Documentary - Together
Documentary Feature
Title: Together (working title)
Project Status: Post-production
Logline
30 years after family tragedy drove her into foster care, a Vietnamese-American woman discovers the truth behind her mother's death, two sisters she never really knew, and a legacy of childhood abuse. Through the lens of sisterhood, Together explores healing and the path to empowerment by reclaiming one's own narrative.
Synopsis
Fifty years after the Vietnam War, TOGETHER traces three sisters' decades-long journey from trauma to healing.
On the 30th anniversary of their mother's death, a Vietnamese American woman, Juliet, meets the drunk driver she believed killed her mother. This pivotal encounter reveals two shocking truths: • her father was actually responsible for the crash that killed her mom • she has an older sister who was abandoned in Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon.
Juliet and her younger sister, Jen, journey to Vietnam where they reunite with their elder sister, Hong. Despite language barriers, the women forge an immediate bond—strengthened by the devastating discovery that each has endured grief, loss and abuse by the very people who were supposed to take care of them.
As their story unfolds, we witness the sisters forging deeper bonds while gradually coming to terms with their past. Hong reflects on the circumstances her mother endured as a war refugee. Meanwhile, Juliet reaches her own painful understanding. The trauma of war, and her father's unspeakable role in Vietnam, had created an unbearable burden for him — its effects rippling through each sister's life. But perhaps in letting them go, their father had offered them the greatest gift within his reach—a chance at the future he could never provide.
Through intimate storytelling and artful animation, TOGETHER reveals how childhood trauma reverberates across generations while demonstrating that healing, though complex, is possible.
Financials
Funding is provided by the Center of Asian American Media, Jerome Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council, Asian Women Giving Circle, Riverside Sharing Fund, Puffin Foundation, and Love Your Shorts.
Seeking
We are currently seeking an executive producer, impact partners, and post-production funding.
Project Website
Contact
Yasmin Mistry
ymistry@idesygn.com