Guide to the Duc Nguyen Video Footage for Bolinao 52 MS.SEA.042

Processed by Audra Eagle Yun, 2012. Updated by Suzanne Im, 2022.
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2022
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu


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

box Accn2022.046 001

Box 1 circa 1992-2011

Scope and Contents Note

Box 1 (circa 1992-2011) Reports, directors' statements, government documents, maps, DVDs