Asia House
Cultural Programme Feb - Mar 2013
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Cover Image : from Tormented 3D, part of the Pan-Asia Film Festival
Welcome to Asia House! We’re stepping into spring with renewed vigour and a fantastic selection of events that provide opportunities to escape, explore and understand more about the region we love. The Asia House Pan-Asia Film Festival returns in March to showcase the best in Asian independent film. From Japanese horror through Thai action to Indian feel-good, the fifth edition of the PAFF reflects the diversity of the region in one intense cinematic burst. We take an in-depth look at Afghanistan while we trace the historical roots of the current situation with William Dalrymple’s new book and examine current educational prospects for girls with Zarghuna Kargar. Our popular Asia Risk Outlook Signature Conference returns in February before we take part in International Petroleum Week with our event on Energy Security in Asia. You can find highlights of the Business and Policy programme here, but do remember to check our website for full listings. The Love and Marriage series continues with a close look at traditional Japanese wedding kimonos and our events on the treasures of the National Palace Museum feature magnificent bronzes and beautiful ceramics. Pay special attention to the preview of this year’s Festival of Asian Literature – it’s set to be a blockbuster!
Image from Tormented 3D
Image from Natiomal Palace Museum
Pan-Asia Film Festival
Treasures of the National Palace
Business & Policy Highlights
See our full list of the film festival programme p. 12 – 13
The Bronzes of the National Palace Museum p. 7
Energy Security in Asia p.9
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Imperial ceramics of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties p.7
Public Policy Briefing HE Ünal Çeviköz p.9
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Arts and Culture Linda Lin: Cello Uncensored
Date 1 Feb
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William Dalrymple – Return of the King, The Battle For Afghanistan Girls, Education and Afghanistan Love & Marriage Series: Kekkon Feasting in the Afterlife – the Bronzes of the National Palace Museum Bring Me a Glaze Like the Sky After Rain
15 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 26 Feb 19 Mar
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Exhibitions Re-growing : The first biennale of UK Chinese artists Lost in Myths: Paintings by Yinjie Sun
12–16 Feb 25 Feb – 2 Mar
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Business and Policy Signature Conference: Asia Risk Outlook 2013 Signature Conference: Energy Security in Asia Public Policy Briefing: HE Ünal Çeviköz, Turkish Ambassdor
12 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb
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Pan-Asia Film Festival Poor Folk Patang Tormented 3D 111 Girls Headshot
6 – 17 Mar see website for details see website for details see website for details see website for details see website for details
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Calendar Asia House
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Asia House
Culture Linda Lin – Cello Uncensored Friday 1 February 2013 18.45 – 20.00 Linda Lin is one of the most innovative and exciting musicians of her generation and has been described as having ‘a penchant for flamboyance’. In a recital devised for Asia House, she performs a varied repertoire including traditional Chinese songs written for the Chinese erhu, now transcribed for cello, Western Classical and Tango from her new album. With a flourishing career as an international soloist, Linda Lin has given recitals at festivals and concert halls worldwide. She is accompanied by acclaimed conductor and pianist Ian Brown. Tickets £18 Concession £16 AH Friends £12
William Dalrymple
William Dalrymple – Return of the King The Battle For Afghanistan Friday 15 February 2013 18.45 – 20.00 Award-winning historian and best-selling author William Dalrymple returns with a dazzling new book, a history which resonates with contemporary politics and reads like a richly drawn novel. Using previously undiscovered Afghan sources, and with a complex set of characters, from shahs and amirs, British generals and Russian ambassadors, Return of the King presents the full picture of Britain’s disastrous adventure in Afghanistan, and asks: have we learnt anything from history? Tickets £10 Concession £8 AH Friends £6 Linda Lin
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Love & Marriage Series
Kekkon
Zarghuna Kargar
Girls, Education and Afghanistan with Zarghuna Kargar Tuesday 19 February 2013 18.45 – 20.00 Former BBC Afghan Woman’s Hour presenter Zarghuna Kargar has done much to expand our understanding of women in Afghanistan through her book of stories about women in Afghanistan, Dear Zari, and a recent film about girls’ education as part of the documentary Girl Rising. In this evening lecture, she will share her unique experiences of what it is to be an Afghan girl in search of the one thing that will change her life – and the world – an education. A drinks reception will follow the talk. In partnership with Pan Asian Women’s Association.
Tickets £10 Concession £8 AH Friends £6
Wednesday 20 February 2013 18.45 – 20.00 Japanese Wedding Costumes This event offers a rare opportunity to see examples of beautiful Uchikake (wedding gowns), Kimono and other accessories worn at a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony at close quarters. Our experts for the evening, Suzanne Perrin, Co-ordinator, Japan Interlink London and Japanese Costume Specialist Mamiko Sato Damji, will help the audience understand the complex variety of costumes for the Bride, Groom and family members, showing the various techniques and crafts used in these elegant costumes. Explanations will be given on the significance of the textiles, their coded colours and symbolic motifs which combine to give auspicious emblems for matrimonial happiness, fidelity, and long life. Tickets £10 Concession £8 AH Friends £6
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Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 February 10.00 – 18.00
Exhibitions presented at Asia House
Admission free – all welcome
Lost in Myths Paintings by Yinjie Sun 25 February – 2 March Monday – Saturday 10.00 – 18.00
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Asia House
Culture Feasting in the Afterlife: the Bronzes of the National Palace Museum Roel Sterckx
Stacey Pierson and Q&A chaired by Beth McKillop
Tuesday 26 February 2013 18.45 – 20.00 Bronzes were used for a variety of purposes: as cooking vessels they fed and wined deceased ancestors, as political treaties they bound kings together in war and peace, and as status symbols they publicly projected the power of the aristocracy. Roel Sterckx, Joseph Needham Professor of Chinese History, Science and Civilisation at Cambridge University will explore the history of this incredible art form. Expect to hear more on the continuing importance of bronzes as symbols of kingship and power throughout the later dynasties. For both events: Tickets £10 Concession £8 AH Friends £6
Coming Soon
Bring Me a Glaze Like the Sky After Rain: Imperial ceramics of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties Tuesday 19 March 2013 18.45 – 20.00
The Song emperor reportedly commanded his workshops to produce a vessel “the colour of the sky after rain”. The result was Ru ware - subtle masterpieces of both form and colour. Stacey Pierson, Senior Lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies will discuss the technological and artistic innovations that allowed the potters of Song China to meet such seemingly impossible requests, alongside the reasons why these masterpieces have continued to be so highly prized throughout the following centuries. She will be joined by Beth McKillop, Deputy Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Series supported by Ministry of Culture, Taiwan and Taipei Representative Office in the UK
Asia House presents: Restless Ribeiro An Indian Artist in Britain 24 May to 29 June 2013
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Conference & Exhibition www.myanmartradeandinvestment.com
MITIS
the most comprehensive trade & Investment event for Myanmar in 2013
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Retail & Real Estate Agriculture
“Probably the best investment opportunity in the world right now” – Jim Rogers Tel +44 (0)207 127 4501
Fax +44 (0)207 127 4503
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Business and Policy Highlights The Asia House Business and Policy programme presents private briefings, networking receptions and public conferences throughout the year. For full details about our public events, exclusive corporate member events and corporate membership visit www.asiahouse.org Highlights of our February – March programme include:
Tuesday 12 February 09.00
Tuesday 19 February 08.30
Wednesday 20 February 08.30
Signature Conference
Signature Conference
Policy Briefing
Asia Risk Outlook 2013
Energy Security in Asia
HE Ünal Çeviköz, Turkish Ambassdor to the UK
Part of the of International Petroleum Week schedule
Business intelligence Networking Thought leadership Corporate membership
9 Contact: vladka.paligova@asiahouse.co.uk
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REaDEFINE ASIA Asian Global Impact (AGI) is the UK’s first monthly pan-Asian Business and Lifestyle Magazine Subscribe on www.agimag.co.uk/subscriptions
Asia House
Pan-Asia Film Festival 2013 The 5th edition Asia House
Pan-Asia Film Festival 27 Nov—11 Dec 2009
From the Gulf to Japan... Asia’s New Cinema
Asia House, the UK’s leading pan-Asian cultural organisation, presents a compelling selection of the best new cinema from across Asia. From the latest work by Oscar-nominated director Zhang Yimou (House of the Flying Daggers, Hero) to films by award-winning film-makers and emerging talent from China, Japan, Iran, Taiwan, Bhutan and the Philippines.
Festival sponsor
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6 – 17 March London and key UK cities
Image from Poor Folk
A celebration of the best independent film from the pan-Asia region Selected programme highlights
Image courtesy of Khushi Films
Poor Folk
Image from Patang
Patang
Midi Z, Taiwan/Burma/Thailand, 2012 UK Premiere
Prashant Bhargava, India, 2011 UK Premiere
A true pan-Asian story from Taiwanese-Burmese director Midi Z (Return to Burma). Siblings separated while crossing between Burma and Thailand enter lives of crime and hardship. Unfolding in two parallel narratives in Bankok and rural Thailand, this border story with a difference is a tale of familial commitment challenged by crime, exploitation and the global market.
A moving, colourful and poetic journey to Ahmedabad, the home of India’s largest kite festival, whose spectacular sight of one million kites flying above the city is the backdrop to a moving story of a family facing up to potentially devastating secrets. A kaleidoscopic, life affirming film.
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Image from Tormented 3D
Image from 111 Girls
Image from Headshot
Tormented 3D
111 Girls
Headshot
The Pan-Asia Film Festival is delighted to present its first ever late night screening with the latest balletic nightmare from Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge). When her brother disappears into a strange dream world a young mute woman must rescue him in this frightening film that makes spectacular use of 3D technology.
A fascinating debut from Nahid Ghobadi (sister of world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi) 111 Girls is a lightly satirical, Beckettian tale of a government bureaucrat’s strange journey into Iranian Kurdistan to find a community of young women who have threatened mass suicide. A wry, warm take on the cultural landscape of modern Iran.
One of Thailand’s most distinctive and inventive filmmakers, Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe) returns with a cool Buddhist twist on the noir thriller, as a cop-turned-killer finds karma catching up with him after he literally begins to see the world upside down. An original, unique thrill ride.
Takashi Shimizu, Japan, 2011 UK Premiere
Nahid Ghobadi, Iran, 2012 UK Premiere
Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Thailand, 2012 UK Premiere
See the website for up to date listings, the full festival guide and other special events:
www.panasiafilmfestival.org
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Support our work and enjoy exclusive events focused on leadership, culture and business. Our monthly Young Leader evenings in the atmospheric Sir Peter Wakefield room
offer informal fireside conversations with business and cultural leaders from the Asia House network. CONTACT
Mia Gulati mia.gulati@asiahouse.co.uk
Paul Bloomfield Ltd
Corporate and personal catering for any event with plenty of energy, zest and enthusiasm Headed by experienced Chef Paul Bloomfield
Contact
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Approved caterer for Asia House Paul@paulbloomfield.eu
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0798 563 5285
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The seventh Festival
will feature writing about: Afghanistan, Burma, China, Japan, Iraq, India, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and British Asians. Full programme available online in March.
Pre Festival Tuesday 19 March – at Oxford Literature Festival Madhur Jaffrey and Hardeep Singh Kohli Wednesday 3 April How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia with Mohsin Hamid Thursday 18 April Women, Freedom and the Islamic World with Elif Shafak and others Sunday 21 April - at Alchemy Festival, Southbank Centre A Personal Journey from Helmand to England– with Najib Afghan Poetry of the Taliban with Felix Kuehn
Book our first pre Festival event now! www.asiahouse.org
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Mohsin Hamid
Wednesday 3 April 18:45 Short-listed for a Man Booker Prize, Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist has been made into a feature film and is schedule for release in the UK in March. Hamid joins us to celebrate the film and the launch of his new novel,
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. This new book charts a man’s journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, taking its format from the business self-help books devoured by youths all over ‘rising Asia’.
Tickets £10 Concession £8 AH Friends £6
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Preview Festival 7 – 22 May Tuesday 7 May Opening Night – Michael Palin Thursday 9 May Headlines from the Frontline with Frances Harrison, and others Friday 10 May Cool Brit Asia - The rise of British Asian culture Saturday 11 May Family events including yoga Talk and demonstration with Atul Kochhar Monday 13 May Cricket and Corruption with James Astill and Ed Hawkins Tuesday 14 May Revisiting the Chinese Dream Will Hutton, Jonathan Fenby and Gerard Lemos Wednesday 15 May Changing Places: A Global Literary Salon Thursday 16 May Censorship in Asian Media Saturday 18 May The Young Samurai with Chris Bradford and a Manga afternoon Monday 20 May Burma Day with discussions, poetry and art from Burma Tuesday 21May
Closing Night – A very special guest!
Image credits: Michael Palin; Chris Bradford; Krys Lee © Matt Douma; Mohsin Hamid; Elif Shafak © Muammer Yanmaz; Atul Kochhar; Siddhartha Bose
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THE NIGHT OF THE YEAR. THE CAUSE OF A LIFETIME. With as lit tle as 10 years lef t to save the wild Tiger from possible ex tinction, the clock really is ticking! Join us on Thursday 21st M arch 2013 for a spec tacular evening. The night will begin with a champagne reception at the inspiring Grand Ter race, St. Pancras Inter national, followed by a s tunning dinner and spec tacular enter tainment at the beautiful five s tar St. Pancras Renaissance hotel. Champagne reception | 7.0 0 pm Dinner | 8.0 0 pm Car riages from | 1.0 0 am Special A sia House member s ticket price | £250
(f ull pr ice £ 3 0 0 )
A limited number of celebrit y table bookings also available - POA Visit w w w.savewildtigers.org for infor mation & ticket details or contac t Heather Peel on 01628 473 500 or heather @ theclintonpar tner ship.com A legac y from A sia H ouse’s ‘ Tiger in A sian A r t ’ exhibition, all proce e ds from this char it y evening will go to targete d Tiger conser vation programme s in conjunc tion with:
S U P P O R T E D BY
Save the date for this special experience
2013
Founding Stakeholders
11–14 April Jewellery Textiles Furniture Art Books Ornaments Clothes Handicrafts
Our work is made possible through the generous support of companies and individuals. Asia House is particularly grateful for the support of:
Our pop-up pan-Asian market returns to Asia House in April. Stalls from across the region will present their wares in our beautiful building.
For more information, please contact: asiahousefair@asiahouse.co.uk
Champion Supporters
We would like to thank our new and renewed corporate members, Patrons and Young Leaders: GlaxoSmithKline plc Alliance Boots plc Jardine Matheson Holdings Prudential plc Baring Asset Management AMEC Diageo Ms Gni Lam Ching Ngee Ms Snigdha Singh Mr Eu-Gene Toh Ms Shefali Enaker Mr Imran Zaheer Ahmad Mrs Annette Chowthi-Williams
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Asia House Asia House, the leading pan-Asian organisation in the UK, exists to build dynamic links with Asia, important now more than ever. By providing unique insights into culture, policy, business and education, Asia House promotes informed understanding and the mutual exchange of ideas, building stronger relationships between the diverse communities of Europe and Asia.
This programme covers our events focused on arts and culture. For full details of our business and policy programme and corporate membership please see our website.
Asia House is a non-profit, nonpolitical organisation.
How to book Telephone +44 (0)20 7307 5454 Email: enquiries@asiahouse.co.uk Online: www.asiahouse.org Become a member for AH friends discounts and benefits. See online for details.
Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter: @asiahouseuk
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