu Phuc), who like thousands of others in the south must face recriminations by the communist victors. Tai is punished by being sent to a re-education camp and later to the inhospitable new economic zones in central Vietnam. This area is still littered with unexploded ordnance, yet the government is already building new settlements next to vast minefields.

As a collaborator of the former South Vietnamese regime, the desperate Tai has no option but to learn how to defuse the mines, as this can earn him extra money if he sells the empty shells as scrap metal on the black market.

The film earned Golden Kite 2005 awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Lead Actor from the Viet Nam Cinema Association, and the Asian New Talent Prize at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2006.

-Dana Healy

The 4th “Engaging with Vietnam - An Interdisciplinary Dialogue” Conference
Conference organisation partners: Monash University, The East-West Center, The University of Hawaii, and The University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University Hanoi
Venue: the Imin Conference Center, East-West Center, Honolulu, the USA
November 8-9, 2012

For more info, visit the official website.