Duki Dror’s documentary, The Journey of Vaan Nguyen, is a refugee story about homeland and exile, but one told through the unique lens of a Vietnamese family living in Israel. As in many refugee stories, Vaan’s father lived through the chaos of war and endured the horrors of a re-education camp before escaping to Viet Nam by boat. However, instead of being picked up by American or French authorities, Vaan’s father is rescued by an Israeli cargo ship, which ultimately leads him to forge a new life in the ancient port city of Yafo (also known as Jaffa), just south of Tel Aviv. His five daughters, including Vaan, grow up learning Hebrew, retaining only rudimentary Vietnamese language skills.
 
Vaan’s father and his generation, however, ardently cling to the memory of their lost homeland. In fact, Vaan’s father eventually decides that it is time to return to Vietnam and try to reclaim the ancestral lands they had abandoned. He, along with Vaan’s mother, hope to live out their remaining years in Vietnam, though they know that it might mean leaving their daughters behind in Israel. For this generation, Israel no longer has anything to offer. Vaan feels similarly, especially when she and her father reunite with family members in Viet Nam. There, Vaan rejoices in finally finding a place where she can physically belong without constantly explaining where her “slanted eyes came from.” Even so, her relatives gently admonish her for losing her heritage. When they embark on the journey to reclaim their ancestral lands, Vaan and her father meet setback after setback until it becomes clear that the land will never be theirs again. 

-Tann Nguyen