VietNamNet Bridge – ‘Chau, Beyond the Lines’, a documentary on Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO) victims, directed by Courtney Marsh, has been listed as of top 10 documentary short subject contenders for the 88th Academy Award.

Chau, a Vietnamese AO victim -- Photo: Courtney Marsh

According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, five of which will earn Oscar nominations.

The 34-minute film tells about Chau, a teenager living in a Vietnamese care centre for kids disabled by Agent Orange, struggles with the reality of his dream to one day become a professional artist.

Courtney Marsh said that eight years ago, she travelled to Vietnam with a fellow filmmaker to make a documentary on the plight of street kids in Ho Chi Minh City.

When the American director entered a small Peace Camp for children with disabilities, she decided to film their lives which spanned out into her eight year endeavour.

‘I followed Chau because of his relentless pursuit for his dream to be an artist. He taught me to hope in a world where, most often than not, there is a lack of such. If we could all look at the larger picture, focus on what we have rather than what we don't have, perhaps our seemingly impossible dreams would be actually within our reach’, Courtney Marsh shares.

The nominations will be announced live on January 14 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills.

VOV