To put art into the world is to find oneself. Art is something one must keep striving towards. The shorts in this series are a kaleidoscope of the creative processes and how informative they are to one’s relationship with themselves.&nbsp; Up first is Lindsay Nyman’s They Call Me the Tattoo Witch as it reveals how healing and fulfilling art can be in making art for others, for community through tattoos. Continuing this illustrative session is Goodbye and Hello to My Dad from Kathleen Hoang, who explores art and mixed media as a way to remember and love those dear to us. Then, Zen’s Echoes of the Phoenix concerns itself with one’s inhibitions about their place in the world along with keeping alive the practice of folk opera. Similarly, Unperforming by Cristian Trout navigates the experience of queer identity through social media and dance.&nbsp; As our series adds its final touches to the canvas, Quan Luong’s Portraits is a portrait (no pun intended) on the life of a sketch artist, reiterating the value of art through human connection, especially during a time in which the integrity of art is being challenged by technology (Luong is a past Spotlight Award co-winner for VFF 2022’s Container). To conclude, Entropy grapples with staying true to oneself in the face of one’s art and culture being dismissed and disregarded.&nbsp; “Practice Makes Imperfect” is an open discussion on what it means to commit oneself to the arts despite a myriad of social, cultural, and personal challenges. By Katy Nguyen

In Hanoi, Vietnam, tattoo artist Tran Ngoc specializes in the rare and challenging art of tattooing over scars. Despite the social stigma surrounding tattoos in Vietnam, Ngoc empowers her clients, including breast cancer survivors and women with self-harm scars, to reclaim their bodies, demonstrating that her work is a profound act of compassion and resilience.

English

They Call Me the Tattoo Witch

Between newspaper shapes and heavy brushstrokes, a recently passed Vietnamese father lingers with his daughter, as time, space, and videocam memories overlay a final quiet reckoning.

Goodbye and Hello to My Dad

Phuong (60s), is struggling to get by as a hired mourner, was formerly a famous Cai Luong performer. Facing a dead-end, Phuong happens to get her chance at a small, local group of Cai Luong performers that sparks her flame of passion again. Meeting Nguyet - a young, talented woman reminds her of what she could have been, leaving a sour taste in Phuong’s mouth until a bittersweet night confession. On the big night of the performance, everything seems to go well until the scar of her years-ago incident burns on her throat and swallows her whole. Mortification and embarrassment overwhelms Phuong, she leaves
mid performance. Back to Phuong’s beginning, she agrees to mourn at an old man’s dead wife’s funeral; and the moment he keeps sobbing because of Phuong’s singing is the moment she feels like her passion has always been there inside her, waiting to be rekindled.

Echoes of the Phoenix (Túc vọng phượng hoàng)

To get the attention of his crush, a gay man competes with a popular personality in his community. As an insidious swarm of marketing and peer pressure drives him to obsess over how he measures up, he struggles to escape thoughts of inadequacy.

Unperforming

In a world increasingly obsessed with the speed and precision of Artificial Intelligence, a portrait artist offers a quiet and profound reflection on what it means to create.

Portraits

Entropy has mature themes and nudity. Viewer discretion is advised. Mây takes action that cannot be undone and starts bigger chaos rather than balancing the current world of her own. "Entropy” is not only Polish-Vietnamese culture clash, it showcases a social entropy process that collides and reaches to the core of inconvenient questions that we are about to answer and take responsibility for. Invisible loss can never be retrieved.

Entropy

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Practice Makes Imperfect (Shorts Set)

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