Sadec 1965: A Love Story
- Agata Drogowska
- Apr 19
- 3 min read
Sadec 1965: A Love Story is a deeply personal and moving solo performance by Canadian artist and writer Flora Le. In this 65-minute monologue, Flora tells a story of identity, silence, and the need to understand a daughter’s search for connection with an emotionally distant father, shaped by a past marked by war and exile in Vietnam.
The narrative unfolds across multiple timelines. We move between Flora’s life in Canada, where she sits by her dying father’s bedside in a hospital, and her 2013 solo motorcycle journey across Vietnam, over 2,000 miles from the north to her father’s hometown of Sadec. The journey, at times risky and physically demanding, becomes a parallel emotional quest: an attempt to uncover hidden truths and make sense of a complicated legacy.
After her father’s death, Flora discovers a bundle of old love letters exchanged between him and his high school sweetheart, Hien. These letters are tender, poetic, and full of longing. They reveal a man capable of deep feeling, a side of him she never knew. Through them, she begins to understand who her father once was, before war and migration forced him into silence.
Le’s storytelling is honest, gentle, and quietly powerful. She blends memory, travel, and history into a heartfelt narrative that resonates well beyond her life. This performance doesn’t offer easy answers but instead creates space to reflect on how trauma, migration, and love shape our relationships — and how reclaiming our stories can be an act of healing.
Sadec 1965: A Love Story is a heartfelt story about two young people separated by war, a daughter and the father she never truly knew, and a woman and her homeland, inherited through memory. It’s a beautiful meditation on identity, loss, and the courage it takes to search for answers when no one is left to give them.
Written and Performed by Flora Le
April 11, 2025
@sadec1965
March 18 through April 20, 2025
Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, NYC)
Born in Poland and based in New York, Agata Drogowska is a filmmaker, artist, journalist, writer, and curator specializing in the visual and performing arts. With a career spanning over two decades, Drogowska has become a significant figure in the cultural dialogue between Poland and the United States. She holds a degree in Painting and Arts Education from the University of the Arts in Poznań (formerly the Academy of Fine Arts) and a diploma in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy, which she completed in 2010. Her multidisciplinary background is reflected in her diverse accomplishments as a painter, set designer, and artistic director during her early career in Poland. Drogowska’s notable achievements include serving as Vice President of the Artistic Association “InterCity” (1999–2010), curating a critically acclaimed exhibition of works by renowned Polish-American photographer Ryszard Horowitz (2010), and leading the public art project “The Art Benches” (2003–2007), which transformed urban spaces in Poznań into interactive art installations. Since 2012, Drogowska has been based in New York, where she currently serves as the President of New York Artists and Filmmakers. Under her leadership, the organization is dedicated to showcasing contemporary Polish cinema and fostering artistic collaborations between Poland and the United States. Her work has been presented at renowned venues, including MoMA, the Tribeca Screening Room, and the Polish Consulate General in New York. Drogowska is also an accomplished filmmaker, having debuted with the short experimental film Sick Home, Home Sick in 2004. Beyond her artistic endeavors, she is an active journalist and writer, contributing insightful articles on art, film, and culture to international publications. Her projects often focus on preserving and celebrating the legacy of Polish cinema and art, emphasizing their relevance in contemporary global discourse. For more information, visit agatadrogowska.com.
Comments