Cultural festival on Franz Kafka’s legacy in Hanoi

Thanh Uyen

The Kafka Festival will be held in the capital city of Hanoi from now until April 14 to highlight the legacy of great writer Franz Kafka (1883-1924) with a variety of activities including exhibitions, film screenings, music concerts and dance performances.

A series of exhibitions titled “Kafka – A journey to Vietnamese readers” are scheduled to take place at East West Cultural Space from now until April, Heritage Space from April 3 to 8, and Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities from April 9 to 14.

The screening of the film “Who Was Kafka?” depicting the life of the author through stories and memories from his relatives will be attended by Swiss Ambassador Beatrice Maser Mallor. She will share with audiences the importance of Kafka’s legacy to humanity as well as to the people of Switzerland where he fell in love and repeated his visits many times.

In addition, the Austrian Embassy in Vietnam is expected to organize a Kafka-inspired dance performance by dancers Charlotte Spitzer and Ziga Jereb, the Vietnam News Agency reports.

Born into a German-speaking Jewish family in Prague in the Czech Republic, Kafka has been widely regarded as one of the greatest figures of the 20th-century literature. His literary works were inspired by and written during his journeys to many European countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

The festival is being held by the embassies of the Czech Public, Germany, Austria and Switzerland in Vietnam in commemoration of the 135th birth anniversary of the world-acclaimed writer.