1. THE NY PREMIERE OF COMEDY FILM AJOOMA
Ajoomma means auntie in Korean. In writer-director He Shuming’s debut feature, which was Singapore’s 2023 Academy Award submission for Best International Feature Film, a Singaporean widow, or auntie, who is obsessed with Korean soap operas, travels abroad for the first time in her life and finds more than she bargained for in Seoul.
At the Golden Horse Awards (Taiwan’s Oscars), Ajoomma was nominated for Best Leading Actress for Hong Huifang, Best Supporting Actor for Jung Dong-hwan, Best Original Screenplay for He Shuming and Kris Ong, and Best New Director for He Shuming. The film also stars Yeo Jin-goo and Kang Hyoung-suk. It is in Mandarin, Korean, and English, with English subtitles.
The screening is followed by a talkback with Shuming and the comedian and writer Grace Jung.
2. HEAR AN INTERNATIONALLY INFLUENTIAL ARTIST SPEAK ABOUT TRANSNATIONAL THEATER
What’s a festival without a keynote? Ong Keng Sen, the artistic director of the Singaporean theater company T:>Works, gives the keynote talk Tradition and the Contemporary Global Moment, focusing on his adaptation of Euripides’ play Trojan Women into a modern opera based on Pansori and K-Pop. His production, a collaboration withthe National Theater of Korea, played at the BAM Next Wave Festival in New York (2022) and the Edinburgh International Festival (2023) to rave reviews.
In his keynote, Keng Sen will expound on the challenges of adapting the ancient Greek play into a changgeuk (traditional Korean opera), while transmitting the essence of this powerful story about women who struggle to transform themselves in war from victims to survivors. In his exposition, he will draw out vital insights for theater today.
The conversation after the talk is moderated by Judy Kim, Executive Director of the Asian Cultural Council.
3. HELP WRITE A NEW OPERA
You will not see King Lear in the same way after this! Librettist Marcus Yi reimagines the Shakespearian play with an all-Asian, all-female cast. In his chamber opera Sisters of the Storm, Genevieve Wong is a retired Shakespeare professor grappling with dementia. As her condition worsens, Genevieve compels her three daughters to reenact King Lear. Meanwhile Cordelia has news for her mother: she is getting married to her girlfriend.
After the staged reading, the Shakespeare scholar Cordelia Zukerman engages the audience to provide feedback to Marcus and composer Justine F. Chen using the Liz Lerman Critical Response Process. The process is designed to shape constructive dialogues about works-in-progress. Come and be a part of the writing of Sisters of the Storm!
4. EXCITING CONVERSATIONS WITH ASIAN AND AMERICAN ARTISTS
In line with the festival theme Living Adaptations, we have three exciting panel discussions, and they are all happening in one day. Learn about multilingual approaches to making art, film editing as a form of writing, and adapting Eastern and Western classics for the stage.
Come and engage with our luminous festival panelists: Dev Benegal (Road, Movie), Chai Vasarhelyi (Nyad), Simon Wu (Dancing on My Own), Rebecca Martínez (The Comedy of Errors), Damon Chua (Warrior Sisters of Wu), Dena Igusti (Cut Woman), Aruni Kashyap (The Way You Want To Be Loved), Ashish Ravinran (Chasing Cricket), and Zizi Majid (Milk).
5. IT’S ALL FREE, FREE, FREE!
All the events are free with RSVP at the festival’s Eventbrite page.
The first day is held at the brand-spanking new Korean Cultural Center New York, near Koreatown. The second day is held at the intimate home of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in midtown Manhattan. Asian snacks and drinks are served on both days. Come and enjoy the hospitality!
The 2024 Singapore Literature Festival in NYC runs from the 19th to the 20 of October, 2024. For more info and to book free tickets, click here.