Screening of the winning film in the New Polish Film Competition – Child of Dust | WATCH DOCS

Born during the Vietnam War to a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier, the protagonist of Weronika Mliczewska’s film has never truly belonged. After the U.S. Army’s defeat, there was no place for people like him in the new communist society. The so-called “Children of Dust,” stripped of rights and family ties, were condemned to live on the margins. All his life, Sang has been a second-class citizen, without documents, education, or prospects. Yet an unexpected turn of fate may change everything. To seize this chance, he must “merely” abandon his old life and start anew, thousands of miles away. Years of work on the project allowed the filmmakers to form a genuine bond with Sang and his family, creating a documentary rich in empathy and emotion. With Mikael Lypinski’s stunning cinematography, we come to better understand a man confronted with a ruthless choice. 

Konrad Wirkowski