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Agent Orange 30 years
"Agent Orange: 30 years later" is a drama-documentary about the victims of Agent Orange 30 years after the Viet Nam War.

Agent Orange is the code name for the major herbicide that was used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to deny coverage (trees and bushes) of the North Vietnamese guerrilla soldiers.

The film tells the story of several victims of Agent Orange - from the North to the South of Viet Nam - who were exposed to the substance when it was sprayed during the war. It interweaves compelling interviews with images culled from the archives to tell the tales of horror of people, from babies to grandparents, male and female, North and South Viet Nam living with difficult choices to make: pro-life or abortion, alien diseases, deformities, fear, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, pain, and poverty. It is more of a drama than a reportage, or merely an observation.

The goal of this documentary is to make the viewers aware of the impact of dioxin on the environment and the people. The film also underscores the need for compassion and heightens a sense of responsibility for our actions towards each other as stewards of the planet without regard for political differences.

Film Statement
"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." - Mahatma Gandhi.

Filmmaker
John Trinh, a member of the International Documentary Association in Los Angeles (IDA), produced and directed his first documentary film entitled "Agent Orange: 30 Years Later" ("A War No One Wins").

The film, submitted for the first time to the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, was officially selected and showed in Los Angeles in December/2008. The film earned top award "Best Documentary". ITN Distribution took it to Cannes Film Market (CFM) in May/2009. In February 2009, the film was shown at the "Cultural Innovation" private screening at Disney in Glendale and Pasadena (CA), New York, and London.

In April 2009, the film has earned a Gold Remi Award at the 42nd WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. The film was also an official selection at Griffon International Film Festival in St. Joseph, Missouri (4/2009), Reel Earth-Environmental Film Festival in Palmerston North, New Zealand (5/2009), Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, PA (6/2009), and Action On Film International Film Festival, Pasadena, CA (7/2009). Starting in July/2009, Reel Earth will tour the film to venues in the Metropolitan and Regional centres around New Zealand.

John Trinh received his training from the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He has worked for major companies such as Mattel as a Senior Designer and Disney as a digital artist. His personal work has been exhibited world-wide and garnered numerous awards nationally, "National Artist of Distinction Award" of the National Alliance for Excellence in New York in 1997 as one example. - John Trinh [01.12.08]