Film on AO victims nominated at NYCIFF
A documentary film on Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin (AO) victims will compete at the New York City International Film Festival 2013 (NYCIFF), scheduled for June 13-20.
The Tale of An Phuc House, co-produced by Canada’s Babel Entertainment Association and Vietnam’s Crea TV, has been nominated as the best feature documentary film, announced NYCIFF organisers.
The 91-minute film depics the hard life and strong will of nearly 20 third-generation victims of toxic chemicals at the An Phuc Centre in Ho Chi Minh City.
Canadian director Ivan Tankushev, whose wife is Vietnamese, said he found out about their interesting stories by chance.
He decided to make the film after visiting the AO victims and talking with their parents living in different provinces and cities across Vietnam.
From 1961-1971, the US troops sprayed over southern Vietnam more than 80 million litres of herbicides , including 44 million litres of AO that contained nearly 370kg of dioxin .
Of some 3.5–4 million Vietnamese people who were exposed to AO/dioxin, many have died, while millions of their descendants are living with deformities and diseases due to the effects of AO.