ABOUT
SAIGON ELECTRIC | SYNOPSIS
MAI, a traditional ribbon dancer from the countryside, arrives to the big city of Saigon in hopes of being admitted to the national dance academy. She rents a tiny room in a building from a reclusive music PROFESSOR and gets a job at a fast food joint. After she falls victim to her inner fears and fails her auditions, she finds friendship with the rebellious KIM, a hip-hop dancer from a local crew SAIGON FRESH. Mai enters their lives as the crew trains at the community center with their own dreams: to compete internationally in South Korea. To do so, they have to beat national champs North Killaz from Hanoi. Soon enough, Kim moves in with Mai and the two teens become kindred spirits, working together at the SAMSUNG store as promo girls. Mai’s landlord, the Professor, becomes concerned with Mai hanging out with her new friend, but Mai finds a family with the dance crew, until the one night Kim takes on her rival B-girl from the North crew at an underground battle. Kim loses to the battle and embarrasses her crew. DO-BOY, Saigon Fresh’s team captain, scolds Kim and she defiantly quits the team.
HANDSOME HAI enters the picture. A rich kid from a powerful family, he takes a liking to the streetsmart Kim. Kim brushes him off at first, not remotely wanting anything to do with a “Richie”, but soon Hai wins her over with his charm and dreams of a better future, whisking her away to the beach of Vung Tau. Mai’s friendship with Kim becomes strained as Kim grows infatuated with Hai, and Mai finds solace with Saigon Fresh captain Do-Boy. Mai and Do-Boy grow closer together as they spend time at the community center, where he teaches her the meaning of hip hop and she teaches him the beauty of traditional ribbon dance. She begins to teach ribbon dance at the center to young girls while the crew train for the big show without until bad news strikes. MR. LE, a hotel developer, informs the crew that the community center will be torn down to make room for a large hotel. Distraught, the kids plead to the city officials who inform them that they have no choice but to close down the center.
Meanwhile on the beach, Hai and Kim live their fairy tale romance. He professes his love for Kim and promises that he will take her to England with him where he’ll study abroad. Kim meets Hai’s powerful father under the pretense that she’s from a respected family, but the man sees right through her. He forbids her from seeing Hai and holding back his son’s future and Kim’s world quickly crumbles. After Kim self-destructs from drugs at a night club, Mai and Doboy rescue her and bring her to the Professor’s home asking for help. The Professor nurses her back to health, and Kim humbles herself and asks to rejoin the team. The crew welcome her back with open arms as she finds comfort again on the dance floor. As Saigon Fresh trains for the upcoming big competition against the North crew, Mai sees her spirits ignited as she renews her training for ribbon dance, and the Professor finds new inspiration to compose his opera.
Will Hai resurface and try to win back the heart of Kim? Will Mai gather up the courage to audition again for the dance academy. Will the underdogs Saigon Fresh find a way to keep their beloved community center and battle out a victory over the North Killaz at the big competition? Saigon Electric is a movie that addresses the rites of passage of young adults in modern day Vietnam, and their power to dream.
SAIGON ELECTRIC | DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
In my wish of telling universal stories with a global outlook and a distinctly Vietnamese point of view, the seeds of Saigon Electric were planted. As the population of Vietnam grows younger and younger, youth culture is seeping onto the streets of Vietnam. Hip hop and graffiti artists are alive in today’s rapidly modernized culture. As our production team researched the best underground talent in Vietnam, we found much support from the hip hop community. Hundreds of young dancers came to audition for the chance to be captured on film, and I believe we were very fortunate in the ones selected to showcase their world of expression. My wish is to give the teenagers a voice and present to an international audience a fresh new look at the dreams and struggles of Asian youth.
- Stephane Gauger
