These films trace the emotional and physical journeys of migration, memory and identity across landscapes scarred by histories of both oppression and resistance.
Content warning: This programme contains flashing images.
After fleeing the Vietnam war, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che, along with 100 other refugees, are enlisted as background extras for Apocalypse Now.
In 1975, soon after the end of the Vietnam War, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che fled the country on a small boat. After nine days at sea, they docked in the Philippines, where they were held in a refugee camp. During this time, along with nearly 100 other refugees, they were recruited as background extras in the filming of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. Guided by their perspective and memories of their lived experiences, We Were the Scenery traces their stories, alongside the stories of Vietnam, The Philippines and the USA — through the past and present, truth and fiction, life and cinema.
This film will screen as part of Shorts: Spaces Between. Please click on a showing below to see when this programme screens throughout the festival.
- Year2025
- Runtime15 minutes
- LanguageVietnamese
- CountryUSA, Vietnam, Philippines
- PremiereUK premiere
- RatingUnclassified 18+
- GenrePersonal Stories & Society, History & Archive
- DirectorChristopher Radcliff
These films trace the emotional and physical journeys of migration, memory and identity across landscapes scarred by histories of both oppression and resistance.
Content warning: This programme contains flashing images.
After fleeing the Vietnam war, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che, along with 100 other refugees, are enlisted as background extras for Apocalypse Now.
In 1975, soon after the end of the Vietnam War, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che fled the country on a small boat. After nine days at sea, they docked in the Philippines, where they were held in a refugee camp. During this time, along with nearly 100 other refugees, they were recruited as background extras in the filming of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. Guided by their perspective and memories of their lived experiences, We Were the Scenery traces their stories, alongside the stories of Vietnam, The Philippines and the USA — through the past and present, truth and fiction, life and cinema.
This film will screen as part of Shorts: Spaces Between. Please click on a showing below to see when this programme screens throughout the festival.
- Year2025
- Runtime15 minutes
- LanguageVietnamese
- CountryUSA, Vietnam, Philippines
- PremiereUK premiere
- RatingUnclassified 18+
- GenrePersonal Stories & Society, History & Archive
- DirectorChristopher Radcliff