Refugee Stories
Nang's gripping journey from a child refugee during the boat people crisis to a successful life in Houston is a powerful testament to resilience and hope, making it a story well worth telling.
The Brief
PAIR Refugee Services tasked us with telling the compelling story of Nang, a Vietnamese refugee who fled during the boat people crisis as a child. The goal was to create a short series highlighting Nang's journey from hardship to success after resettling in Houston. The series aims to showcase her resilience and the triumphs of her life, offering a powerful example of the impact of refugee services and the promise of a brighter future for those starting over in a new land.
Headwinds
This project faced several unique challenges. First, we needed to recapture a compelling but lengthy emotional interview with Nang, a central figure of the story, who had limited availability due to frequent travels. With only two hours of shooting time, we had to make the most of every minute. Additionally, there was little to no archival footage or photographs from Nang's childhood during the boat people crisis, making it difficult to visually portray his early life. Compounding the challenge, some of the budget had already been allocated to other attempts to tell this story, leaving limited resources to work with.
Our Strategy
To overcome these challenges, we prioritized capturing a solid interview with Nang in the limited time available. We paired her story with a dramatic score and immersive soundscape to amplify the emotional weight of her journey. Given the lack of personal footage from Nang's childhood, we incorporated licensed visuals, news clippings, and video from the boat people crisis to fill the visual gaps. Finally, we took the original 45-minute mini-documentary and broke it into four parts, releasing them over four weeks to sustain audience engagement and build anticipation for each new chapter of Nang's story.