Event

2007-09-29 Bolinao 52

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Directed by Duc Nguyen (2006, 56 min, Color, Video, USA).
BOLINAO 52 powerfully narrates the saga of the Vietnamese boat people's flight out of Vietnam following American withdrawal from their country in 1975. Using his own memory as one of the boat people, director Duc Nguyen draws parallels from his triumphant escape in 1980 with the tragic Bolinao 52 incidentone which made international headlines in 1988 when 52 individuals were brought to Bolinao, Philippines, after their 110-person boat remained adrift at sea for 37 days, forcing those still alive to commit cannibalism onboard.

This documentary describes that horrifying event by relying on eyewitness accounts of survivors and the recollection of a crewmember on the USS Dubuque, the U.S. Navy ship which passed the boat at sea, but deserted its passengers. As a result, BOLINAO 52 is one person's heroic attempt to speak out on behalf of thousands of unheard voices who are part of a rarely mentioned, but gravely significant, chapter in history.