EVENT: Noam Chomsky in Cabramatta!

Yes that is right. I've studied him through my university years (Psychology degree) and have been following his peace and advocacy and the thought of seeing the presence of Mr Chomsky in Cabramatta is like some strange academic dream come true. 


Nationally, Cabramatta has been renown for its "drug capital" years where Asian crime flourished as Vietnamese & Indochinese youths would be pointed the finger as causing the mayhem that went down in this migrant town. 


But things have change since the doom and gloom of the 90s. Fantastic projects and people have come from it ("Maximum Choppage: Round 2", celebrity chef - Luke Nguyen etc...).  Even Jackie Chan himself is the official ambassador for Cabramatta Police Station! So Noam Chomsky coming out west is another great piece of tapestry that recognises the achievements of the locals as how far Cabramatta has come. 


So back on track, he will be at Cabramatta High School for their "Peace Day - Voice Inspiring" Event and myself and a lucky another, gets the chance to see the man in person. My friend and academic spoken word extraordinaire - Farid Farid will hopefully be there. 


But for all those who missed out, not to worry! For $25 you get 90 mins of hearing what he has to say at the Opera House. Check out the details below. Trust me, its not to be missed.

NOAM CHOMSKY

PROBLEMS OF KNOWLEDGE AND FREEDOM

“Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it.”

 Professor Noam Chomsky is one of the world’s most remarkable public intellectuals and has been awarded this year’s Sydney Peace Prize for ‘his unfailing moral courage and critical analysis of democracy and power’.

 Professor Chomsky is a distinguished academic who has been described as the father of modern linguistics. He is also well known for his sustained critique of US foreign policy and his writing about media and society in books like Manufacturing Consent.

 Chaired by Mary Kostakidis, this special event will feature Professor Chomsky answering written audience questions on any ‘Problems of Knowledge and Freedom’ including linguistics, global politics, human rights, responses to climate change, the nature of democracy and any other issues the audience raise.

'Chomsky is one of the West's most influential intellectuals in the cause of peace, the most significant challenger of unjust power.''
Stuart Rees, Sydney Peace Foundation Director

WATCH Noam Chomsky discuss Obama’s efforts in the Middle East

READ SMH Article: Controversy dogs Chomsky as he accepts Sydney Peace Prize

Venue: Opera Theatre
Date: Thursday 3 November, 10.30am
Duration: 90 minutes, no interval

FILM SHOOT: In Cabramatta

Maria Tran all ghettoed up

Time: 9.30-4pm
Date: 4th August, 2011

A nice and warm day for a shoot in Cabramatta. Yesterday I was asked to fill in as an actor for one of the test shoot for the "Once Upon A Time" project I'm working on. I play an Asian guy; hair tied back, matte faced, baggy clothes wearing person of Cabramatta.

Lots of walking shots to and fro the station and miked up interviews. It was hot, stuffy and fun and any chance for me to diversify as an actor, I would jump upon.

One thing about acting I learnt today was that you can help figure things out if you know what goes behind the lenses. Then you would just know where to position yourself and not have to get too much directions.

I got to adlib a bit off the script as well and learning lines to a point that it flows naturally wasn't too bad. I notice as long as I have an emotive imagery in my head, I don't even notice the dialogue as lines but a part of me.

Okies, there were dramas prior to the shoot. An hour earlier I was pulled over by cops and during the shoot, saw my nosy uncle witnessing me in a very "unlike Maria" state. I'm a little concerned that far too many people that I know in cabra get the wrong idea.

Anyhow, my performance wasn't off the mark so that was some good feedback, better yet, today has also inspired me with a new concept development for a future project in the making.

I'm getting the flow of acting and definitely am looking for more quirky roles to play in future. Batter up!

WORKING PROGRESS: Short film “Vietnamese Mosaic”

Lisa T, David N, Thuy N, Elizabeth V & Maria Tran out in Cabramatta

In between “Quest for Jackie Chan!” and bread and butter work on Fredbird Entertainment’s production for SBS “Once Upon A Time in Cabramatta”, my little self discovery baby is “Vietnamese Mosaic”, a short film that is a collage of the many faces of the Vietnamese community.  My film projects have always been diverse in styles and experimenting in different genres and this time, I wanted to do something a little bit personal as well as collective. 

What I notice with Vietnamese people is that, they are not accustomed to being in front of the camera. Questions about what they feel and think are often answered with a slight reluctance. It was a similar experience I had while I was working on "Vietnamese Storycubes" - Intergenerational Project in 2009. Vietnamese people are generally, quite and hard working folk. Who might possibly don't believe in voicing up individual opinions. Hence, random questions here and there are often responded in slight suspicion from the older generations.  But overall it was fun, fun and insightful in a sense that myself and my crew got a chance to hear out a cross section of the community, the young and the old, instead on sitting on assumptions, such as older people are rigid etc...In fact, some of the answers were quite unexpected and funny. One older "grandpa-looking" man response was "Girls!" when asked what he liked about the Vietnamese culture. O_o. Mine you, these "grandpa-looking" folks were my Dad's coffee drinking Cabramatta mob!

Technical wise, I’ve been getting better with the Canon 5D that I’ve been borrowing religiously from ICE to help me film, as well as other guerrilla equipment such as the car shades as reflectors etc…I’m enjoying having a tight regular crew around me (David Minh Tam Nguyen as well as Thuy Ng). So far, I’ve got a collection of 10 plus “vox pops” but I think its still not enough so it looks like I’ll have to make another “vox pop point” this week at Bankstown to collect more stories. 


Anyhow, here's the deal for those who missed out. Myself and my tight team will be at Bankstown Arts Centre, 5 Olympic Parade, Bankstown from 2-3pm, following by myself and fellow filmmaker Vinh Nguyen at a light panel discussion on "What is a Western Sydney Story?" and other debates on being indie, ethnic and into the arts.


Do come on down (and don't be late!) and bring your mama and papa if you can! 

Martial Artists getting in for their Chop

By Chris Hook

Newspaper: the Daily Telegraph, p.p 16 16th of Jan, 09

BRUCE Lee fans know there is only one way to see the man in action in the cinema.

But some of the biggest Lee fans around - the team behind Cabramatta's Rumble Pictures - have only ever viewed the martial arts legend on DVD.

Tonight, Lee's Enter the Dragon appears on the big screen, and the young film-makers fulfil their ambition of watching the genre-defining kung-fu flick as it was intended.

"I've seen it a fair few times on DVD and video" said Timothy Ly, writer and star of Rumble Picture's Maximum Choppage 2, the first feature-length kung-fu film made in Australia since George Lazenby took on The Man from Hong Kong in 1975.

Mr Ly saw his first Bruce Lee film at the age of eight.

"He's definitelyone of my major influences." he said.

Maria Tran, who also starred in Maximum Choppage 2 agreed.

"This is going to be quite a different experience" she said.

The pair both practice the art of kung-fu Shaolin monk-style.

Last year, in addition to producing Maximum Choppage 2, Rumble Picturse occupied several Friday night slots on ABC TV, with Downtown Rumble.

Discussions have since begun for a series of 30-minute episodes.

Kung-fu film aficionadoes will be glad to know Maximum Choppage 3 is in development.

Bởi Chris Hook
Báo: the Daily Telegraph, trang 16 ngày 16 tháng 1, 09
Bruce Lee biết người hâm mộ chỉ có một cách để nhìn thấy người đàn ông trong hành động trong các rạp chiếu phim.

Nhưng một số người hâm mộ lớn nhất Lee xung quanh - đội đứng sau Cabramatta's Rumble Pictures - chỉ có bao giờ được xem truyền thuyết võ thuật trên đĩa DVD.

Đêm nay, Lee's Enter the Dragon sẽ xuất hiện trên màn hình lớn, và bộ phim trẻ, các nhà hoạch định thực hiện tham vọng của họ về xem định nghĩa thể loại-kung-fu flick như nó được dự định.

"Tôi đã nhìn thấy nó một vài lần công bằng trên DVD và video" ông Timothy Lý, nhà văn và ngôi sao của Rumble cho ảnh tối đa Choppage 2, tính năng đầu tiên chiều dài kung-fu bộ phim được thực hiện tại Úc kể từ khi George Lazenby đã về Người đàn ông Hồng Kông năm 1975.

Ông Lý thấy Bruce Lee bộ phim đầu tiên của ông ở tuổi tám.
"Ông ta definitelyone của ảnh hưởng lớn của tôi." ông nói.

Maria Trần, người cũng đóng vai chính trong Maximum Choppage 2 đã thoả thuận.

"Điều này là có được một kinh nghiệm khá khác nhau", cô nói.

Các cặp cả hai thực hành nghệ thuật kung-fu Thiếu Lâm nhà sư-phong cách.
Năm ngoái, ngoài việc sản xuất tối đa Choppage 2, Rumble Picturse chiếm khe vài đêm thứ sáu trên truyền hình ABC, với Rumble Downtown.

Cac thảo luận có kể từ khi bắt đầu cho một loạt các tập phim 30-phút.

Kung-fu aficionadoes phim sẽ được vui mừng khi biết Maximum Choppage 3 là trong phát triển.

作者：Chris钩
报纸：每日电讯报，第16年01月09 16日
李小龙的球迷都知道只有一个办法看到在电影院行动的人。

但是，一些最大的李各地的球迷-卡市的背后他执导的电影团队-只过上查看DVD上的传奇武术。

今晚，李的龙争虎斗出现在大屏幕上，而年轻的制片人履行其野心观看体裁界定功夫弗利克，因为它的目的。

“我看到了关于DVD和视频公平几次说：”蒂莫黎，作家和迷糊大王图片的最大Choppage，第一个特点2长度的功夫电影在澳大利亚明星自乔治拉赞贝在由香港名男子香港在1975年。

看到黎议员在8岁时第一次李小龙电影。
“他是我的主要因素的影响definitelyone。”他说。

玛丽亚陈德良，谁也最大Choppage 2主演的同意。

“这将是完全不同的体验”她说。

两人都实践功夫艺术福少林和尚式。
去年，除了生产最大Choppage 2，迷糊大王Picturse占领了美国广播公司电视台周五晚上几个插槽，市区迷糊大王。

讨论已经开始为自30系列分钟的节目。

功夫电影aficionadoes会很高兴知道，最大Choppage三是在发展。