Seeking to give a nuanced and humanized view of the Vietnam-American war and its complex reverberations, this documentary explores the perspective of Vietnamese youth and Communist veterans as they discuss the past and their dreams for Vietnam's future.
SYNOPSIS
The Road to Independence plans to explore Vietnamese veterans’ personal stories, creative problem-solving, and combat experiences in their struggle for autonomy during the Vietnam-American war. Along with serving as a primary source historical record, this film connects history and present by asking both veterans and youth about their impressions of the war and hopes for the country’s future. At least 50% of all subjects in the film will be female voices.
It’s rare in the United States to see a film exclusively showcasing the Vietnamese experience of the Vietnam War. The Road to Independence will cover a side of the war that hasn’t been examined by most Americans. We’ve gotten many versions that seem to omit the greatest question - what was it all about? Vietnam has a long record of fighting for its autonomy, from China, Mongolia, France, Japan, and America. Vietnam stands out as a country without monetary resources that has been able to gain independence from some of the most powerful empires in the world. It’s a David and Goliath story. It’s a story that should be told from the voices of the people that lived and fought there.
Director Statement
For American audiences, this film aims to complicate the simplified “us vs them” pop culture American vantagepoint and shed light on what it feels like to be on the other side of the imperialist lens. It is important for Americans to not only see the human side of their “enemy” but also understand that the US was acting negligent at best and criminal at worst in a war that was never properly declared by congress. It is my hope that thoughtful dialogue will occur in both government and educational spaces as well as homes throughout America about US involvement in both past, future and present conflicts. The Vietnamese pride themselves on moving forward and not looking back but in a country where 50% of the population is under 35 yrs. old, this film is intended to spur dialogue between the generations about the implications that the American War had on its future development.
Supporter Statement
"Samantha's previous movie was outstanding! And this one is very promising."
- Gerald Herman , Director/Producer
"Sam! I loved your Tlingit/Vietnam vet doc so much. Excited for this new project. May the wind be at your back, with much Launch love ;), Willow"
- Willow O'Feral, Filmmaker
"Samantha is such a unique filmmaker and has a such special way of connecting with her subjects with dignity and respect. Hunting in Wartime did such a beautiful job of lifting native Tlingit voices impacted by the war, and I can’t imagine a more perfect evolution than to have the next film lift up the Vietnamese side of the story."
- Colin Mutchler, Creator and Entrepreneur
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Director Samantha Farinella
Samantha Farinella is a NYC veteran, now Honolulu-based filmmaker and founder of One Angry Woman Productions.
Farinella’s latest feature length project, Hunting in Wartime, premiered nationally on PBS, won five awards including the Big Sky Award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and has screened in over thirty venues. Her first feature documentary, Left Lane, won eight awards including honors in New Zealand, Paris and New York. It received official selection in over forty film festivals including: San Francisco's Frameline, Out in Africa, Galway Film Fleadh, and opening night at Boston's Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Her most recent short film, Without a Scratch, has screened in over fifteen festivals and won five awards including Best Experimental at the Big Muddy Film Festival and Best Experimental at the Columbus International Film and Animation Film Festival. Samantha’s other short films have screened in over 50 festivals and won several awards.
She also has extensive television production and advertising experience with media companies including Viacom, The History Channel, Animal Planet and PBS.
Farinella is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawai’i and received her MFA in Integrated Media Arts from Hunter College.
https://www.samanthafarinella.com/bio
Nguyet Nguyen (Producer and Advisor) completed her first BA in International Relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and her second BA in Journalism at Vietnam's Academy for Journalism and Communication. She earned her MA at the University of Oregon on a Fulbright scholarship in 2010 and obtained her Ph.D. at American University in 2019. Besides a Fulbright scholarship, she received multiple awards and fellowships from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, the Asian Studies Association, the New York University Cold War Center, the American Association of University Women, and Cosmos Foundation. She was a Janet Oppenheim Postdoctoral Fellow at American University and an ASIA Network-Luce Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Wilmington College. Her research interests include the Vietnam War, US Foreign Relations, Imperialism and Decolonization, and Gender Politics. She is currently writing a book on the transnational movement against the Vietnam War focusing on the role of the Vietnamese. Besides teaching, she has been active in shedding light on the GI antiwar movement and in projects to help with the war legacies in Vietnam such as unexploded ordnance.
https://uas.alaska.edu/dir/ntnguyen2.html
Christie George brings two distinct areas of expertise to her role as Producer. She is formerly the Theatrical and International Television Sales Manager at Women Make Movies and has extensive experience distributing independently financed social issue documentaries. She will be helping to develop our film's distribution and outreach strategy from the beginning, working to ensure that our project is in partnership with the myriad individual networks and community-based organizations that are invested in the messages of this project. She was also the President of New Media Ventures for 10 years, so she is uniquely positioned to help us finance this project and will be supporting us on fundraising and financing strategy. Finally, Christie has extensive networks in the worlds of film, politics and venture capital; we will be leveraging these networks as we finance, complete and distribute this project.
https://indivisible.org/christie-george
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Women Make Movies (WMM), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization registered with the New York Charities Bureau of New York State and accepts charitable donations on behalf of this project. Your donation will be spent by the filmmaker(s) toward the production and completion of this media project. No services or goods are provided by Women Make Movies, the filmmaker(s) or anyone else associated with this project in exchange for your charitable donation.
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