Light and Belief – Dinh Q. Le

2012

It is with light that we can see, and it is with belief that we see beyond.

This documentary film, produced and directed in collaboration with Dinh Q. Le, explores the lives and work of artists who were sent into the battle zones during the Vietnamese/American War, to document the war effort from the side of the North Vietnamese. Through rare and intimate interviews with these remaining soldier-artists, the film explores the surreal lives and challenges of making art inside the chaos of war.

Interviews with artistic revolutionaries – Le Lam, Quach Phong, Huynh Phuong Dong, Nguyen Thu, Duong Anh, Vu Giang Huong, Nguyen Toan Thi, Truong Hieu, Phan Oanh, Kim Tien, and Minh Phuong – are interspersed with detailed perspectives of their paintings and drawings created during their time in the combat zones. Their drawings and stories come to life through hand-drawn animations.

This film, along with an installation of original drawings by the artists, created by Dinh Q. Le, was premiered at dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, Germany in June of 2012. The film will be traveling to different festivals in the upcoming future.