Vietnam: The Next Generation Thirty years ago, the only future that awaited young Vietnamese was war. But how have those born in the war’s aftermath capitalized on the dividends of peace? The final film in Sandy Northrop's trilogy on Vietnam today, VIETNAM: The Next Generation profiles the lives of seven young Vietnamese, revealing the challenges, choices and dreams that shape their lives, and that of their generation. Vietnam's first postwar generation is coming of age, and its members—now in their 20s and 30s—are seizing opportunities unimaginable in their parents' time. Communism is losing its relevancy, the doors of a free-market economy are opening and memories of the war are being relegated to the distant past. This generation, representing 80 percent of Vietnam's population, is making up for lost time, exploring all the benefits and costs of their country's new economic and cultural future. The same young Vietnamese who once might have stood in line clutching ration coupons for their family's rice allotment—people like refugee-turned-entrepreneur A Lan Duong and American-raised businessman Henry Nguyen—now believe that living standards will be better tomorrow than they are today. Many start on a second college degree before they have completed the first. They finish their day jobs as waiters and head off for evening school to study English. Like voice student and newlywed Tran Minh Dang, they flood into the cities from the countryside—15,000 of them each month—and the money they send back to their villages keeps millions of families off poverty's doorstep. Yet prosperity is nowhere close to reaching all young Vietnamese. VIETNAM: The Next Generation also follows construction engineer Le Viet Tien, who works to rebuild the Ho Chi Minh Highway far from his wife and newborn child; Pham Van Vinh and his sister Loan, two of the thousands of children living on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City; and Le Thi Phuong, a rural farmer who lost a leg in a landmine accident and now struggles as the sole supporter of her entire family. The new generation gap is perplexing to the old guard leadership in Hanoi, underscoring the immense challenges the government faces in meeting the aspirations of the young. How much freedom can the Communist Party give the postwar generation without stirring demands for political change? How can it annually create the one million jobs needed just to accommodate each year's school graduates? As the people featured in VIETNAM: The Next Generation prove, the social and economic answers ultimately lie with this generation, the future leaders of Vietnam. Filmmaker Sandy Northrop filmed VIETNAM: The Next Generation from June 2002 to June 2003. In March 2005, she reported: Phuong, who lost her leg in a landmine accident, has gone on to win four gold medals in track and field events both in the Vietnam and Pan Asian games. Henry never returned to the U.S. He is still passionate about Vietnam’s future, and is now working with a venture capital group that plans to invest millions of dollars in Vietnam. Loan and Vinh are still on the streets selling lottery tickets. Although offered a scholarship for both to go to school, Vinh turned it down, feeling he could not go to school and support his family at the same time. Tien and his wife have a young son. His section of the Ho Chi Minh Highway is almost complete. Tien has been invited to join the communist party. A Lan’s business continues to grow. She has a new shop in Ho Chi Minh City, and owns a popular club in Hanoi. Dang completed his studies at the Ho Chi Minh City conservatory and was offered a teaching position there. Sandy Northrop Producer/Director/Cameraperson/Editor In 1997 Northrop moved to Hanoi, Vietnam, accompanying her husband, David Lamb, a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. That year, she began making Assignment Hanoi, her first program about Vietnam for PBS, telling the story of Pete Peterson, who had survived six years as a POW in the "Hanoi Hilton," and was returning to Vietnam as the United States' first Ambassador since 1975. Northrop produced, directed and edited the program, as well as taking on a new role as cinematographer. Her second program, Vietnam Passage: Journeys from War to Peace highlighted the Vietnamese perspective on the war and its aftermath. VIETNAM: The Next Generation is the final film in what has become a trilogy on modern Vietnam. Northrop has been a filmmaker since 1972, when she graduated from Stanford University's master's documentary program. From 1976 to 1985, she was a location manager and editor for the National Geographic Society on its acclaimed television specials, covering topics from endangered elephants and gorillas in Africa to the impact of the computer on our lives. Northrop set out on her own in 1987, producing How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall?, the story of pianist Jimmy McKissic. Two years later she moved to Washington, D.C., and spent the next seven years producing the historical montages that have become the signature for PBS's National Memorial Day and A Capitol Fourth live concerts. Since returning to Washington, DC, Northrop has been developing a weekly segment on American editorial cartoons for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. The concept grew out of Drawn & Quartered, a book she co-authored in 1996 on two hundred years of American editorial cartoons and their impact on political and popular culture. Judith Dwan Hallett Writer Hallet is an accomplished director and producer of documentary programs. In 2001, she completed the award winning Witness to Hope: The Life of Pope John Paul II. Pham Ba Hung Cameraman Pham is typical of Vietnam's next generation. He started as a production assistant on Northrop's first Vietnam film in 1998 and now is one of Vietnam's most sought-after cameramen. He also runs a successful graphic design house in Hanoi. Jim Kessler Composer Kessler served for more than 20 years on the staff of the U.S. Army Band. He is best known for writing and/or arranging the music for PBS's annual spectaculars, The National Memorial Day and Capital Fourth Concerts on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Kessler has composed the music to each of Northrop's three programs on Vietnam. David Lamb Narrator Lamb was the Los Angeles Times Southeast Asia bureau chief from 1997 to 2001. His first overseas assignment was covering the war in Vietnam for UPI, from 1968 to 1970. Upon returning from Vietnam in 2001, Lamb wrote Vietnam Now: A Reporter Returns. After working for the Los Angeles Times for 34 years, he retired in June 2004. He has been the narrator for each of the three programs in Northrop's Vietnam trilogy. To buy DVD copies for home use of VIETNAM: The Next Generation, as well as Sandy Northrop's two previous PBS programs on postwar Vietnam, ASSIGNMENT HANOI and VIETNAM PASSAGE, contact: Wind & Stars Production Group Phone: 703-836-1202 E-mail: sandy@windandstars.com Web: www.windandstars.com
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