Still Life

Immigrant Service: Focus on Jesus Duran(en)

After losing her father at an early age, Tina Duran explores the rich history of her father, the story of her ancestors who migrated from Mexico to the United States, and the impact the Vietnam War had on their community.

Dateline: Saigon(en)

How does a nation slip into war? Dateline-Saigon profiles the controversial reporting of five Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists -The New York Times' David Halberstam, the Associated Press' Malcolm Browne, Peter Arnett, and legendary photojournalist Horst Faas, and UPI's Neil Sheehan -- during the early years of the Vietnam War as President John F. Kennedy is secretly committing US troops to what is initially dismissed by some as 'a nice little war in a land of tigers and elephants.' 'When the government is telling the truth, reporters become a relatively unimportant conduit to what is happening,' Halberstam tells us. 'But when the government doesn't tell the truth, begins to twist the truth, hide the truth, then the journalist becomes involuntarily infinitely more important.'

1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond(en)

The Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the May events in France, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, the Prague Spring, the Chicago riots, the Mexico Summer Olympics, the presidential election of Richard Nixon, the Apollo 8 space mission, the hippies and the Yippies, Bullitt and the living dead. Once upon a time the year 1968.

Vietnam: American Holocaust(en)

VIETNAM: AMERICAN HOLOCAUST exposes one of the worst cases of sustained mass slaughter in history, carefully planned and executed by presidents of both parties. Our dedicated generals and foot soldiers, knowingly or unknowingly, killed nearly 5 million people, on an almost unimaginable scale, mostly using incendiary bombs. Vietnam has never left our national consciousness, and now, in this time, it has more relevance than ever. Claiborne documents the Whitehouse fabrication of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and further, raises the question of whether JFK was assassinated to promote the Vietnam War. Martin Sheen, who played the leading role in Apocalypse Now almost 30 years ago, has generously lent his powerful voice to this actual history of the War in Vietnam.

Tim Kochis: Purple Heart(en)

The story of Vietnam War veteran Tim Kochis, who earned a Purple Heart after being wounded in action. Kochis is a world-renowned wealth manager living in San Francisco, California. He provides some key lessons which led to his success and expresses his appreciation for the Veteran's Administration and their support.

John Baumhackl: Chemical Memories(en)

John Baumhackl recalls the early days of the Vietnam War when more and more troops were being sent into combat every month. In 1968, John's number came up and he was drafted into the conflict. Buying a camera at his company store before shipping off, he captured many battles while in a helicopter. John was near the front lines when President Nixon made the controversial decision to push into Cambodia. In John's view, this saved American lives.

Hard Hat Riot(en)

On May 8, 1970, construction workers violently clashed with students demonstrating against the Vietnam War in lower Manhattan. The workmen, who came to be known as “hardhats,” were at the cutting edge of a new kind of class war. With the war in Vietnam raging on, it was the sons of the working class who were doing most of the fighting. Workmen saw the protesting students as privileged “draft dodgers” disparaging the country and those who fought for it. On the other side, many student activists saw the workers as pawns, unwilling to see the changes that America needed. Hard Hat Riot tells the story of a struggling metropolis, a flailing president, a divided people, and a bloody juncture when the nation violently diverged ― culminating in a new political and cultural landscape that radically redefined American politics and foreshadowed the future.

We Were the Scenery(vi)

In 1975, soon after the end of the Vietnam War, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che fled the country on a small boat. After nine days at sea, they docked in the Philippines, where they were utilized as background extras for “Apocalypse Now.”

Jack Ensch: Hanoi Hilton POW(en)

Jack "Fingers" Ensch served in the Navy for 30 years. Recounting his experience of getting shot down and held as a POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, Jack explains how he was able to move forward from the experience and enjoy a full life.

Cpl. Richard Carlson: A Brother's Loss(en)

Raymond Carlson remembers his older brother, a medic killed in action in the Vietnam War when Raymond was only seven years old. The impact of that loss lingers today more than fifty years later.

Noble Sissle Jr.: Am I Still Going to Vietnam?(en)

The story of Noble Sissle Jr., a production company owner, community development expert, and veteran of the Vietnam War. Combining archival footage with interviews and family portraits, the film explores Sissle Jr.’s life, and the way he carries on the legacy of his father, Noble Sissle – the famous WWI Harlem Hell Fighter and leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Includes original music and footage of Noble Sissle.

The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo(en)

A two-year investigation uncovers a scandal behind the making of one of the most recognized photographs of the 20th century. Five decades of secrets are unraveled in the search for justice for a man known only as "the stringer."

Last Days in Vietnam(en)

During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats confront a moral quandary: whether to obey White House orders to evacuate only U.S. citizens.

Solidaridad Cuba y Vietnam(es)

The Most Secret Place on Earth(en)

After 30 years of conspiracy theories and myth making, this film uncovers the story of the CIA's most extensive clandestine operation in the history of modern warfare: The Secret War in Laos, which was conducted alongside the Vietnam War from 1964 -1973. While the world's attention was caught by the conflict in Vietnam, the CIA built the busiest military airport in the world in neighboring and neutral Laos and recruited humanitarian aid personnel, Special Forces agents and civilian pilots to undertake what would become the most effective operation of counterinsurgency warfare. As the conflict in Vietnam grew, the objective in Laos changed from a cost effective low-key involvement to save the country from becoming communist into an all-out air war to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail and bomb Laos back into the Stone Age that it had never really left in the first place. Conventional bombs equivalent to the destructive power of 20 Hiroshima-type weapons fell on Laos each year - 2 million tons

Alene B. Duerk: The First Woman Admiral(en)

Following the tradition of military service in her family, Alene Duerk enlisted as a Navy nurse in 1943. During her eventful 32 year career, she served in WWII on a hospital ship in the Sea of Japan, and trained others in the Korean War. She became the Director of the Navy Nursing Corps during the Vietnam War before finally attaining the rank of Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Despite having no other women as mentors (or peers), Admiral Duerk always looked for challenging opportunities that women had not previously held. Her consistently high level of performance led to her ultimate rise to become the first woman Admiral.

The American War(en)

Using obscure archival footage, animated illustrations and interviews, this film tells the story of the Vietnam War from the perspective of five Vietcong veterans: a soldier, an officer, an informant, a guerilla, a My Lai survivor, and the leader of the Long Hair army.

Art of Destruction(en)

We follow the story of The Thinker bombing at the Cleveland Museum of Art, trying to solve the mystery behind it because no one was ever caught. By following this case, we unravel the whole landscape of Cleveland and the USA in the 60s/70s - student protests, social justice movements, anti-war movements, and radical militant groups. We give a context to the bombing, which is symbolic on so many levels - it's an art piece that randomly became a target for political violence that, by being left unrepaired, became a reminder of the complicated history of the 60s/70s. The Thinker is a silent witness to this fascinating decade, looking down from his pedestal, still thinking about our place in the world as humans.

The Empathizer(en)

Standup comedian Fred Le hears the stories of a diverse range of young overseas-born Vietnamese who made their way back to the land that their parents left following the end of the Vietnam War. The Empathizer explores identity and the impact of trauma among Việt Kiều who grew up a generation removed from tragic events of the past.

Fighter Pilots of Vietnam(en)

A group of American and Vietnamese fighter pilots gather almost fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Despite their training, aerial combat encounters, and being shot down, these veteran pilots talk as friends with mutual respect.