Film producers Le Ly Hayslip (“Heaven & Earth”) and son Thomas Hayslip (“Oppenheimer,” “Ferrari”) are behind “Woman I Phu Nu,” a documentary described as “untold stories of the women who fought and endured the Vietnam war and the next generation of women who are empowered to unpack their intergenerational reality to find strength in understanding.”
Besides Le Ly Hayslip, women featured in the doc include journalist and author Phan Thanh Hao; Nam Lan, a youth volunteer who recounts her story as a POW (captured on film and then tortured for ten years); Tam Thoa, a spy who uncovered secrets that helped end the war; and A group of Ho Chi Minh Trail Volunteers.
“Forty years ago I saw the conditions these women were in and I’ve been trying to help them find their voice to tell their story ever since. This is the first time I feel like they’re being heard” said Le Ly Hasylip in a statement.
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Added Thomas Hayslip: “I am extremely proud of my Vietnamese heritage and have always felt fortunate to hear first-hand from my mother and people of her generation. This film allows us to share that privilege with a much wider audience. It is imperative that we listen now while these incredibly inspiring women are here to share in such an intimate and profound way.”
The film also includes interviews with younger generation voices including Than Vu, Vietnam’s first female ultra marathoner.
Lihn Dan Nguyen and Lacie Mackey directed the film. “In realizing the weight and importance of telling these stories we fought for this project not only to tell women’s stories but to give voice to these incredible women to tell their own story before it is too late,” Mackey said. “This generation endured and it has been 50 years before they found their voice. It’s time for us to listen.”
Matter Collective’s Barrett J Leigh and Kyle Trafton and Vietnam-based Mai Huyen Chi are producers. Besides the Hayslips, Sandy Tat serves as executive producer from Marble Mountain. The original title song, “Dâu Thiên Hạ,” was written and performed by SuBoi.
