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Following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, hundreds of thousands refugees took the perilous escape route across South China Sea to find freedom. Many died of drowning or starvation and thirst. Others were lost at sea, or robbed and killed by pirates. More than 30 years later, no major film or television program has told their stories. Bolinao 52 presents this long-silenced voice, an unspoken legacy of the Vietnam War. Filmmaker Duc Nguyen, also a boat refugee, retraces the odyssey of Bolinao 52 – a vessel adrift on the sea for 37 days—and a survivor Tung Trinh as she returns to her past to tell her story.
Director
Writer
Status
Released
Original Language
EN
Budget
$270,000

During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats confront a moral quandary: whether to obey White House orders to evacuate only U.S. citizens.

In the fall of 1963, Eddie Birdlace is an 18-year-old Marine Corps volunteer who is about to ship out with three of his buddies for a tour of duty in Vietnam. Planning a massive blowout for their last night in San Francisco, Eddie, his buddies, and a number of other Marines set up a contest they call a "dogfight”.