Life, Poetry and Prison - Cuộc Sống, Thi Văn, và Tù Đày
featuring Nguyễn Chí Thiện, the Poet
Milpitas Community Library:
40 N. Milpitas Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035
Saturday, July 14, 2007
3:00 pm – Vietnamese
4:15 pm – English
5:15 pm – Reception
Free admission
World Premiere
USA/Philippines 2007 | 58 mins | DigiBeta | English, Vietnamese, Tagalog w/E.S.
Like the millions of Vietnamese who fled their homeland, Duc Nguyen and his family left Vietnam aboard a boat in 1980 in a desperate attempt to escape persecution. They were at sea for over four days before a U.S. Navy ship picked them up. “Why did I survive while so many others did not?” is the question that drives his debut documentary BOLINAO 52, which uncovers the truth about one notoriously ill-fated boat of refugees.
The boat now referred to as the “Bolinao” carried more than a hundred people away from Vietnam. On their first day at sea they encountered a storm; when it passed, their engine failed and they began to drift. Ten days into their journey, a Japanese freighter passed them by. Later a U.S. Navy ship, the U.S.S. Dubuque, found them, but ultimately ended up deserting them as well. Adrift at sea for 37 days, the boat was finally saved when a group of Filipino fishermen from a village called Bolinao finally took it to shore. Out of 110 passengers that began the voyage, only 52 survived.
Nguyen discovers one survivor willing to talk, Tung Trinh. Telling her story as if she’s lifting a burden, Trinh delivers an animated and emotional account of what happened. Mixing her personal account with Nguyen’s evocative depiction of the time, BOLINAO 52 creates a reservoir to preserve the memories, tragedies and choices of those faced with unimaginable circumstances.
Contemporary Perceptions and Media Representations Explored in
Witness to War: Revisiting Vietnam in Contemporary Art at the
Fine Arts Gallery, San Francisco State University,
February 17-March 15, 2007
Vietnamese-American artists highlighted with West Coast film premiere of Bui Hoai Mai’s documentary
“The Rain on the River” and Nguyen Dance Company
modern dance performance on Saturday, March 10
Full Article "Witness to War: Revisiting Vietnam in Contemporary Art" »
Vua của các loại bia
