In a New Orleans neighborhood called Versailles, a tight-knit group of Vietnamese Americans overcame obstacles to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, only to have their homes threatened by a new government-imposed toxic landfill. A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES is the empowering story of how the Versailles people, who have already suffered so much in their lifetime, turn a devastating disaster into a catalyst for change and a chance for a better future. This powerful documentary will have its national television broadcast on PBS in May 2010 as a part of the Independent Lens series.
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New Review-Sebastopol Doc Fest
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
We will be screening at the Sebastopol Doc Film Fest in Northern California Wine Country in a little be more than a week. This great article about the festival, our film, and the film that we will be screening with, Fire on the Water, is in this week’s North Bay Bohemian. Check it out. Our screening will be at 7p on Sat 3/6.
We want to wish you all a happy and prosperous lunar new year! The Spring is going to be a busy time for us, so stay tuned as screenings are getting added daily. Here’s a look at where we’ll be in the month of March:
CALIFORNIA:
WHAT: Free Public Screening @ Pomona College WHEN: Tues 3/2 @ 7pm WHERE: Rose Hills Theater Pomona College Smith Campus Center, 170 E. 6th Street, Claremont, CA 91711
(Parking is available on the street or on the lot at 6th street and College Ave) FACEBOOK EVENT:http://tinyurl.com/avcvpomona
*Filmmaker S. Leo Chiang in attendance.
Screening #1 WHEN: Sat 3/13 @ 2:15 pm WHERE: Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, 1881 Post St @ Fillmore, SF
Screening #2 WHEN: Tue 3/16 @ 9 pm WHERE:VIZ Cinema, 1746 Post St @ Webster, SF
Screening #3 – SAN JOSE WHEN: Sat 3/20 @ 5:30 pm WHERE: Camera 12 Cinema, 201 S. 2nd St @ San Carlos, San Jose
*Director S. Leo Chiang and Associate Producers Brittney Shepherd & Eva Moss to attend.
WHAT: Free Community Screening with Vietnamese Association of Charlotte WHEN: Sun 3/28 @ 3pm-6pm WHERE: Mint Museum, 2730 Randolph Road Charlotte, NC 28207-2012 FACEBOOK EVENT: http://tinyurl.com/charolette
*Conversation with filmmaker S. Leo Chiang to follow screening.
Obviously, we want to first give a shout-out to the Super Bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints!!! With Mardi Gras only a week away, you know the party is not gonna stop for the next 8 days.
Back to the business at hand, VERSAILLES will have two university screenings tomorrow Tue 2/9 in Chicago & Philly. The screenings are free and open to the public. Leo will attend the Chicago screening at Northwestern University. Here are the details:
IN CHICAGO (PLEASE NOTE THE TIME CHANGE to 4p from 4:30p) WHAT:Screening at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL WHEN: Tue 2/9 @ 4-6p WHERE: Swift Hall/annex 107 • 2029 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208(Map) TICKETS: Open to Public
Q&A with Leo following the screening. Presented by the Asian American Studies Program. Contact Greg Jue with questions at asianamerican@northwestern.edu.
New Orleans Film Society is presenting a free encore screening of A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES next Saturday as a part of their community outreach effort. If you missed it at the film festival last October, please come check it out for free.
Winner of the Documentary Feature Audience Award at the 2009 New Orleans Film Festival
A Village Called Versailles is a feature documentary about Versailles, an isolated community in eastern New Orleans settled in the late 70’s/early 80’s by Vietnamese “boat people”. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Versailles residents impressively rise to the challenges by returning and rebuilding before any other flooded neighborhood in New Orleans, only to have their homes threatened by a new government-imposed toxic landfill just two miles away. Formerly content to stay within their own “village” and below the public radar, the Vietnamese community rallies to oppose the landfill and become an effective force in local politics. A Village Called Versailles recounts the empowering story of how this group of people, who has already suffered so much in their lifetime, turns a devastating disaster into a catalyst for change and a chance for a better future.
Directed by S. Leo Chiang. USA. 2008. 68 min.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 16
Doors open at 6:30PM; Film starts at 7:00PM
FREE
Hosted by the 7th Ward Neighborhood Center, 1943 Pauger St., on the corner of Urquhart St (map).
Happy Holidays from A Village Called Versailles. In celebration of the season, we are offering a special 20% off holiday discount on home video copies now through December 18th. It makes a great gift for your friends and family! Thank you for supporting independent filmmaking.
Here is Mimi Nguyen, who was the first Vietnamese American to work for New Orleans City Council, talking about the long term development plan for Versailles at the Austin Asian American Film Festival this past weekend.
A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES caps off a great October by winning our second award–an AUDIENCE AWARD at the New Orleans Film Festival! Thanks to all of you who came out and supported us at all of our various festivals stops.
November kicks off with Versailles’ most famous resident making big news. Rep. Joseph Cao (R-New Orleans), the first ever Vietnamese American elected to the US Congress who happens to come from Versailles, stirred up quite the controversy by being the only Republican in the House to vote for the Health Care Reform bill. You can find more news items about Rep. Cao by visiting our Facebook page.
We screen next in Austin, Boston (2 screenings), and Philly again:
Q&A with Director S. Leo Chiang and subject Mimi Nguyen to follow.
BOSTON, MA (Screening #1):
WHAT: UMass Boston Screening sponsored by Asian Am Studies Program WHEN: Fri 11/20 @ 1 – 3:15pm WHERE: Snowden Auditorium • Wheatley Bldg., 1st Flr, Rm 088, UMass Boston TICKETS: No admission fee. Open to public.
The students from UMB Asian American Studies program provided us with some of the most compelling video footage in the film during their two visits in Nov ‘05 and Feb ‘06 to the Versailles community. Now we are bringing the film back to UMB. Director Leo Chiang in attendance.
BOSTON, MA (Screening #2):
WHAT: Boston Community Screening in Fields Corner WHEN: Sun 11/22 @ 11:30 am WHERE: Vietnamese American Community Center • 42 Charles St., Boston, MA 02122 TICKETS: No admission fee. Open to public.
Free screening at the heart of Boston’s Vietnamese American community in Fields Corner. The film will be screened with Vietnamese subtitles. Director S. Leo Chiang in attendance.
The holiday season is right around the corner, and the A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES DVD makes a great gift!! Visit our website and purchase a copy today. The proceeds from the sales of DVDs go towards our community engagement campaign and enable us to continue showing the film around the country.
I want to end this update by sharing another great story of Vietnamese Americans making a difference in their community. Siblings Viet & Tram Nguyen, both principals of public elementary schools in Oakland, CA, have worked tirelessly to turn their schools around. Here is the feature story about them on the local ABC affiliate. Check it out.
We have a broadcast date! A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES will air on PBS on May 25, 2010 at 10 pm as a part of the Independent Lens series. Here is the snazzy new trailer. Enjoy.
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