Through a universal theme of “love in art”, the series of events aims to evoke feelings, criticism, and dialogue about the “healing” ability, the ability to connect, soothe, and support the human spirit of love and art, especially in the context of stressful social distancing during the pandemic. Therefore, according to Dr. Hoang Cam Giang, head of the Department of Art Studies (Faculty of Literature), and also the curator of the event series: “The selected films all have contemporary elements, associated with the difficult problems of the epidemic period, the period of social distancing, the digital period, the period when people are increasingly losing interactions, physical touches,... That is also when they have a deep sense of the lack of "life", the lack of life, even the exhaustion of the spirit - as Byung-Chul Han said - the collapse of the "fatigue virus". When they lose themselves, they will simultaneously lose the ability to look at and touch, connect and interact with the Other, which means losing the only way to love and be loved. On the contrary, the Other, in love, is no longer "hell" as philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said, but becomes a "source", a "possibility", a "potential" of Healing".
On October 10, 2021, the first film screening and discussion "Norwegian Wood" - A time to love, a time to live was successfully held with the participation of two speakers, Dr. Tran Thi Thuc (Faculty of Literature), MSc. Hoang Da Vu (Hanoi University of Theatre and Cinema) and about 130 audiences. During the discussion, under the guidance of host MSc. Le Thi Tuan (Faculty of Literature), the speakers and guests analyzed the novel and the film thoroughly and deeply.Norwegian Wood, about the issue of adapting literature and cinema, about love and the healing potential of art. According to the speakers, thanks to love, the character Watanabe Toru and other young people were able to go through the process of growing up, full of struggles and pain. Although the film tells the story of young Japanese people in the 60s of the last century, young Vietnamese people can all find themselves in it.
Following the success of the first event, on October 17, 2021, the film screening and discussion "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - The Heart Has a Detour took place with the participation of two speakers, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Tung (Faculty of Political Science), Dr. Hoang Cam Giang (Faculty of Literature), host, MSc. Nguyen Thi Bich (Faculty of Literature) and 110 audiences. According to the speakers and guests, with a complex structure, a cleverly constructed script but not too confusing for viewers, the filmEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Minddelved into the inner world of people as they experience both positive and negative emotions in love. The panel agreed that, in an era where people tend to choose to intentionally "forget" and escape reality, in the end they still cannot escape their own hearts. Only by facing and sincerely acknowledging the pain can we have a chance to be happy and move on.
The final film screening and panel discussion in the series,The Intouchables – Finding Yourself in the Othertook place on the afternoon of 20/24/2021 with two speakers, Dr. Nguyen Thuy Linh (Faculty of Literature) and Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich (Faculty of Literature), host Pham Duc Minh (Head of the Executive Board of the Cinema Club) and more than 80 audiences. The filmThe IntouchablesHumorous, gentle but also full of profound ideas received special love from the audience. After more than two hours of discussion, the speakers and guests all agreed that: art, love between people regardless of age, class, personality is the way for people to find themselves, to "heal" the wounds in them.
Despite having to be organized online, the series of events attracted more than 400 audiences including lecturers, students, postgraduates and cinema lovers from many places across the country. Although it was a series of events to welcome new students in 2021, as Dr. Nguyen Thi Nam Hoang - Deputy Head of the Faculty of Literature mentioned, the film screenings and discussions went beyond the framework of the series of events to welcome new students, becoming a space for art lovers to exchange and share their profound views and find "healing" during the pandemic.
The series of events demonstrated the efforts of the Department of Art Studies in connecting, interacting, spreading knowledge and positive energy from art to the community during the pandemic. The film screenings and seminars also received very positive feedback from the audience, including teachers and students inside and outside the school. MSc. Hoang Da Vu (Hanoi University of Theatre and Cinema) highly appreciated the significance and organization of the series of events: “The series of events was organized very professionally. Participating in the series of events, I had the opportunity to interact with many teachers and gain more knowledge”. Hoang Nguyen Huong said: “I sat for several hours but did not feel bored at all. The teachers spoke very well and I was really passionate. There were many issues mentioned, not only in the scope of the film but also in life”.
