University Film Series: Boat People

Still one of the few films about the Vietnam War and its aftermath not made by US, French, or Vietnamese filmmakers, Ann Hui’s Boat People serves as a searing indictment of social conditions following the end of the war. It was the first Hong Kong film to be made in Communist China, and its success—nominated for 12 Hong Kong Film Awards and winning five, including Best Picture and Best Director—helped usher in the Hong Kong New Wave film movement. It is still a decidedly controversial film, too, in its treatment of the Vietnam War and its political message, generating criticism from across the political spectrum.

This film would be of particular interest to those working in arthouse and independent cinema; Asian cinema and history; refugee narratives; Vietnam War studies; sociology; anthropology; political science; and international relations.