Stateless is a documentary 6 years in making.  In 2005, the film crew followed a group of Vietnamese asylum seekers in the Philippines as they nervously awaited for an interview with U.S. officials for resettlement.  Perhaps a last chance to find a permanent home, the asylum seekers were feeling tense.  Some lost sleep, others felt sad and anxious.

But they all have every reason to do so because this chance was what they have been waiting for 16 years.   It began in 1989 when the international community stopped supporting refugee camps throughout Asia and began to close them down because of compassion fatigue. The arriving asylum seekers were forced to repatriated to their origin countries.  These particular group of Vietnamese refused to return.  Thus, they survived on borrowed land and carved out an existence on the fringe of society.  Without legal rights, they could not be employed, own properties or conduct business in the Philippines.

Almost 2 decades later, the U.S. Government reconsidered their case.  STATELESS reveals the struggle and resiliency of the asylum seekers while they patiently hang on to the dream of a permanent home. Heart wrenching and inspiring, their stories demonstrate the will to sacrifice almost everything to gain the right to be called a citizen.

STATUS:

In 2008, a 30min work-in-progress was shown on KTEH, PBS station in San Jose, CA.  Also a preview of the film was shown at the 2007 Vietnamese International Film Festival.  We are raising fund to complete an hour-long documentary and a web series. A rough cut has been created.  The funding will be used for the final edit of the film.  We are planning a distribution strategy for the film in 2012.

This documentary is part of a project to document the Vietnamese boat people experience.  The goal is to preserve and share the stories of Vietnamese refugees who escaped from Vietnam after the end of the American War through an online digital archive (vietnameseboatpeople.org).

For more information please visit the Stateless website below.