Daughter From Danang
A Film by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco
"Quite simply one of the best and most profound documentaries I have seen
in years. Splendid!"
John Petrakis
Chicago Tribune
Winner 2002 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary
If you haven¹t seen the film, Now¹s the time!
If you have seen the film.Tell friends, co-workers, strangers on the
street!
Please help us spread the word the length of the run in each city and
possibilities for release in additional cities depends on turnout!
Here¹s a partial list of opening dates, cities and theaters. For a
complete list and updates, please go to: www.DaughterFromDanang.com
Nov. 1 New York City - Quad Cinema PREMIERE!
Nov. 8 Boston - Coolidge Corner Theatre
Nov. 15 Los Angeles - NuArt Theatre
Nov. 29 San Francisco - Opera Plaza
Nov. 29 Berkeley Shattuck Cinema
Nov. 29 San Jose - Camera Cinemas
Dec. 6 San Rafael - Rafael Film Center
Dec. 13 San Diego - Ken Cinema
Jan. 13 Austin Dobie Theater
Jan. 24 Seattle - Varsity Theater
A heartbreaking documentary that upsets your expectations of
happily-ever-afters, Daughter from Danang goes off like a landmine in the
soul. To all outward appearances, Heidi is the proverbial all-American
girl, hailing from small town Pulaski, Tenn. But her birth name was Mai
Thi Hiep. Born in Danang, Vietnam in 1968, she¹s the mixed-race daughter
of an American serviceman and a Vietnamese woman. In 1975, as the
Vietnam War was ending, her birth mother, Mai Thi Kim, gave up the
7-year-old to "Operation Babylift," a Ford administration plan to
relocate orphans and mixed-race children to the U.S. for adoption before
they fell victim to a frighteningly uncertain future in Vietnam after the
Americans pulled out. That airlift was the last Kim saw of Hiep for 22
years.
Now, as if by a miracle, mother and daughter are reunited in Danang. But
what seems like the cue for a happy ending is as deceptive as camouflage
fatigues.
Through intimate and sometimes excruciating moments, Daughter from Danang
profoundly shows how wide the chasms of cultural difference and how deep
the wounds of war can run--even within one family. Heidi and her
Vietnamese relatives find themselves caught in a confusing clash of
cultures and at the mercy of conflicting emotions that will change their
lives forever. An extraordinarily moving documentary, Daughter from
Danang is one of the most powerful films you will ever see.
"Its power comes from a soul¹s-eye view of how well-meaning patronizing
masked a social injustice."
Elvis Mitchell
The New York Times
" Startling! A jaw-dropping assault on cultural stereotypes. "
Glenn Lovell
San Jose Mercury News
"Intelligent, well-observed, ineffably poignant."
Joe Lyden
Variety
"Stirring and moving..... eloquent....a complex portrait, etched with
intelligence and framed with respect."
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
To contact the filmmakers: daughter_danang0
Daughter from Danang is a presentation of American Experience and ITVS in
association with NAATA.
The film is being theatrically distributed by Balcony Releasing in
association with Cowboy Pictures.