Blue Collar and Buddha
LAO 3 SEAP Outreach Kahin Center 1987 Documentary 57 min
VHS/NTSC Excellent Filmakers Library
Dir.: Taggart Siegel; Prod.:
Taggart Siegel & Kati Johnston English
w/ Lao Interviews
Follows the mounting resentment towards the Laotian refugees who
have settled in a small blue collar American town. The situation comes to a
head when the Laotians build a Buddhist temple on a small farmstead. This
effort to preserve their culture was greeted by several terrorist attacks. By
investigating the opinions of townspeople and officials, the film-makers mirror
the attitudes of many Americans towards the new wave of Asian immigrants.
From the Mulberry Leaves to Silk Textiles
LAO 4 SEAP Outreach Kahin Center 1991 Documentary 45 min
VHS/NTSC Vientiane Video Center for the Ministry of Culture Douang Deuane
Bounyavong via Dolina Millar; avail. from Vientiane Video Center
Dir/prod: Douang Deuane Bouyavong English
Describes the silk worm production, silk manufacture, weaving and
traditional clothing, against a background of Laotian society and scenery.
Journey To Laos LAO 1 SEAP Outreach Kahin Center 1986 Documentary 45 min VHS/NTSC Asia
Resource Center Asia Resource Center Dir/prod: J . Chaguon & R. Rumpf
English Delegation members: Jaequi Chaguon, Audrea Pulcini, June Pulcini, Roger
Rumpf, T. Hunter Wilson, Lou Wolf A group of returning International Voluntary
Services workers observe rural and urban life, the economy and a Hmong New Year
Festival, after an absence of ten years. Highlights Khmer arts, Buddhism and
the probems of unexploded ordnance left by the U.S. War.
Keeping Our Culture Alive
LAO 7 SEAP Outreach Kahin Center 1988 Documentary 12 min
VHS/NTSC Excellent Kmhmu Apprenticeship Program, Boston English
Documents efforts to preserve Kmhmu (Kammu)
culture. Features basketweaving & traditional dance instruction by Ta Lay
Sivilay. Compares Kmhmu house construction & hunting with that of the early
New England settlers.
Impoverished Laos and prosperous Thailand are a study in contrasts, yet they have one vital thing in common: the Mekong. In this program, Laotians and Thais discuss life along its banks. Common concerns include the challenges of navigating the river, environmental conservation, economic reforms, and prostitution. In addition, local economies based on agriculture, opium, logging, and hydroelectric energy are investigated. An examination of the earliest human drawings, the Empire of the Thousand Elephants, and the impact of the Cold War provide historic insights, and Buddhist monasteries, the blessing of houses, and traditional medicine provide glimpses of daily life. 52 minutes, color 1999
Moving Mountains
LAO 8 SEAP Outreach Kahin Center 1990 Documentary 58 min
VHS/NTSC Excellent Filmakers Library Filmakers Library
Dir/prod: Elaine Velasquez English
An intimate and caring look at Yiu Mien refugees from the mountains
of Laos, who settled in the Pacific Northwest. Their involvement with the CIA
during the Vietnam War caused the Mien to lose their homeland. Fleeing as
refugees to the United States, they were catapulted from one century to
another; they became a people caught between two worlds. Through the words of
the elders and rare archival footage of the Mien in the mountain homeland,
their ancient culture is brought to light. Complex realities of their struggle
to adapt to American culture is protrayed. Religious rituals are performed in
city aprtments, women in traditional dress shop at a mall and women with babies
on their backs farm beside a freeway.
Swords to Plowshares
LAO 6 Echols 1995 Documentary 9 min
VHS/NTSC Dub from Channel 13,
Amnesty International Human Rights Journal, Feb. 5, 1995;
interview with Stephen Graw. English
Stephen Graw Use of military hardware for household utensils; the
lasting effects of war.