- From July 25 to July 28, the Dong Xuan Center was the venue for a celebration of German pop culture
- An important event for the Vietnamese community and young generation in Berlin
Berlin, July 31 – On Sunday evening, the first Vietnamese-German pop culture festival Sống ở Berlin came to an end with an exceptionally touching and inspiring film evening at the Dong Xuan Center.
„It was a very moving and in many ways inspiring festival that we have been working towards for almost a year.“ says organizer Björn Döring on behalf of the festival team. „We are delighted that we were able to pioneer Sống ở Berlin and place a contemporary festival in a location that is ideally suited for events like this and can help to make the perception of Lichtenberg much more diverse beyond the district boundaries. Many thanks to the Dong Xuan Center for their fantastic support and great cooperation in this project.“
For four days, the Dong Xuan Center and the entire grounds were transformed into a hotspot for cultural exchange and created a meeting place for artists and audiences. The focus was particularly on the music and art of a young generation of Vietnamese-German artists who grew up in Berlin but are influenced by both cultural worlds.
Right at the opening ceremony, artists such as comedienne Mai My, musician ANOTHER NGUYEN, performance company The Funky Monkeys and Vietnamese dance group Salty Crew showed in very different but great ways how they deal with the torn nature of living in two cultures. The evening was hosted by journalist and author Vanessa Vu.
On Friday evening, German rapper Nashi44 talked about her inspirations and how her migration background shaped her first album in the Tracks & Talk panel discussion with tipBerlin, before artist veenus* got the audience singing along with her own produced and written songs. Afterwards, the band Saigon Soul Revival from Ho Chi Minh City, which revived an entire pop cultural era with South Vietnamese music from before 1975, sparked storms of enthusiasm among the audience at their open-air concert.
A big celebration on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the Dong Xuan Center with free food and drinks, dragon dancing and music by singer-songwriter Vinh Khuat allowed visitors to immerse themselves in a Vietnamese world full of color, cheerfulness and hospitality. From 4 pm, the Sống ở Berlin artists took over the stage. In addition to DJ Kakao Katzê and singer and performer KUOKO, The Funky Monkeys, ANOTHER NGUYEN and Nashi44 performed once again and delivered unique performances that got even the last festival visitors dancing. The first ever German pop culture festival Sống ở Berlin came to a close on Sunday with a film evening. Short, animated and documentary films were shown by Vietnamese filmmakers, whose work explores the theme of belonging despite two cultures.
Director Duc Ngo Ngoc showed his episode of the new ARD series „Made in Germany“.
Last but not least, the film „Elektrokohle (von wegen)“ by Uli M. Schueppel was shown. It documents the first official concert of the Einstürzende Neubauten in East Berlin, in the Kulturhaus Wilhelm Pieck of the VEB Elektrokohle. This film was shown for the first time at the exact location where the concert took place.
For four days, numerous visitors came to the open-air area of the Dong Xuan Center and its event location „DX Venue“ and immersed themselves in the world of German pop culture.
Sống ở Berlin – A Weekend of Pop Culture was organized by buero doering – Fachhandel für Ereignisse / funded by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Musicboard Berlin GmbH and Bezirkskulturfonds Lichtenberg.
We would like to thank our media partners:
Tip Berlin, The Berliner, FluxFM, RAUSGEGANGEN, Mihai. media solutions
Further information is available at:
www.buero-doering.de/projekte/song-berlin-festival/
www.instagram.com/songberlinfestival/
EPK: https://bit.ly/EPK-Song-o-Berlin
Press contact:
Marieke Riediger
Head of PR & Communications
buero doering – Fachhandel für Ereignisse
Telefon: +49 (0) 176 64378851
E-Mail: mr@buero-doering.de