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A courageous whistleblower prompts an investigation into the true history behind one of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century.
The work of photographers during the Vietnam War exposed the horrors committed against the civilian population to a Western audience largely unaware of the scale of the atrocities. The iconic photograph, The Terror of War, also known as Napalm Girl, was shocking in its depiction of the violence experienced by children, prompting global protests and calls to end the war. But a claim by a former Associated Press photo editor raises doubts over the image’s origins. Bao Nguyen’s film follows a relentless journey to find the truth, locating a photographer known only as ‘the stringer’ who claims he took the photo, throwing the AP photographer credit into question. In following this investigation Nguyen’s film tackles racial injustice and journalistic ethics as it questions why Vietnamese photographers’ essential contribution to this conflict have been overlooked in history.
The work of photographers during the Vietnam War exposed the horrors committed against the civilian population to a Western audience largely unaware of the scale of the atrocities. The iconic photograph, The Terror of War, also known as Napalm Girl, was shocking in its depiction of the violence experienced by children, prompting global protests and calls to end the war. But a claim by a former Associated Press photo editor raises doubts over the image’s origins. Bao Nguyen’s film follows a relentless journey to find the truth, locating a photographer known only as ‘the stringer’ who claims he took the photo, throwing the AP photographer credit into question. In following this investigation Nguyen’s film tackles racial injustice and journalistic ethics as it questions why Vietnamese photographers’ essential contribution to this conflict have been overlooked in history.
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Competitions
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Topics
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Premiere statusInternational premiere
Film details
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Director(s)Bao Nguyen
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Country(s)Vietnam, USA, France
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Year2025
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Duration100 mins
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Executive producer(s)Gary Knight, Sue Turley / XRM Media, Grace Lay / Linlay Productions, Michael Chow / XRM Media, Alex Cotraviwat, Kevin Lin, Nina and David Fialkow, Andrew Reid, Jeremy Gardner, Jeff Zimbalist, James Costa, Trevor Burgess
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Producer(s)Fiona Turner, Terri Lichstein
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CinematographyBao Nguyen, Ray Lavers, Andrew Yuyi Truong
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EditingGraham Taylor
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SoundNancy Kwon, Tim Harrison, Raoul Brand
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Language(s)English, Vietnamese
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Sales CompanyJosh Braun / Submarine
