Filmmaker Q&A for "Taking Root" & "Peace Offering" | Viet Film Fest 2024

Viet Film Fest 2024 presents the filmmaker Q&A for the feature film "Taking Root: Southeast Asian Stories of Resettlement in Philadelphia" and accompanying short film "Peace Offering". This Q&A was featured in the virtual edition of the film festival.
Synopsis for “Taking Root: Southeast Asian Stories of Resettlement in Philadelphia": Oanh-Nhi Nguyen’s Taking Root: Southeast Asian Stories of Resettlement in Philadelphia is a documentary which analyzes the history and modern realities of Southeast Asian refugees who found a new home in Philadelphia. The documentary - a three-part webseries that will be presented at Viet Film Fest in its entirety, with the three parts spliced together to form a feature film - contextualizes Southeast Asian presence in the United States as a product of American interventionism and war in the region. In exploring the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees, the documentary addresses the early challenges, racism, and poverty experienced by those traumatized by war, highlighting the enduring impact of American structural violence and warmaking. The film highlights efforts by Southeast Asian refugees to contest historical erasure and distortion and the agency of those who had been forced from their homes due to conflict and their endeavors to form communities abroad.
Taking Root, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, articulates the importance of inherited and intergenerational trauma which informs the Southeast Asian refugee experience. Adamant in its critique of American militarism and imperialism, the film explores how violence from war leads to violence and oppression experienced in its aftermath. Comprehensive in scope, yet refreshingly specific in the local history of the greater Philadelphia area, the film captures the experiences and histories of diverse communities which make up the Southeast Asian diaspora, bringing in voices from the Cambodian and Hmong communities which are often ignored in discussion of the Vietnam conflict.
Synopsis for “Peace Offering": After a dinner incident between a mother and her daughter, Dawn gets thrown back into her past to confront her own family dysfunction in order to make peace with her daughter.
Filmmakers present:
Director of “Taking Root: Southeast Asian Stories of Resettlement in Philadelphia" - Oanh-Nhi Nguyen
Co-Producer of “Taking Root: Southeast Asian Stories of Resettlement in Philadelphia" - Juyeon Song
Filmmakers of "Peace Offering" - Helen & Emily
Moderator: Tu-Uyen Nguyen
The Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) kicked off Viet Film Fest (VFF) in October, bringing together filmmakers and community members to celebrate the largest Vietnamese film festival in the diaspora. Starting October 5 to 20, the festival commenced Viet Film Fest at Home, a virtual festival available right on your home screen! The in-person festival took place over three exciting days, from October 11, 12 & 13 at The Frida Cinema in Downtown Santa Ana. Set against a backdrop of Southern California’s scenic beauty, the in-person event featured exclusive screenings, Q&A sessions, and opportunities to network within the Vietnamese and Vietnamese diasporic filmmaking community.
Learn more at www.vietfilmfest.com UC Irvine’s H.O.T. Fellow and VFF 2024 Programming Committee Member: Chenglin Lee
Film Programming Intern: Alena Nguyen
Artistic Director: Eric Nong
Lead Media Producer: Jonathan Pham
Video Editor: Chinh Mai
Communication Specialist: Corey Linh
Copyright: © 2024 Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA)