Co-presented with Austin Film Society and GirlForward Austin.

USA | 65 min | English, Vietnamese | Documentary

Against the backdrop of the Vietnam war, the town of Seadrift, TX find themselves the new home of Vietnamese refugees seeking shelter from their war-torn homeland. Seadrift being a primarily shrimping community along the Gulf Coast, the Vietnamese are soon employed in the business, unfortunately clashing with the long established residents. Tensions mount as both sides jostle for territorial rights on the water and people begin to arm themselves in response to the escalating seriousness of harassments. The built-up anger all comes to a head in August 1979 when 20-year-old Sau Van Nguyen shoots and kills 35-year-old Billy Joe Aplin, setting off a chain of events that toss the relatively unknown town into the national spotlight. As hostilities against the Vietnamese grow to the point of attracting the attention of the KKK, the residents of Seadrift are left to find how to reconcile their way of life with the multitude of outside forces. – Yuxi Lai

Filmmaker Q&A expected
Preceded by short: DONUT PEOPLE (Keeley Steenson)

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/302380147
Website: https://title8productions.com/seadriftfilm/

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