Qui Nguyen premieres documentary
What is home? Is home the four walls and the roof where you currently reside? Is home the neighborhood you grew up in, or the town where you were born? Or is it — as Lord Byron lamented — where the heart is? For playwright, screenwriter and director Qui Nguyen, Los Angeles might be where he resides, but for him, home is people. Home is Nguyen’s mother and father. Home is his brothers. Home is his friends and family. Home, for Nguyen, is the slice of his childhood that he carved out in the southern Arkansas town of El Dorado.
This past weekend was a homecoming for Nguyen, and he didn’t arrive empty handed. He brought with him his newest film, “The Family Vietgone.” And the city of El Dorado welcomed its prodigal son back home with open arms as the South Arkansas Historical Preservation Society in conjunction with the El Dorado Film Festival and the Arkansas Cinema Society hosted a special screening of the film at the Star Theater. “Vietgone” is a personal documentary that looks at Nguyen’s parents as they made their way from a war torn Vietnam to the middle of the Bible Belt.
Before the film, a reception was held at The Gallery of History Museum. Inside was an exhibit of classic Hollywood memorabilia that included movie posters, magazines and signed photographs. Farther in the museum, was a smorgasbord full of Vietnamese inspired finger foods; dumplings, spring rolls, and what I can only assume was some form of mochi, whatever it was, it was delectable. Soon enough, the guests of honor arrived, the entire Nguyen dynasty. The matriarch and patriarch were followed by their children, followed by their children’s children. At least three generations of Nguyens and what felt like half the city of El Dorado were packed into the cultural museum.
After the soirée, everyone was ushered over to the cinema where a red carpet and a photographer were waiting. Once everyone was seated in the jam-packed theater, the mayor of El Dorado, Paul Choate, gave an emotional speech commemorating just how important the Nguyen family has been to the fabric of their city for the last 40 years. As an outsider, I had no idea just how deep the admiration and respect that this city had for the Nguyens ran. So much so, that Choate pulled out the key to the city and gave it to Qui’s mother and father. It was quite the special moment full of hugs, tears and applause, like a scene straight out of a movie.
Once all the pomp and circumstances calmed down, the theater darkened and the documentary began to play. The first section was a brief introduction of Qui and how he left Arkansas at 18 to pursue theater. We get several scenes focusing on his breakout hit play “Vietgone,” which coincidentally was also about how his parents came to the United States. His play was a huge success and has been performed all across the country, but now we get to see and hear from Qui’s parents as they tell us their first-hand account of their journey.
After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Qui’s parents, who didn’t know each other at the time, both left Vietnam and became refugees in America. They both soon found themselves as residents at Fort Chaffee in Northwest Arkansas. While there, they became enamored of one another, not over candle light, but over a bottle of fish sauce. And once they were allowed to leave Fort Chaffee, they moved to El Dorado and started a family. Qui’s father worked two jobs, and his mother became the owner of the local dairy bar that fed generations of El Doradians. It’s a sweet nostalgic romance that calls back to a simpler time, until the third act of the film hits. And when it hits, it hits hard.
The last third of the documentary focuses on Qui’s cousin’s voyage to the States.
It was a complete 180 from the experience that Qui’s parents had. There was no Fort Chaffee. There was no romance over fish sauce. There was a rickety, overcrowded boat. There was death. There was a struggle for survival. And as much as your heart swells with joy in the first half of the documentary, it sinks with sorrow and despair in the second half.
It’s a powerful documentary that Qui and his brother has stitched together from family interviews and old home movies. Once the credits were done rolling, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the cinema. A brief Q&A followed the screening. Qui talked briefly and modestly about his career after he left Arkansas, how he failed at becoming an actor and a journalist, and that even after having a hit play, still couldn’t make a living. He said that he “failed upwards” into becoming a filmmaker for Disney Studios. He was the writer of Oscar-nominated “Raya and the Last Dragon” and director of Disney’s “Strange World.” He has brought a fresh breath of diversity and representation into the worlds of theater and film. And with his new documentary we get to take a little peek into Qui Nguyen’s world and the people that he calls home.