The Journey of Vaan Nguyen
Synopsis
Hoiami Nguyen never imagined that he would end up so far from his home village of Bong Son in central Vietnam. Political circumstances and the roulette of life have washed him to the shores of Israel. The penniless Vietnamese refugee became a father of 5 Hebrew speaking Israeli daughters. His daughter Vaan, describes her parents’ ordeal using a razor sharp language in her blog. She feels trapped in circles of identity that will never meet. Caught between her wild and stormy Israeli spirit and the expectations to be a modest and obedient Vietnamese girl at home, there is an unbridgeable abyss. When her father returns to his family in Vietnam, Vaan finds herself absorbed in his tragic story – a cruel tale of loss and survival. Hoimai’s dream of return sends Vaan to look for a brighter future in the new-old country. She joins him in trying to reclaim the lands of the family, in the remote village at the heart of the Vietnamese jungle. The Journey of Vaan Nguyen has premiered at the Asian-American Film Festival in San Francisco and showcased in more than 30 festivals world-wide.
Credits
Director(s)
Duki Dror
Producer(s)
Yael Shavit
Script
Violette Shitzer
Cinematography
Philippe Bellaiche
Editor
Dany Itzhaki
Original Language
Hebrew, Vietnamese
Subtitles
Hebrew, English
Reviews
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"An intensely poignant observational documentary" The New York Times
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A poignant portrait of the kind of cultural displacement only history can create... first rate doc Variety
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A highly emotional, highly relatable tale of displacement and maturation SFIAAFF Capsule Film Review
