AFTER THE FALL OF SAIGON
THE RESCUE EFFORT IN INDOCHINA
PREAH VIHEAR FOUNDATION
OVERVIEW
SYNOPSIS ...... 03
MARKETABILITY ...... 05
FILM STYLE ...... 05
CREATIVE TEAM ...... 07
DOCUMENTARY UPDATE ...... 08
TIMELINE ...... 10
BUDGET ...... 11
GET IN TOUCH ...... 12
TOLD FOR
THE FIRST TIME
In the small country of Cambodia, the fall of the Khmer Rouge marked the end of a horrific genocide. Years later in America, Bunseng, a 21-year old Khmer Rouge concentration camp survivor, dreams of meeting the people who saved him. But in his search to find their names, he discovers that history has forgotten these individuals… until one day… while on a job, Bunseng finds the hero he never knew – as he by mere chance was painting the home of one of his rescuers.
PREAH VIHEAR FOUNDATION 01 GOING IN THE WATER, “ YOU’LL FACE HUNGRY CROCODILES; BY LAND, YOU’LL MEET TIGERS.
The khmer refugees [from nong chan refugee camp] were forcefully herded onto hundreds of buses And transported to a mountain range bordering preah vihear province.
At dawn, the soldiers pushed us over the cliff, firing shots through the crowd, killing many; young and old, Male and female, including infants were mowed down violently;
The khmer refugees scrambled over each other, frantically
stampeding down the mountain in fear for their lives. As they tread slowly through the thick, tall, grass deep in the jungle, Many landmines exploded, maiming children and elders; “ people were dying everywhere; Some were severely wounded, with arms and legs blown to pieces; Some were lying unconscious,
ABOUT TO TAKE THEIR LAST BREATH
--- FROM THE KHMER POEM O! MAHA MOUNT DANGREK BY AGGADIPO LY VAN
SYNOPSIS
THE REFUGE CRISIS A SURVIVOR’S TALE DEATH AND SALVATION
The previous poem speaks of a For months they walked hundreds of More than 10,000 people died at Preah Cambodian refugee crisis largely lost miles north, finally finding temporary Vihear Mountain. Early on, 1,200 were to history. It occurred in 1979, four years shelter within the slack barbed-wire saved, but hundreds of thousands after the Fall of Saigon, which marked fences of Wat Koh refugee camp, just remained stranded, injured and lost. It the end of the Vietnam War. But not over the border into Thailand. But the would come to be regarded as one of the end of conflict and extraordinary family’s dream of permanent refuge the worst humanitarian episodes of the brutality throughout the region. in that country was not to be, as the Indochina refugee story. wounds of the killing fields re-emerged For more than a decade during and the trauma continued. Fearing further Fortunately, there were NGOs and 1970s, the small country of Cambodia, build-up of the refugee population, the foreign government officials who proved bordering Vietnam, had suffered massive Thai military took aggressive steps. They to be rescuers, though history has largely bombing attacks by the United States herded 40,000 of these people across forgotten them. Our film would attempt targeting North Vietnamese troops. This the mountainous border of Preah Vihear, to correct this by focusing on the life- bombing eventually destabilized the studded with treacherous land mines. saving efforts individuals such as: US State beloved Cambodian monarchy and led Department officers Lionel Rosenblatt, to the rise of the barbaric Khmer Rouge Bunseng later recounted that he had Morton Abramowitz, Jim Towey, and and the Killing Fields. remembered an ancient Cambodian Robert DeVecchi of the International saying: “In the water, crocodiles; on land, Rescue Committee (IRC). These rescuers Caught up in the terror were more tigers.” These refugees faced two options. not only negotiated with Thailand to than a quarter-million Cambodians, who If they went down to the river, they would evacuate the refugees, they also worked sought to escape their chaotic homeland. face landmines. And if they went to the to address and prevent starvation in the Among them was 21 year-old Bunseng top of the hills, they would face the Thai broader population. and 26 members of his family. soldiers, already firing upon them. With no way out and nowhere to hide, they were caught between the crocodile and the tiger.
Ttnbg photo archives 1980 Nong Chan GÉRARD LEBLANC / International Committee Berta Romero / Refugee Workers in the of Red Cross 12/1979 Indochina Exodus
PREAH VIHEAR FOUNDATION 03 Ambassador of Thailand, Morton Abramowitz in Khao-I-Dang Refugee Camp in Thailand, 1979. His focus on the refugee crisis was monumental in assisting and rescuing millions of refugees in Southeast Asia. Photo courtesy of Ambassador Morton Abramowitz.
THE GLOBAL RESPONSE NEW BEGINNINGS
In the end and under intense political We will also show how Bunseng, as a pressure, the United States agreed to welcomed refugee, was able to thrive finance what turned out to be the most in America. A Connecticut town, his complex and expensive resettlement own painting and contracting business, operation ever undertaken, costing more a marriage and two healthy, college- than $500 million a year from 1975-1982. educated children. Bunseng achieved dreams he never believed possible. But The Cambodia story set the standards his story doesn’t end there. It has a and groundwork for future international surprise ending. TEASER emergencies, a legacy that continues to this day. There were many key players in One day, in the early Spring of 2010, TRAILER the rescue operation, and remarkably Bunseng agreed to take a painting even in old age, are still involved in refugee assignment in Southport, CT. He had For a preview of After the causes. Their largely untold stories 40 years no idea that the home coincidentally Fall of Saigon, The Rescue later would underscore the suffering of so belonged to a man he had long dreamed many Cambodians in the 1970s, and would of finding and thanking in person: one of Effort in Indochina visit: be of historic importance. his rescuers, Robert DeVecchi of the IRC. 37 years later, sheerly by chance, he was https://www.pvfund.org/ able to do so.
The union was powerful and a friendship developed. The two shared together many holidays in Connecticut. Although, the 85 year-old DeVecchi recently passed away, we were able to film him and Bunseng last year in conversation, bringing this story full circle.
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ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
We are excited to tell you that this film is a project of the Preah Vihear Foundation, which was established in 2016 to produce this very film, in order to preserve long-term the history of Cambodia during the 1970’s. The Preah Vihear Foundation’s purpose is through this educational film to raise awareness for important historical landmarks and archives regarding refugees in Cambodia and the greater French Indochina region.
MARKETABILITY
After the Fall of Saigon, The Rescue Effort in Indochina can serve as a channel via Internet distribution to inform younger audiences. This documentary will shed light on how past conflicts during the French Indochina Crisis connect to present-day global efforts in countries like Syria. It will also draw appreciation to the world-class staff and first responders of humanitarian relief, healthcare and education that presently comprise international rescue care.
This HD documentary will be shown nationwide in theatres and broadcast nationally on PBS, an interactive Web site, outreach materials targeted at high schools and colleges, and a national and international publicity campaign.
FILM STYLE
The film style is essentially cinema verité, i.e., filming to convey candid and touching realism. An experienced crew will interview the subjects in an organic style that allows each character to define their story deeply and in their own unique way. The “picture” of the events unfold from their personal observation and experience. Our film is not a history lesson but rather a narrative developed both through the interviews and voice-over. Obviously many of the subjects will require interpreters and captions on the film… all in the service of helping the viewer “touch” the events that the subjects are explicating as they bring to life this massive movement of disenfranchised people with no-where to land. When possible, to add texture to the film, the interviews will take place in the locations where the events of the narrative took place.
PREAH VIHEAR FOUNDATION 05 War And Escape Vietnamese refugees fleeing for safety amidst war and chaos.
Horst Faas / Associated Press’s Vietnam: The Real War
Robert P. DeVecchi - NYC Office Robert DeVecchi who led the International Rescue Committee in the NY Times in 1992.
Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times
First Photo As A Refugee Bunseng Taing (right) and Heng Ear (left), Bunseng’s nephew, take their first photos in the Buriram Refugee Camp in 1980. This was the first picture they had taken in five years, since the Khmer Rouge brought war and genocide into Cambodia.
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CREATIVE TEAM
PRIMARY CREATIVE Virginia Lynch Dean PARTICIPANTS An independent film producer and director with extensive experience encompassing a wide range of productions, features and documentaries. Her work includes NBC newsroom experience.
James Taing Son of Bunseng with an intimate sense of the events. James has been interviewing and documenting the principal characters for the film over the last six years. Before spending full-time on this project, he had worked at GE Capital in Stamford, CT.
Dianne Wildman Has worked as an on-air television editorial writer and presenter for Cablevision of Connecticut, appearing on Ch 12 for 13 years. Previously, she served as an NBC Network News correspondent in the US and London, and deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative for public affairs at the Clinton White House.
Aaron Clar The cameraman and editor for the film. Currently is a Line Producer for the Charlie Rose show and is founder of Above York, a NYC media production company that has produced many features for Fortune 500 companies. Previously he worked for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, and ABC.
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DOCUMENTARY UPDATE
AFTER THE FALL OF SAIGON, THE RESCUE EFFORT IN INDOCHINA
-3Q 2016-
In April 2016, we were able to travel to Washington, DC and interview the now 85 year-old former US Ambassador to Thailand Morton Abramowitz and his wife, Sheppie, as well as Ann and Lionel Rosenblatt. The latter a longtime State Department official too modest to acknowledge his legendary reputation in leading the rescue and processing of thousands of Vietnamese refugees after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Six years later, based in Thailand, Rosenblatt again responded to people in desperate straits, this time in Cambodia.
In 1979, more than 40,000 Cambodians, many close to starvation after years of Khmer Rouge oppression, pushed to finally escape the Killing Fields. Over several months they made their way across a treacherous mountain area to the Thai border near the Preah Vihear Temple. But the Thai military eventually cracked down, pushing them back into Cambodia. A full retreat proved impossible, however, for the Cambodian side was littered with deadly landmines. In the panic many were maimed or lost their lives in the gruesome explosions.
But thanks to tireless efforts by Abramowitz and Rosenblatt, their wives, a few Thai staffers at the American Embassy, and a small group of NGO workers (among them Bob DeVecchi, see below), other Cambodians caught in the Preah Vihear trauma were saved.
1,300 people were taken in one night on buses to safe haven in Bangkok. Emergency medical and food camps were setup to handle thousands more. With Lionel Rosenblatt leading a 24/7 head count and processing project and Ambassador Abramowitz constantly - and courageously - pressuring a reluctant Washington, tens of thousands were eventually designated as refugees and transferred to the United States in just a year’s time.
Nonetheless, most of those near Preah Vihear were captured by authorities anyway, and imprisoned, killed or left to fend for themselves in the forests. Among them was 21 year-old Bunseng who had suffered immeasurable pain trying to help his family escape. Against overwhelming odds, he somehow managed to stay alive and many months later was able to make his way to safety, In 1980 he was amazed to find himself in America beginning a new life.
Today he is 58 years old with a wife and two college-educated children, and a house painting business in Milford, Connecticut. He says he has considered his survival and subsequent freedom a daily miracle ever since.
PREAH VIHEAR FOUNDATION 08 -UPDATE CONTINUED-
One of his children is James Taing, 27, an employee of GE Capital and the producer of our video. It is he who traced down Mort Abramowitz and Lionel Rosenblatt and after many phone conversations convinced the elderly men to speak on camera about memories they were not eager to relive.
Later in separate interviews, both broke down remembering the desperation they had witnessed in Cambodia, and the many they had been unable to rescue despite Herculean efforts.
Extraordinarily, it was Bunseng himself who was able to comfort them in Washington both on and off camera. He had accompanied his son on this mission to recount his own story in a formal taped interview, and to find the men he had thought about for 36 years despite never having met them. He wanted to thank them for helping his people.
We were able to capture the intensity of feeling expressed by everybody involved. The material, both emotional and factual, is new, never before recorded.
This was also true a year earlier when James videotaped Bunseng and Bob DeVecchi in Southport, CT. after a stunning chance encounter. DeVecchi, who had set up a field hospital at Preah Vihear, later became president of the International Rescue Committee. He and Bunseng stayed friends until DeVecchi died this year at the age of 84.
Fortunately, he had been able to view a short version of the film James plans, and urged him to pursue the IRC for support. (This December we plan to interview IRC CEO David Miliband, who has argued for a new economic model that would close refugee camps in favor of more direct support to countries willing to accept and integrate them.)
We believe our footage fills important holes left in the historic record. Others have documented stories of the Killing Fields victims, but the Preah Vihear episode is not remembered these days, and it’s important to do so. It shows how so few rescued so many in mere months, despite “pocket change” resources and almost no support from DC.
Mostly, we want to personalize this chapter by showing how, given a chance, Bunseng and his family became the proud, productive American citizens refugees so often do. These days the word refugee itself connotes failure, fear and threats. But to people who survive through raw strength and determination in the face of utter despair, a chance is all they need.
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TIMELINE
PRE-PRODUCTION 1 April 2014 – March 2016 - Completed -
PRODUCTION KICKOFF 2 3 March 2016 - In Progress -
PRODUCTION COMPLETION 3 May 2017 - In Progress -
BEGIN EDITING 4 1 June 2017 - In Progress -
ASSEMBLY COMPLETION 5 October 2017 - In Progress -
ROUGH CUT #1 6 November 2017 - In Progress -
ROUGH CUT #2 7 December 2017 - In Progress -
FINE CUT 8 January 2018 - In Progress -
FINAL BROADCAST DELIVERY 9 Februrary 2018 - In Progress -
PREAH VIHEAR FOUNDATION 10
BUDGET
EXPENSES ESTIMATED TOTAL
PRE-PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT $950
PRODUCING STAFF $32,000
RIGHTS, MUSIC & TALENT $13,000
CREW & PERSONNEL $47,500
TRAVEL AND RELATED EXPENSES $44,310
PRODUCTION MATERIALS $6,600
POST-PRODUCTION $45,320
INSURANCE $500
OFFICE & ADMINISTRATION COSTS $2,000
OTHER REQUIRED ITEMS (EG. COPYWRITE) $1,055
10% CONTINGENCY $19,324
TOTAL $212,559
PREAH VIHEAR FOUNDATION 11
GET IN TOUCH
JOIN US IN TELLING THE UNTOLD STORY OF PREAH VIHEAR
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We appreciate any donations to support the film. Right now, we are seeking major funders for the film, which has a total budget of $163,000. CONTACT For travel and interviews in United States, Cambodia, and Thailand, we INFO will need to raise a total of $60,000 for 2017 fiscal year. Please contact us to find out more how we can work together to tell the incredible story of Bunseng and of so many others, a Or if you prefer to make a tax-deductible legacy that has been untold and forgotten contribution by credit and debit card, throughout the years. visit https://www.pvfund.org/donate/ and click on the black “Donate” button. PREAH VIHEAR FOUNDATION https://www.pvfund.org/ [email protected] IF YOU WISH TO DONATE you can address the check to:
JAMES TAING PREAH VIHEAH FOUNDATION (203) 556-3397 81 Wayne Road [email protected] Milford, CT 06460
VIRGINIA LYNCH DEAN [email protected]
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