LOS ANGELES, CA (Tuesday, September 6, 2011) – Stephane Gauger, Director of OWL AND THE SPARROW (Los Angeles Film Festival Audience Award Winner, Independent Spirit Award Nominee and also available for rent on NETFLIX and DVD purchase on Amazon.com) presents an exclusive advance screening of the film SAIGON ELECTRIC, Vietnam’s first Hip-Hop film. The event titled SAIGON ELECTRIC PRESENTS: THE ELECTRIC SHOWCASE will include performances by POREOTICS, KABA MODERN and well known personalities from the entertainment and Hip Hop dance industry. The event is open to the public on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at the Saigon Performing Arts Center in Fountain Valley with guest arrivals beginning at 6pm. The national release of the movie is on Friday, October 7, 2011.
“SAIGON ELECTRIC, filmed entirely in Vietnam, will be screened in Orange County to showcase Vietnamese American music and dance talents. We felt that it was a great opportunity to have these people perform right in their backyard,†remarks Kenneth Nguyen, an executive producer of the film. “The film’s musical acts include Chosen and Antoneus Maximus, Southern California based Vietnamese artists who have performed and recorded songs for the film’s soundtrack.â€
The film, SAIGON ELECTRIC, is a timeless tale of a friendship between two young women: Mai, a ribbon dancer from the countryside, and Kim, a street smart hip hop dancer from the Saigon Fresh crew. Utilizing urban culture in Vietnam, Gauger intertwines the relationship between the two girls with Hip Hop as a middle ground, while capturing the budding street culture in modern Vietnamese
youth.
“I wanted to capture this emerging slice of life of today’s youth in Vietnam,†says director, Stephane Gauger. “I was born in Saigon and have been back many times throughout the last 15 years. It’s amazing to see youth culture change so quickly, because of the power of the Internet. Hip Hop has definitely transformed the youth, along with other sub-cultures such as punk rock, but it was just very interesting to see how American Culture, especially Hip Hop which was born 30 years ago in New York has reached its way to Vietnam. Thanks to mainstream media such as America’s Best Dance Crew, it has reached all over the world, creating a cultural phenomenon, and manifesting itself in today’s youth.â€
“We had no idea that this was actually happening in today’s youth in Vietnam,†adds Can Nguyen one of the six members of Poreotics who resides in Orange County. “We are glad that we can support this film in any way.â€
Presale tickets can be purchased for $25 at http://saigonelectric.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=400255 or at the door on the day of the show, for $30. Saigon Performing Arts Center is located at 16149 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, CA 92708. Guest arrivals will
begin from 6pm and THE ELECTRIC SHOWCASE will begin promptly at 7pm.
SAIGON ELECTRIC PRESENTS ELECTRIC SHOWCASE SPONSORS
The Boiling Crab, TT Travel, Tastea Tea, Access Media Group, Inc., Lee’s
Sandwiches, Wave Releasing
About POREOTICS
Poreotics, winners of America’s Best Dance Crew Season 5, consists of members Chad, Can, Dumbo, Law, Jet Li, and Charles. In addition to their theatrical and entertaining performances, their signature moves and style has allowed them to achieve local and worldwide fame. Poreotics has worked with the likes of Justin Bieber ft. Usher in the music video “Somebody to Love Remix†and Bruno Mars’
“Lazy Song†which was nominated for “Best Choreography†for the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. Additionally, they have been featured on YouTube sensation Ryan Higa’s “Best Crew vs. Poreoticsâ€, Disney’s “Shake it Up†and more recently at
the 2011 Teen Choice Awards. Internationally, they have continued to work with Justin Bieber, opening for his “My World Tour†in Manila, Philippines and also with Ganesh Hegde, a Bollywood choreographer and international celebrity from
India, for his new music video “Let’s Party.†For further information, please visit http://poreotics.com .
About SAIGON ELECTRIC
“Energetic… A Crow pleaser†hails Variety and “Inspirational†by the Seattle Weekly, SAIGON ELECTRIC is the latest award winning feature from Southern California based director, Stephane Gauger. The film premiered at the San Francisco Asian Pacific Film Festival in March and is an official selection of over 20 film festivals including prestigious festivals such as Seattle International Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, Berlin Asian Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, Los
Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Chicago Asian American Showcase, San Diego Asian Film Festival, NY Asian American Film Festival, Asian Film Festival of Dallas and many more. SAIGON ELECTRIC will be released in U.S. select cities starting October 7th. For further information, visit http://www.saigonelectric.com.
About STEPHANE GAUGER
Born in Saigon to an American father and Vietnamese mother, Gauger has been going back and forth to Vietnam for over 15 years, working on various film projects including THE REBEL and his award winning feature debut film OWL AND THE SPARROW, which was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award and won the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2007. Other awards and
nominations includes Emerging Filmmaker Award at the 2007 Star Denver Film Festival, nomination for Breakthrough Director at the 2007 Gotham Awards [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotham_Awards ] , and the John Cassavetes Award, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent filmmakers, at the Independent Spirit Awards [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Spirit_Awards ] in 2008.The essence of Saigon Electric was made to capture the Hip Hop lifestyle and “to give the teenagers a voice and present to an international audience a fresh new look at the dreams and struggles of Asian youth.†For further information please visit http://www.saigonelectric.com.
