Telling It Like It Is [p.4]

“She was able to tell the story with extreme clarity and wasn’t at all reluctant to give me details even when I asked her about cannibalism,” Nguyen recalls.

Nguyen was rejoiced to know that Tung Trinh would be the first courageous voice of Bolinao 52. After their initial interview, Tung Trinh expressed that her ultimate desire would be to visit the town of Bolinao to thank the fishermen who had rescued them.

Until that moment, this investigative process was Nguyen’s personal journey. However, he states, “After I found the survivors, now it was their journey.” Nguyen was determined to take Trinh back to the Philippines as part of his film. He also wanted to make a stop in Japan to reunite Trinh with her son, who was stationed there as a U.S. Marine.

Nguyen began a tremendous fundraising effort, which began with a screening that happened during July of last year. The San Jose fundraiser brought Nguyen some unexpected but very welcome guests. Members of an organization called The Bolinao Association, various immigrants who had once called Bolinao their home, read about Nguyen’s film screening in the San Jose Mercury News and attended to show their support.

Nguyen’s fundraising for his film is a continuing effort. In March 2006, the Bolinao 52 story was told through the Off Broadway play Trial by Water, written by Qui Nguyen, at the Ma-Yi Theatre as part of the Asian American series. Nguyen says that the event reaffirms to him the power of this story.

“Even though the play tells the story through a different view and artistic medium, both the documentary and the play reach the audience the same way—through the heart,” says Nguyen.

Indeed, Bolinao 52 is a powerful story that will touch the hearts of countless people. Thus, Nguyen has decided to use it to tell the struggle of the Vietnamese boat people that still continues today. Nguyen has not only visited Bolinao, he has also been there to speak on behalf of the 2000 Vietnamese refugees who still remain at Camp Palawan. They have been there for the last 16 years because they have refused to return to Viet Nam and no country has been willing to take them. They have no legal status.

“These people’s stories were also a part of that bigger picture. They have been stranded, forgotten, and lost in time,” says Nguyen.

Various Vietnamese activists, such as Hoi Trinh, an immigration attorney and emcee for Asia Entertainment Productions, have been in the process of lobbying U.S. officials to accelerate the screening of these refugees for immigration eligibility. Nguyen has been there to document the process, which will make up the remaining half of Bolinao 52.

“The most vast pain about being a refugee is the rejection and abandonment,” says Nguyen. “Bolinao 52 and the refugees at Palawan were rejected and abandoned by every source possible, from nature to humankind. Hopefully, with the release of the film, those refugees will no longer be forgotten.”

At the moment, Bolinao 52 is planned for television releases (on PBS and European television) and film festivals. Nguyen claims he is not ambitious enough to take on Hollywood nor does he see the point in a Hollywood release. He hopes to find a special place for Bolinao 52 in the Vietnamese overseas community.

“Bolinao 52’s goal is to tell those who don’t know the Vietnamese Boat People experience and to open up the conversation about an unspoken topic. The target audience is the mainstream audience, but I’ll settle for those who seek to understand the Vietnamese Diaspora.”

Bolinao 52 is accepting donations for the completion of this project. Donations are tax-deductible and will be used for the post-production expenses. Donations can be made by Paypal or Credit Card online at www.bolinao52.com. If writing a check, please make out to: Visual Communications. Write Bolinao 52 in the memo line and send to: Duc Nguyen, 2254 Clay St., Napa, CA 94559

For donations of $500 or more, your name will be recognized in the final credits of the film and you will receive a special DVD containing a 10-minute sample of the film plus video comments from Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Actor Kieu Chinh and Nguyen Qui Duc.

For more info. on BOLINAO 52: A Vietnamese Boat People Documentary,
visit www.bolinao52.com, or email duc@rhimp.com.