The Vietnam Studies Center, as part of its The World Beyond A Book series, invites participants to the upcoming online dialogue “Naturalism in World and Vietnamese Cinema: An Intercultural Dialogue” on 12 September 2025. The event will feature the presentation “Unpleasant Aesthetics: Naturalist Cinema in Theory and Practice”, tracing naturalism in film from its philosophical and artistic roots in the 19th century to its contemporary global presence. Moderated by Dr. Nguyễn Thị Minh, the discussion brings together Prof. Robert L. Singer (CUNY Graduate Center) and Dr. Đào Lê Na (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City), highlighting how naturalism, rather than idealizing, engages with the raw realities of poverty, labor, addiction, and marginalization.

The session will spotlight key works in Vietnamese cinema, including Girl from Hanoi (Hai Ninh, 1974), Return (Đặng Nhật Minh, 1994), Cyclo (Trần Anh Hùng, 1995), and Aimless (Phạm Nhuệ Giang, 2013), alongside films by Yasujirō Ozu, Wang Bing, Jayant Somalkar Digambar, and Carlota Pereda. A special speaker highlight is Prof. Robert L. Singer, a leading scholar of film history and aesthetics, author of Beyond Realism: Naturalist Film in Theory and Practice (2024), and co-editor of the “ReFocus: American and International Film” series. With his background in both scholarship and filmmaking, Prof. Singer’s perspective bridges theory and practice, promising rich insights into the global and intercultural dimensions of naturalist cinema.

• Date & Time: 19:00, 12/09/2025 (Vietnam Time)
• Meeting ID: 879 5527 5498 | Passcode: 840888
• Format: Online via Zoom
• Language: English