Watch TrailerCO-PRESENTERS |
FREE COMMUNITY SCREENING
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Free entry, Suggested donation: $5 |
Saturday, October 10, 6:00PM
Light refresments will be served
**Producer Jared Rehberg will be in attendance.
Vietnamese American Community Center
42 Charles Street Dorchester, MA 02122
(Red Line: Fields Corner)
2010 | USA | 72 mins | Documentary
Directed by Tammy Nguyen Lee
Synopsis
"Operation Babylift" was a $2 million U.S. initiative that airlifted over 2,500 Vietnamese orphans out of a war-torn country to protect them from the impending threat of the Communist Regime. Coined by some as "one of the most humanitarian efforts in history," it was also plagued by lawsuits and political turmoil. Even with the best intentions, these adoptees grew up facing a unique set of challenges in America, including prejudice overshadowed by a controversial war and cultural identity crisis. Nearly 35 years later, this award-winning documentary takes a candid look at a significant, yet untold event as seen through the eyes of the volunteers, parents, and organizations directly involved, showing a contemporary look at Babylift and its relevance to international adoption today through the eyes of the adoptees themselves. Through honest and emotional testimonials, it uncovers the "lost" stories of the adoptees and who they have become as adults, revealing their compelling struggles and triumps, and giving them an opportunity to share their journey from their own perspective and make peace with their controversial past.
The movie features compelling and insightful interviews from a cross-section of adoptees and Babylift volunteers. Music is from emerging Asian American artists, including Jared Rehberg and Thomas' Apartment.
MORE INFO: www.thebabylift.com
Light refresments will be served
**Producer Jared Rehberg will be in attendance.
Vietnamese American Community Center
42 Charles Street Dorchester, MA 02122
(Red Line: Fields Corner)
2010 | USA | 72 mins | Documentary
Directed by Tammy Nguyen Lee
Synopsis
"Operation Babylift" was a $2 million U.S. initiative that airlifted over 2,500 Vietnamese orphans out of a war-torn country to protect them from the impending threat of the Communist Regime. Coined by some as "one of the most humanitarian efforts in history," it was also plagued by lawsuits and political turmoil. Even with the best intentions, these adoptees grew up facing a unique set of challenges in America, including prejudice overshadowed by a controversial war and cultural identity crisis. Nearly 35 years later, this award-winning documentary takes a candid look at a significant, yet untold event as seen through the eyes of the volunteers, parents, and organizations directly involved, showing a contemporary look at Babylift and its relevance to international adoption today through the eyes of the adoptees themselves. Through honest and emotional testimonials, it uncovers the "lost" stories of the adoptees and who they have become as adults, revealing their compelling struggles and triumps, and giving them an opportunity to share their journey from their own perspective and make peace with their controversial past.
The movie features compelling and insightful interviews from a cross-section of adoptees and Babylift volunteers. Music is from emerging Asian American artists, including Jared Rehberg and Thomas' Apartment.
MORE INFO: www.thebabylift.com
Director's Bio
TAMMY NGUYEN LEE (Executive Producer, Producer/Director/Writer and DP) - Tammy is a first generation Vietnamese American. Born in Saigon, she fled the country as a Boat person when she was only 3 months old. After spending almost a year and a half in a refugee camp in Hong Kong, she and her mother were sponsored to the United States by a church in Silver Spring, Maryland.Growing up in a traditonal suburb of Dallas, Texas as the precocious and somewhat rebellious oldest daughter of two girls, her parents pushed her academics while she developed an attraction to performing arts. She attended various schools for the gifted and talented. Although given scholarships to attend several universities, including NYU's acclaimed Tisch School of the Arts, she opted to stay close to family and attended Southern Methodist University's Meadows School. Fluent in French and Vietnamese, she earned another scholarship to study abroad in Paris, France. She was an active leader, both on and off campus and received an honors B.A. in Cinema in 2000 and a Minor in French and Business. Her first student films Lunar Cycles and First Slow Burn (starring Alias actress Amy Acker) screened at several local film festivals. While serving as Miss Asian American Texas 1999-2000, she directed events for the Vietnamese Community of Greater Dallas and became active in community charities and civic groups. As a working actress and model whose credits span from movies, television, commercials, industrials, and national campaigns, her experience on set fueled her passion for advocating the Asian American identity and representation in the media. Tammy went onto study at the prestigious UCLA Producers Program, where she received her MFA. Both years there, she was Finalist in the Producers Guild sponsored Marketplace competition. She co-produced Yellow, a satyrical comedy directed by X. Dean Lim about the trials and tribulations of being Asian American in Hollywood. Before graduating, she received the Mickey Dude Fellowship, a grant for her work in Asian themed projects. After working several years in Hollywood for companies such as Revolution Studios and The Mine, she moved back to her hometown and founded ATG Against The Grain Productions, a 501(c)(3) non profit production company that creates social issue based media and raises funds for international orphananges. As President/Founder, she speaks at events nationswide and is dedicated to producing stories that represent the diversity and complexity of the Asian American identity and cultural experience. She was honored with the 2010 SMU Distinguished Alumni Emerging Leader Award. In addition, she has worked extensively in film/television production and has overseen the development and marketing of a heavy slate of non-fiction television series and documentary programs for major cable networks, including WEtv, HGTV and truTV. |
JARED REHBERG - (Associate Producer/Consultant): Jared is a Vietnamese Adoptee born in Saigon in 1974. After 9 months at the An Lac Orphanage, he came to America on Operation Babylift. Jared is a member of the International Adoptee Congress and the Vietnamese Adoptee Network (VAN). A passionate singer/songwriter, he released a CD in 2002 titled, "Waking Up American," sharing the stage with Kevin So at Club Passim in Boston and Angela Ai at The Cutting Room in New York City. His music has touched the heart of those who have attended Asian culture camps (Catalyst Foundation, Colorado Heritage, FCVN of Boston, and Holt International) and benefit concerts (Adopt-A-Minefield). He speaks on adoptee panels at adoption conferences and adoption agencies (Spence-Chapin) and has performed for VAN (Luke Wing Asian Museum), Also-Known-As, Children Homes Society and Family Services, New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington Center of Adoption and Families with Children from China in New York. He is a Co-Founder of the international adoptee e-magazine In Third Space. Jared has been interviewed on NPR (Crossing East) and appeared on PBS (Asian American) and ImaginAsian TV (Finding My America). He was also interviewed in Adoptive Families, MAVIN, Tieng Magazine, and BN Magazine. Jared currently lives in New York City as and works as Marketing Coordinator for Medialink. |