Filipino Fever...菲律宾热情...フィリピンフィバー...

Remember how in 2007 i discovered Filipino entertainment and fell head over toes over the Philippines, it's people, it's culture, all just because of the 'soft power' of Filipino entertainment? Well, I am now revisiting that 'filipino fever' of mine, which kinda lowered for the past year before in recent weeks i'm kinda getting that 'filipino fever' back again!

Some songs I like: adik sayo (addicted to you): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JITAGe7YHw

Ikaw Lamang (Only You):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ycF5vqGR0

Tayong Dalawa MV (Two of Us): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzVf6_bpqkQ

The girl in the above MV is very pretty, her name is Kim Chiu, one of the new top talents in the Filipino industry. She's pure Chinese, being Filipino-Chinese, born to Chinese immigrants from Fujian Province, China. (Most Filipino-Chinese in the Philippines are from Fujian Province, thus being Hokkien people.)

Also, some movies from the past i love...'Got 2 Believe' (on youtube with malay subs), especially the end of the movie:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpf24xQDG7k

and 'You are the one', one of my fav romantic comedies of all time!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSRQbpwux58

My love for Filipino culture and entertainment has also led to my peak in interest in the Philippines and understanding its current affairs, people, and issues. Have a look at this Current TV docu on Philippines No.1 export, its people!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7rVibDsWKo&feature=player_profilepage#

Enjoy!
Links to Previous Post on Filipino Culture and Entertainment:
1)http://chinesechic.wordpress.com/2007/08/11/reconnecting-with-my-south-east-asian-roots/
2)http://chinesechic.blogspot.com/2008/03/penang-cny-trip-08-ii.html

Singapore & the 'Inferiority Complex'...新加坡与新国语言政策...シンガポールとシンガポールの言語政策....

This post is going to be about Singapore and its inferiority complex. Hahaha..
I was going through blogs in recent weeks when i came across a few blogs written by young English-educated Singaporean Chinese. I also went on via links to this Singapore online site called 'The Online Citizen' whereby there are posts on Singaporean social, economic, and political issues as well as commentary left by Singaporean readers on their views regarding these issues. One common strain that i discovered was the inherent inferiority complex that many Singaporean (Chinese) suffered and how they view themselves and their country in such a negative and under-deserving light. I mean, read any Singaporean blog written by a certain section of Singaporean society and you can see how negative they view their own country, an extension of their own inferiority complex. These are usually people whom are ethnic Chinese, English educated with a good command of English, from an upper to upper-middle class segment of society, poor Mandarin/dialect capabilities, and probably with a foreign education background too. Their blogs and views on the The Online Citizen are 80% and more negative on Singapore and Singaporeans in general as a populace and you can hardly see any positive things they would say about their country, a country which is one of THE richest nations in the world in terms of GDP per capita, clean, efficient, with a high living standard but yet read any Singaporean blog from an elite intellectual background and inevitably its 80% and above negative. The only position mentions would be about family or food.

Quite frankly, this is a case of what I call 'Elitism' and 'Inferiority Complex'. Singaporeans with a good command of English and from a higher education level tend to have an elitism complex as well as inferiority complex. They look down on their own country and even worse, on their own people, with common terms like 'third world mentality' 'third world manner's' 'third world..bla bla bla' to describe something they dislike about their country. Although i do agree with criticism about the government as its extremely dictatorial, and there's really a case of 'third world freedom of speech, gay rights, and media freedom' to be argued for in the case of Singapore, i tend to find many of these Singaporeans overly critical of the country and their people when there's much to be proud of.

I believe this has to do with the unconscious elitism and inferiority complex which many Singaporeans have in that they feel the West or Japan will ALWAYS be better than their own nation, never mind the economy, transportation, healthcare,etc in Singapore. It's a feeling which is worse when i've read singaporeans describing 'typical singaporean behavior' and looking down on their on, typically the less-educated or more dialect-speaking/mandarin speaking singaporeans. Singapore, like Malaysia, suffers from an 'internalised white-worship' mentality whereby everything Western is considered somehow better, the education in the West is better, the social manners in the West is better, the bla in the West is better..without any warrant.

One post in the 'The Online Citizen' and the comments it elicited really riled me...it was concerning Singapore's language policy which mandates that each major race learn compulsory 'Mother tongue' as a separate subject in school (as the Singaporean education syllabus is completely English) which means ethnic Chinese learn Mandarin, Indians learn Tamil, Malays learn Malay and so on. The particular post by the writer went on and on about how Mandarin wasn't her mother tongue, how the government was 'forcing an alien language down her throat'(*rolls eyes*, yes Mandarin is an 'alien language' but English, the language of Singapore's former colonial masters is not? Not a word of criticism on English usage) how her mother tongue was really a chinese dialect like teochew, fookchew, hokkien, cantonese,etc and how they should get rid of this policy and allow dialects in school and like 80% of the readers meaning 70-80 comments completely supported her even 'blaming' compulsory Mandarin education for 'destroying dialects' in Singapore.
BULL CRAP. This is another problem with the elite English-educated Chinese Singaporeans. Like my native Malaysia, there's always been a stratification of languages, although much less pronounced now than in the pre-2000s days when it was VERY obvious.

Basically, put simply, those whom speak and write good English are right at the top of the social/economic ladder in society, followed by the Mandarin-speaking people, and then followed by the dialect-speaking (meaning they use Hokkien,Teochew, Fookchew, Hakka,etc more) with poor command of English right at the bottom. That's the perception anyway. English is connected with social mobility and class, being of an upper class. This is supposedly the same as in India as well where English newspapers, government interviews, tv programs, etc are given an 'elite class treatment' whilst the media which has actually more readership such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu,etc language media is given a second class priority in the public perception. This has caused such a huge elite upwardly mobile segment of Singaporean society to look down on dialect and Mandarin and recently, with the global trend in indigenous culture promotion, to just despise Mandarin and promote dialects.

I find it horrifying to say the least that these people whom already have poor to no dialect speaking skills are now rebelling against compulsory Mandarin education and promotion (A govt 'Speak Mandarin Campaign' which started in the early 1980s to promote Mandarin in place of dialects) and saying how it isn't their mother tongue. What is going to happen if the language policy of the Singaporean govt is done away with (one of the areas where i actually support it 100%) would be to result in Singaporean Chinese speaking poor Mandarin, equally poor, if not worse, dialect, and 100% English. This is already happening EVEN with the compulsory mandarin education currently. I mean, all the Singaporeans I've met, whom happen to fit into the elite english-educated foreign educated segment i just mentioned above, have horrible Mandarin skills and quite good English skills. They cannot really speak dialect as well given the elite group speak English at home, at work, in school, socially interacting with friends,etc that I find it resolutely ridiculous that some in this segment now would like Mandarin removed as a compulsory subject. One can only wonder with dialect being much less useful than Mandarin, which is actually a very useful language spoken by 1.3 billion Chinese plus the 35 million plus residing overseas in countries like America, Canada, Malaysia, and Philippines (there is even over 500,000 Chinese workers now living in Africa!) one can see what the result would be if dialects were introduced as compulsory. First off, it wouldn't work practically as it'd mean different teachers and materials and exams needed, given there's so many dialects, and also it'd mean different dialect groups would be unable to communicate with each other thus fracturing the Chinese community in Singapore.

Mandarin was introduced as the de facto unifying language in the early 20th century precisely to unite the Chinese Han race as different dialects were being spoken and people in the north could not communicate with the southerners and even southerners couldn't communicate with each other. (re: Cantonese with Teochews with Hokkiens with Hakkas,etc you get the idea.) But once again, the inferiority complex of these Singaporeans rear its ugly head and they decide they don't want anything to do with Mandarin. It's so silly given how much Singaporeans love to lament on their 'poor' English skills when its such a highly Anglicised and Westernised nation, one of the most Westernised in fact in Asia. They'd rather critcise and rebel against their cousin language of Mandarin, being within the 'family' than criticise the real culprit of what has destroyed dialect in Singapore (if you really must blame a language) which is ENGLISH. It is the English language and the accompanying inferiority complex mentality of the 60s/70s/80s/90s/00s which Singaporeans had/have which resulted in English occupying and completely kicking out dialect usage, first from the public sphere in the workplace, then progressively socially such that English has become for decades the language of choice when socialising amongst fellow Chinese friends, and then into the private sphere of the family, being used within the family. I read somewhere that a survey by the Education Ministry of Singapore ( i think) in 2009 indicated over 60% of all primary school aged children from ethnic Chinese backgrounds now use English as their spoken 'mother tongue' at home, meaning not only is the unifying Chinese language of Mandarin (or if you're one of those elitist Westernised Singaporeans, you'd at least call it a 'cousin language') or even chinese dialect not in use, a completely 'outsider language' of English is now the mother tongue of the majority of the next generation of Singaporeans.

As a fervently proud ethnic Chinese and proud Asian of both East Asian and S.East Asian descent(always has been, always will be...which is why i even majored in Asian Studies within my Arts degree in uni when it wasn't a popular major for Asians..) i find this EXTREMELY UNACCEPTABLE AND DISTURBING. But of course, no one in the Singaporean English blogosphere nor these influential online news sites are debating on the poor Mandarin levels of Singaporean Chinese, which as an ethnic race, all Chinese should understand. ( Believe me, with the Chinese population currently around the world, spanning from Malaysia, Australia, to Africa and the Middle East, Mandarin is VERY VERY USEFUL..even for my daily life here in Oz, i find so many Chinese people in Sydney and its very useful to understand mandarin, you just get more with an extra language and also dialects would prevent interaction between Chinese people meaning an outsiders language would be needed (English) for the different groups to interact (which is currently happening in Singapore and will get worse should Mandarin be removed and dialects introduced as the mandatory mother tongue subject). It's funny how some Singaporeans criticise about the 'poor english levels' in Singapore when it is the Mandarin levels and dialect levels which warrant debate and the status of English within society should be re-evaluated instead.

It's like attacking your cousin (Mandarin) whilst not being able to speak your own mother dialect (dialect) whilst being completely comfortable with speaking an outsider's language (English). Inferiority Complex at its worse. And the worse thing is when these elitist English-educated Chinese complain about Singaporean's English level and education system, it has still managed to produce thousands of Singaporeans whom successfully are able to enter and graduate from foreign universities and with Singaporeans making up a disproportionate number of students in Ivy League universities in America (relative to Singapore's small population size). Like seriously, obviously somethings been done right for them to even get into these places in the first place, right? But nooo, inferiority complex mandates that they complain about that aspect of Singapore as well...quite frankly, its like one of those people who go online heaping praise upon praise on North Korea and Communism in general whilst being in the comforts of their freedom of using the internet, their freedom of speech and freedom of movement within the comforts of a capitalist, democratic society, no???

And also the term of 'heartlander' which is used in Singapore is also a reflection of the elitism mentality of many young yuppie English educated Singaporean Chinese by creating this non-existent category of people in Singapore to refer to those ppl living in the suburbs, dialect/mandarin speaking, and supposedly socially bckward and conservative in values...so silly, as if Singapore is not small enough to have a 'heartland'?? So many of these socially English speaking ppl live or their families/friends' live in the 'heartlands' anyways to make this social distinction moot, but of course, they create this term to differentiate themselves from everyone else, with the 'everyone else' being more backwards...

It's not just a Singapore problem, sadly. I find it much more serious in Singapore though. In Hong Kong and Japan, there has also been a problem of 'Western White-Worship' and 'Inferiority Complex' as well despite their wealthy status. For instance, advertisements and magazines in Japan disproportionately feature white or mixed European-Japanese models and white men assumedly get the girls more in nightclubs compared to Asian men. In Hong Kong as well, white and English is also (or once was) put on a high pedastal as well.

However, both Japan and Hong Kong always had and have strong native popular cultures and pride to counter this inferiority complex but yet Singapore does not. This is why I find the problem of elitism and 'white worship' much more worrisome in Singapore and afflicting Singaporeans much more than Japanese or Hong Kongers whom actually have improved alot in the past decade with much more pride for their native culture and people. For instance, you are hard-pressed to find Japanese or Hong Kong ppl having a general perception that their people 'lack social manners' or are 'backwards' as opposed to many Singaporeans.

I do agree that Singapore and particularly its government has much 'third world' aspects such as lack of freedom of speech, media freedom, gay rights,etc for a First World(it is 1st world, despite these elitist claims of it being really third-world) .

However, I also think whats really shameful and 'third world' about Singapore is not its general citizenry or the nation itself, but those with elitist (generally) English-speaking Singaporeans whom have a 'third world' inferiority complex about their own nation, the nation which gave them so much material wealth as well as opportunities both abroad and at home to distastefully look down on their own nation and its people which provided them what they have today.

Thats whats truly 'third world' and deplorable about Singapore.

A society where the English educated elites unconsciously look down on those with poorer English skills whilst slamming their own unifying tongue of Mandarin whilst at the same time being completely at home with using their former colonial master's language.

A society where the future generation will all have as their true 'mother tongues' that of a truly 'outsider's' language, English.

A society which has become so Westernised that much attention is focused on the 'poor English' standards of Singaporeans whilst at the same time having no qualms on further eroding the already shamefully poor Mandarin levels of many Singaporeans and at the exact same time giving half-hearted support for dialect education.

A people whom have no pride in a nation which, despite having plenty of flaws, and a flawed government, has also managed to turn itself from a resourceless tiny island into one of the richest nations on earth within 30 years.

That's what's truly 'third world' about certain Singaporeans and that's the true shame of Singapore. And all this coming from a foreigner, me....Any thoughts, anyone?

PS: The above reflects my own thoughts on the subject and is not meant to offend any Singaporeans and be an attack on anyone, even if you happen to fall within the elitist English-speaking category of Singaporeans whom I refer to above. It's just to simply point out my observations and thoughts on the matter and, hopefully, change minds and spirits in that process, not to offend anyone!

I Love RTHK & Suzie Wong...我爱RTHK和苏丝黄...RTHKとスージーウォンが大好き...

I would like to introduce to readers the Wonderful World of Suzie Wong, a 1960 Hollywood production which was a box-office hit in America. Set in 50s Hong Kong telling the tale of a 'Wanchai Girl' with a heart of gold falling in love with a poor American painter.

This film introduced to American and worldwide audiences for the first time the beauty of the 50s-60s style cheongsam worn by Chinese women in Hong Kong and South East Asia and very popular at the time. As a huge cheongsam fan myself, i loved the tight body-hugging high neckline n slit cheongsams shown in this movie as well as the multitude of on-location scenes of what Hong Kong looked like back in the late 1950s (priceless shots, really!). Please have a watch of what Hong Kong cheongsams (very accurate, verified from a cheongsam 'expert' like me! haha) and Hong Kong looked like back in its poorer days in the late 50s.

Entire film is available for viewing on youtube, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9-A19RezTc&feature=player_profilepage

Also, I love RTHK (Hong Kong's only public broadcasting station) current affairs programs as well as docus alot. They show aspects of Hong Kong society which may not be readily known to outsiders, usually focusing on the underbelly and socially discriminated or disadvantaged groups in Hong Kong and their daily struggles and triumphs. I especially like how they focus on not only the problems of these people, but also on the kindness and unextinguishable spirit of the common person and the optimism and hope one can have to overcome adversity in life. The episodes are available online for viewing (for those whom understand Cantonese or can read Traditional Chinese characters as subtitles are available for most programs in Chinese characters.) here: http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/program_archive.cgi?progdir=tv/commonfolks&event_name=%3F%3F+%3F%3F+銋%3F+甇%3F+%0A

~Enjoy!

Queer Cinema in Asia Recommendations 2009..亚洲同志电影推介2009年...2009年のアジアゲイ映画お勧め

In Asia, recent years have seen a flourishing of Gay films in the mainstream media and undoubtedly, Taiwan and the Philippines have led this queer Asian film charge ahead of other countries such as South Korea which have also produced many gay-themed movies...as i said before, I believe in Asia, the most gay-friendly countries are definitely Thailand, the Philippines, and Taiwan. In terms of media coverage, the Philippines definitely comes up on top for its gay-friendly and wide-ranging exposure of gay storylines/characters whilst I'd say Taiwan comes in second in terms of media queer-friendliness.

There's been many gay Filipino films in the past 5 yrs, and this yr there's been many films as well..but i'm only looking forward to 'In my Life' by Philippine's veteran Star 'for all Seasons' Ms. Vilma Santos, one of Filipino Cinema's most recognised and esteemed actresses as well as starring John Lloyd Cruz, the leading Filipino box-office lead currently as well as hunky Luis Manzano!

Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf9ae_0f_jQ

A Taiwanese film dealing with the same theme of gayness is the film which is produced by veteran and probably THE most famous Taiwanese producer/screenwriter Wu Nien-Jen of the film 'Tou-San' (1994) fame. I'm really looking forward to this film about a colour-blind young girl and her gay cousin living in a small fishing village in rural Taiwan.

Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5cx-uf18xk

Another gay Taiwanese film, Neon Hearts, being an interracial romance between a teenage Swedish boy and a teenage Taiwanese boy, is also coming up this yr, trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5r06evlreE

Given it's three gay male films to look out for pointed out for this year, lesbians, fret not, there's been many lesbian themed films and i personally like 'Saving Face' made by Taiwanese-American Alice Wu starring Lynn Chen (she's gorgeous!), Michelle Krusiec (i identify alot with her personality), and Joan Chen, whole movie here from 2004: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVVQq9Hkjuk

Also, one of my all-time fav Taiwanese films (note this is not just for the LGBT category but for the Taiwan Film entire category, it's THAT good for me.) which i first saw at the Melbourne In'tl Film Festival bck in the early 2000s and had not much expectation but was overwhelmed by the finishing scene-Blue Gate Crossing. Fan Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viiPb6z1ues&feature=related

Not to mention, THE BIGGEST NEWS out yet this year, in the HK entertainment industry, ...hold your breaths ppl (for those familiar with Hong Kong's entertainment scene ala 80s/90s)...Vivian Chow, the most celebrated and 'originator' of the term 'Jade Girl' in HK, whom retired from filming in 1996 and was well-known for being THE Jade Girl of the 80s/early 90s is making a comeback to the big-screen! And in a lesbian romantic comedy opp. Sandra Ng (my FAVOURITE HK comedian actress of ALL-TIME) to be funded by Wong Jing and helmed by esteemed award-winning director Ann Hui-On Wah. OH MY GOD. This is BIG. BIG NEWS. Given Vivian Chow's choice of this movie as her comeback movie after a 13 yr hiatus, it shows how much society has changed that a romantic comedy dealing with two lesbians can be made into a commercial mainstream hk flick, and also HK's pre-eminent Jade girl, known for her feminine, good-girl image from the 80's would choose this lesbian romantic comedy as her comeback movie..i can't wait!

Now, whoever said Asia was behind in terms of queer representation in the media and positive images/role characters in its media? I'm constantly doing my part to correct this incorrect perception many Westerners, Asians, and even gay Asians have that somehow or other, Asia is very behind in terms of gay rights, visibility, role models, when it isn't! In certain countries in Asia it is the case (re: Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,etc) but definitely not in Taiwan and the Philippines, two countries which hold a very special place in my heart!

PS: Update 29/10: Taiwan's Annual Gay Pride Parade, held in Taipei and also Asia's largest gay pride parade, will be held on 31st October 2009. My very best wishes to my compatriot Taiwanese as well as overseas participants whom will be attending (predicted to surpass 20,000 marchers this yr!) . In addition, Discovery Channel Taiwan has decided to broadcast Taiwan's very first Documentary focusing on contemporary gay & lesbian Life in Taiwan and societal/political acceptance and changes in the past decade or so.

Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/user/lovepeacing2009#p/a/u/0/ckS0ou5eA_8

(I SOOO wanna see this!! Please record it and put it on youtube and inform me anyone living in Taiwan! Pretty pretty PLEASE?!)

Human Rights Focus: Child Prostitution and World Hunger...人权焦点：儿童卖春与世界饥饿....人権フォーカス：児童買春と世界飢餓...

I came across these documentaries ( i love docos!) on youtube and thought i'd share it with my fellow bloggers and blog readers, i was simply disgusted when watching them, i wanted to puke ..men, the root cause of all evil..and ppl ask me why i'm such a militant feminist..:

Caution: What you are about to see and hear is truly disturbing so please watch at your own discretion. Also you can see how widespread the problem of child prostitution is, spanning from Africa to Asia to Europe and all other continents as well.
1) Child Prostitution in Kenya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdkhIW3QuVg
2) Child Prostitution in Indonesia:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw_e-E00e-8&feature=channel
3) Child Prostitution in Romania: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz8R3mC1TEg&feature=related

On another unrelated but equally important note, did ppl know that world hunger is becoming a more and more serious problem now? It is estimated by the UN World Food Program that over 1 billion people are starving or suffering from hunger currently (YES, 1 BILLION people, meaning 1/6th of the world's entire population are currently suffering from hunger). And also apparently every 6 seconds, a child dies from hunger in the world today. Truly depressing figures.
Link to an Aljazeera Program (my fav English cable news network) on World Hunger: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2009/09/2009920134113629813.html
Oh gosh, with my post on child prostitution and world hunger, this post is truly very depressing ain't it??

Fifties Fairs....in Sydney 2009!!!....五十年代嘉年华会在雪梨.....五十年代の祭りシドニーで..

Above: A touch of 50's class...

When i chanced upon the advertising leaflet promoting the 15th Annual 'Fifties Fair' in Sydney, I knew I just had to go!!!! Given that I am a 50s/60s fan of the cheongsam and that era, how could I miss it! What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon mixing amidst the crowd of 50s inspired and dressed ppl and pretending that I had been transported bck to the 1950s. Of cos, for Chinese representation, I wore my cheongsam top there..heheh..

I was very surprised to see the huge crowds there as the location is in Turrumurra which is really far north away from the city and inner suburbs, on the outer edges of Sydney already and tics cost $20 per adult and $55 per family which was quite costly, especially in a global financial crisis and with this being such a niche event, frankly i was expecting not many ppl to turn up..but boy was I wrong!! There were throngs of ppl and even queues to enter the fair! Cos it's held at this 40's built heritage house and enclosed garden estate and not very big...there were many ppl in 50's inspired fashion parading about and a 50s fashion contest as well as 50s style music and dance presentations ( i enjoyed the dance presentations alot!!!) and lots of stalls set up selling 50s/60s collectible items and fashion such as magazines, dresses, ties, shirts, 50s floral prints, etc..

Anyways, let the photos do the talking!

Above and Below: At the Bus Stop waiting for the shuttle bus to ferry us to the Fifties Fair..
Above: Entrance to the Sydney 15th Annual Fifties Fair 2009...

Above and Below: 60's Style...I was tempted to buy the 50/60s printed cloth cos what better way to make a cheongsam-inspired creation than with original 50s cloth material????

Above: Women getting their '50s makeover' at the booth...

Above: Lil' red riding hood with her cellphone..hahaha..

Above: Girls digging into their ice-creams on a warm Winter afternoon in their fifties outfits...

Above: Stalls selling 50's stuff...

Above: A sign of the times...guess whom won the 'Best 50s Couple' category..yep, the two ladies in the above photo..hehe..whether they're a real lesbian couple or not, it definitely goes to show a sign of the times, when a same-sex couple can beat the other straight couples to win a best couple contest..hehe..

Above: 50s Fashion Competition Parade..

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival 2009!... 中秋节快乐2009!...

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival my fellow readers~

Hope you all have a wonderful family gathering +reunion, and of course, have plenty of mooncakes too!

I've already had my fill, i like only the white lotus mooncake without the egg-yolk. I usually buy the ones imported from Hong Kong called 'Wing Wah Mooncakes', which is freakin expensive at $41 per box of 4 regular sized mooncake without egg-yolks..but quite ok if you share with friends the cost...what type of mooncake variety do my readers like? With the consumerism culture and innovative designs available nowadays, there's plenty of varieties and unique tastes to choose from, so do share readers!!

PS: For those whom wanna know more bout the story behind the Mid-Autumn Festival, click on wiki here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival