Doan Hoang
Encyclopedia
Doan Hoang is an award-winning Vietnamese-American film producer, screenwriter, and director who made the successful 2007 documentary "Oh, Saigon
" about the life of her family after they left Vietnam
, as it fell in the 1970s, how she and her family were carried out on the last helicopter on April 30, 1975, except for her older sister, Van, who was left behind. It then tells how they coped with this separation living in the United States and twenty five years later finally how they got together and went back to visit Vietnam again and see their relatives there.
She said of this all, that “If I could put my finger on the day my family fell apart, it would be April 30, 1975”.
Ms. Hoang is the daughter of a former South Vietnamese Air Force major from Saigon and a Mekong Delta socialite. After Vietnam, she was raised in Louisville, Kentucky
, writing her first book on the Vietnam War when she was nine years old, and at the age of 13, making her first film documentary on war.
She graduated from Smith College
and for years she was an editor and writer for national magazines, including Details, House & Garden, Spin and Saveur.
In 2009, she appeared on Little Saigon TV and was radio interviewed on NPR
's New America Now on KUCI
Radio.
Some of her other films include "Agent", "Good Morning Captains" and "A Requiem".
Hoang heads up her own film production company, Nuoc Pictures and is working on a documentary called American Geisha.
Oh, Saigon
Oh, Saigon is a 2007 autobiographical documentary by Vietnamese American director Doan Hoang about her family's separation during the fall of Saigon and her attempt to reunite them. Oh, Saigon was executive produced by Academy Award and Emmy winner, John Battsek...
" about the life of her family after they left Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, as it fell in the 1970s, how she and her family were carried out on the last helicopter on April 30, 1975, except for her older sister, Van, who was left behind. It then tells how they coped with this separation living in the United States and twenty five years later finally how they got together and went back to visit Vietnam again and see their relatives there.
She said of this all, that “If I could put my finger on the day my family fell apart, it would be April 30, 1975”.
Ms. Hoang is the daughter of a former South Vietnamese Air Force major from Saigon and a Mekong Delta socialite. After Vietnam, she was raised in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, writing her first book on the Vietnam War when she was nine years old, and at the age of 13, making her first film documentary on war.
She graduated from Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
and for years she was an editor and writer for national magazines, including Details, House & Garden, Spin and Saveur.
In 2009, she appeared on Little Saigon TV and was radio interviewed on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's New America Now on KUCI
KUCI
KUCI is a college radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Licensed to Irvine, California, USA, the station serves the Orange County area...
Radio.
Some of her other films include "Agent", "Good Morning Captains" and "A Requiem".
Hoang heads up her own film production company, Nuoc Pictures and is working on a documentary called American Geisha.
External links
- ITVS Press release for "Oh, Saigon" - includes some Doan Hoang biographic material.
- NERDSociety - Interview with Doan Hoang