In the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War, a skeleton crew of U.S. military operatives was all that stood between the vindictive Viet Cong and South Vietnamese allies who had aided American forces. With the clock ticking, a number of heroic Americans took matters into their own hands. They saved as many South Vietnamese lives as they possibly could. It’s a little-known story of honor and tragedy chronicled in filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s latest documentary. She joins us Wednesday to talk about it.
On Friday, April 17, the Utah Film Center -- in partnership with KUED, American Experience, and WGBH -- is screening the documentary film Last Days in Vietnam. That’s at 7 p.m. at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. The screening will be followed by a discussion, moderated by KUER News Director Terry Gildea, with director Rory Kennedy; Stuart Herrington, Col, U.S. Army (Ret.); and artist Binh Pho, who escaped from Vietnam in 1978. DETAILS
Last Days of Vietnam premieres on PBS' American Experience on April 28. It will air at 8:00 p.m. on KUED Channel 7. Click here for more information.
GUESTS
Rory Kennedy is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her films include Ethel, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib and Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House. Last Days in Vietnam premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Keven McAlester is a producer and writer of Last Days in Vietnam.
