Synopsis

Viet Film Fest 2019 retrospective film is Heaven and Earth, which was originally released in 1993. It is the third trilogy on the Vietnam War directed by Academy Award winner Oliver Stone and based on two memoirs by Le Ly Hayslip, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places (1989) and Child of War, Woman of Peace (1993). With an all-star cast, it features famed actor Joan Chen playing Hayslip’s mother, Academy Award winner Haing S. Ngor as her father, Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones as her husband, and legendary Debbie Reynolds as her mother-in-law. Cast in the strenuous lead role was Hiep Thi Le, an unknown actor who was a UC Davis student at the time, but connected to the story because she was a refugee who escaped Vietnam by boat. This special showing honors Le (1971-2017), who is one of the first Vietnamese Americans to play a leading role in a Hollywood film. The film includes a list of other Vietnamese American actors, including favorites Dustin Nguyen and Long Nguyen.

In contrast to the Vietnam War films from Hollywood that often take the viewpoint of the American soldier, Heaven and Earth shows the impact of the war from the perspective of Vietnamese civilians, particularly a woman from a rural village. The film shows that as in most civil wars shaped by foreign intervention, it is not only soldiers on the front line who carry the burden of warfare, but also civilians who are affected by its legacies. This heart-wrenching film chronicles Hayslip’s journey of survival in Vietnam and her struggle to rebuild a new life in Southern California. It is a testament that from the ashes of war, it’s possible to find peace and forgiveness. This FREE film showing will be followed by a Q&A with author and humanitarian Le Ly Hayslip. – Linda Trinh Vo

Director's Biography

Oliver Stone is a three-time Oscar winner, and although he has mostly been stung by critics of his films, he remains a well-known name today in the film industry. The films he directed have been nominated for 31 Academy Awards, including eight for acting, six for screen writing, and three for directing. There is no denying that Stone has cemented himself a position among the legends of Hollywood.
– IMDb Mini Biography By: Bob Stage