VietNamNet Bridge – A documentary film on Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin (AO) victims will compete for a prize at the New York City International Film Festival 2013 (NYCIFF), scheduled for June 13-20.

The tale of An Phuc House, co-produced by Canada’s Babel Entertainment in Association and Vietnam’s Crea TV, has been nominated for best feature documentary film, announced NYCIFF organisers.

The 91-minute film is a story about the daily lives, learning and strong will of nearly 20 third-generation victims of the toxic chemical, who are being cared for at the An Phuc Centre in Ho Chi Minh City.

Canadian director Ivan Tankushev, whose wife is Vietnamese, said he found out about their interesting stories by chance.

The decision to make a film about them came to him after he spent time visiting them and talking with their parents, who are living in different provinces and cities across Vietnam.

From 1961-1971, US troops sprayed more than 80 million litres of herbicides - 44 million litres of which were AO that contained nearly 370kg of dioxin - over southern Vietnam.

As a result, around 3.5–4 million Vietnamese people were exposed to AO/dioxin. Many of the victims have died, while millions of their descendants are living with deformities and diseases due to the effects of AO.

Source: Vietnam Plus