Access
Publication Rights
Acquisition Information
Preferred Citation
Processing History
Historical Background
Collection Scope and Content Summary
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Duc Nguyen video footage for
Bolinao 52
Identifier/Call Number: MS.SEA.042
Physical Description:
0.5 Linear Feet
(1 legal size document box)
Physical Description:
6.88 Gigabytes
(224 digital files)
Date (inclusive): circa 1992 - 2011
Abstract: The collection consists of video recordings and transcripts of interviews for the documentary film
Bolinao 52, directed by Duc Nguyen. The collection also contains print documents regarding Vietnamese refugee assistance and asylum,
a map of the Philippine First Asylum Center, and DVD film footage entitled, Stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines. The film
tells the story of a group of Vietnamese boat people who were stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 37 days in 1988. In the documentary,
Duc Nguyen interviews Bolinao 52 survivors Tung Trinh and her son Lam Phan, eyewitness and retired US Navy officer William
E. Cloonan, as well as rescuer Carlos "Caloy" Cagusaan.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Ilokano, and Bolinao dialect.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
This material is provided for private study, scholarship, or research. Transmission or reproduction of any material protected
by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. The authors or their
heirs retain their copyrights to the material. Contact the University of California, Irvine Libraries, Special Collections
and Archives for more information (spcoll@uci.edu).
Acquisition Information
Gift of Duc Nguyen, 2011. Accrual gifted by Duc Nguyen, 2019.
Preferred Citation
Duc Nguyen Video Footage for Bolinao 52. MS-SEA042. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Processing History
Processed by Audra Eagle Yun, 2012.
Historical Background
Duc Nguyen is a documentary filmmaker and former Vietnamese refugee who directed and produced the film
Bolinao 52. Nguyen was rescued as a child in 1980 from the South China Sea by the USS
Long Beach. Nguyen was interested in the history of "boat people," Vietnamese refugees who escaped Vietnam by sea in small, often unsafe
boats after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Bolinao 52 tells the story of a group of Vietnamese boat people who were stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 37 days in 1988. The original
110 refugees were refused by multiple passing ships, including the USS
Dubuque, and many starved and were forced to resort to cannibalism. The 52 remaining survivors were rescued by Filipino fishermen,
who brought them to the Philippine island of Bolinao in the province of Pangasinan. In the documentary, Duc Nguyen interviews
Bolinao 52 survivors Tung Trinh and her son Lam Phan, eyewitness and retired US Navy officer William E. Cloonan, and rescuer
Carlos "Caloy" Cagusaan.
Bolinao 52 premiered on March 19, 2007 in San Francisco and on March 27, 2007 in San Jose at the San Francisco International Asian American
Film Festival. The film won two Emmy awards (Outstanding Achievement in Documentary and Oustanding Music Composition) for
the Northern California region by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2009.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The collection consists of digital video recordings and transcripts of interviews for the documentary film
Bolinao 52, directed by Duc Nguyen. In the documentary, Duc Nguyen interviews Bolinao 52 survivors Tung Trinh and her son Lam Phan,
eyewitness and retired US Navy officer William E. Cloonan, and rescuer Carlos "Caloy" Cagusaan. Transcriptions and translations
of the video footage were created by Quan Tran, Duc Nguyen, Francisco Garcia, Stefanie Ritoper, and Julia Tran. Documents
used for research for
Bolinao 52, are included in the collection, among them documents regarding Vietnamese refugee assistance and asylum, a map of the Philippine
First Asylum Center, and DVD footage entitled, Stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Vietnam -- History -- 1945-1975 -- Sources
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal narratives.
Video recordings -- 20th century.
Refugees -- Vietnam -- Interviews
Political refugees -- Vietnam -- Interviews.
Boat people -- Vietnamese -- Interviews