The Living Room War (work-in-progress)

Western media called the Vietnam War “the Living Room War.” For filmmaker Thy Nguyen’s family, the end of the war in 1975 brought a new war into their living room. The story starts with a Ho Chi Minh TV broadcast: numerous women looking for Thy's grandfather after the war ends spark a series of bitter family disputes which last for generations.

Pass: tlrw6

Excerpt of The Living Room War, 2021

[Video (colour, sound), 5 minutes, continuous play]

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This is Thy Nguyen’s ongoing research on the intergenerational trauma endured by Vietnamese women (her grandmother and mother) that lives through both the many wars in Vietnam (Indochina War & Vietnam War) and the rapid socio-cultural, infrastructural, economic changes in the 21st century; given the context of the Vietnam society in times of war and post-war. 

Currently, Thy is making a creative documentary film based on this research. Thy remixes rarely seen archival footage of the Vietnam conflict (but from a Vietnamese point of view,) documentary interviews, familial archives and newly-shot footage and re-enactments. It’s a story about a family trying to reconcile and take ownership of their narratives, opening up fresh, personal yet profound perspectives on the Vietnam War. 

out of sight, out of mind, 2021

[Video (colour), 5 minutes 23 seconds, continuous play]
password: CCTV

CCTV installed in the house allows Thy to care for her mother even when they’re thousands of miles apart. However, unlike modern means of communication which allow people to reach each other directly, watching Thy’s grandmother through CCTV is passive. It reflects how the women in the family care for each other - by observing from afar, silently.

Digital Heritage, 2021

 [Video (colour, sound), 3 minutes, continuous play]

We as conscious beings fear being forgotten; we do not want to disappear from others’ thoughts and memories, nor do we want our loved ones to meet that tragic fate. For Thy, the act of scanning and digitising her familial archives is a way to keep memories alive, providing ample opportunities for reflections as well as giving future generations a way of knowing those who lived.   

REFRACTED REALITY
Group exhibition, 2021, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

[Video (colour, sound), 1 minutes 29 seconds]