If you love films like this, become a member now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast.

For a $25 a month sustaining membership, choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bon Me mug featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote Bag, an artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

Well, thank you for joining us for this very special event.

It is a very special Louisiana Filmmakers event is being brought to you by LPB.

I'm Clay Ferreira and you're watching Mary, Queen of Vietnam.

Now we'll be joined by one of the two filmmakers, Glen Petrie, in just a moment.

But we are taking this short break now so that you can take advantage of the membership gifts that you just heard about when you become a member.

To help LBB share the stories of Louisiana you not only receive the gift of programing you are supporting, but LPB likes to offer you a little something extra at whatever membership level works for you.

All you need to do is call us at the number you see on your screen.

888769 5000.

Now you can go online to opb.org, or you can scan the QR code that's on your screen with your smart device.

And right now, we're excited to welcome award winning filmmaker Glen Petrie.

Thank you for being with us, Glen.

Always a pleasure.

Thank you.

Go.

So so tell us a little bit about this production.

Of course, you have been involved with teaching filmmaking for a long time, right?

Yeah.

I after making movies for living for 30 years, LSU came calling.

They wanted to guest lecture, which turned into a semester, which turned into a ten year gig.

Okay.

And what's great about that is you get to work with you.

We see you used you get to work with young filmmakers.

You just learning, just getting started.

And, you know, some of them just really shine from the beginning.

You can tell.

And this was a case where there was one whose name was Bao Go.

Born in Vietnam.

Okay.

Came here as a child with his parents.

And lived in that community in New Orleans East.

And it was such a window to a world, you know, because I knew filmmaking when he.

That he learned that culture more than I.

So it was a kind of combination.

It was that conversation.

Yes.

I had an objective look, and he had the insider knowledge and knew what and end and got, you know, we got to see things that the public didn't normally get to see.

That's true outside public.

And I wanted to just say that, Grant, of course, has been with Louisiana Public Broadcasting on and off for many years for he seems to say, and we are very proud of the productions that, we have distributed, that Glen has been involved with.

There are so many Louisiana stories out there that, he has been involved with, other independent producers, have been involved with, and LPB has always been part of that in helping get the good word out about Louisiana.

You need to go ahead.

Go.

Because you say distributed like it's something like you walk in and after the fact and you know, and we throw it up on the screen.

Yeah, it's these people moves in that, you know, are so many of these films that would not have gotten made or had to get made, wouldn't have gotten made on a professional scale without Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I mean, it's we turn on the TV and it's there, but it's an institution that's getting that stuff.

It's just not I mean, you've seen a lot of national stuff, but but you're also seeing Louisiana content that would not happen if this station was here and would not happen if your contributions didn't come in.

So, so important to support these people.

It absolutely is.

We want to keep more of this coming in as a matter of fact, I know we've got a lot of solutions, a generation of filmmakers.

And this is not the old guard like me.

Think of those all those voices, all that talent, all that homegrown talent.

We want to keep homegrown.

We do, through the coming years and decades and generations.

But we can only do it with your pleasure support.

So again, there's a numbers right there on your screen.

Or you can use lpb.org, or of course, you can use, you can use a QR code that's right there.

Oh, and we wanted to mention somebody very important because this is our corporate challenge break okay.

Yeah absolutely.

Right there.

What's that okay Mary Queen got carpet challenge.

Royal Martin who you probably know because there's probably some of their lumber in your house.

Yeah.

Is proud to support the programing on LP and is challenging for all of you.

That means you to donate right now and they will match dollar for dollar.

The first $1,500 called in during this program.

In effect, they will make your donation twice as good as it would have been.

So now's a good moment to pull out that wallet, make the call, go online, whatever it takes.

Okay?

And in addition to the great program that we have, we have some fantastic gifts.

Let's take a look at those right now.

If you love films like this, become a member now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast.

For a $25 a month sustaining membership, choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bond Me mug featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote Bag, an artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

Okay, so got a lot of great gifts they can have out there.

You can use your credit card or by the way, you can use that sustaining membership, or they'll automatically take a certain amount out of your bank account, and you don't have to worry about anything.

You get some great gifts and some great programs.

Getting back to your programs, of course.

You really have focused on Louisiana culture and the various subcultures without it.

This is this is such a fascinating state because it's not homogenous.

There are so many mean Cajuns and Creoles.

We've done a lot of work with that because that's sort of the best known.

But we've also had films that have aired right here in OPB dealing with the Hemi Indians, dealing with Filipino community, and Louisiana dealing with the curation community in Louisiana, and on and on and on.

And the all of those diverse cultures just add some cliche to the gumbo, but each add a flavor.

And again, the American community that settled here, you know, 50 years ago now, close to 50 years ago, have added so much to, you know, first the foodways, right.

But also, you know, more and more to just, you know, just the fabric of the community.

Exactly.

Adding more into it, so to speak.

And, and we are all building with regard to all these different cultures that come in and add to what is Louisiana.

And I know that you folks out there want to be part of this, and you want to keep those Louisiana productions coming in.

But of course, we can only do it with that type of support.

Let's talk about that corporate challenge one more time.

Again, Rachel Martin, the folks who give you the plywood that covers your walls, Rachel Martin is proud to support the programing on LP, and they are challenging all of you.

That means you, to donate right now, and they will match Dollar for dollar.

So if you send $10, they will put up $10.

You said 100.

They will put up a hundred on and off.

So then that's going to effectively double the pledge that's going to go away.

And that means that no.

Two orphan, can you double your really big oil Martin will be able to do that.

So right now call us, if you will, at 888769, 5000 going on to lpb.org.

But you can use the QR code.

And again great gifts.

So let's take a look at those again.

If you love films like this, become a member.

Now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast.

For a $25 a month sustaining membership, choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bond Me mug featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote bag and artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions.

LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

The way we live.

How we work, and most of all the shape of our celebrations.

Tell the world about us.

When a whole community gathers for a holiday, it reveals how people differ not only from each other, but also from who they were.

And who they will become.

Follow us to a corner of Louisiana to meet a fascinating people with far away roots, a trying history and an esthetic love of celebration.

This program was made possible in part by the LSU Screen Arts Program, helping young filmmakers master the art and techniques of digital media for big screen and small at Louisiana's flagship campus, a program of the Louisiana State University College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Old Firehouse, a workspace and meeting place for filmmakers, writers, and artists in New Orleans historic Faubourg Marigny.

Carte Blanche Productions telling Louisiana stories to the world, on screen, in print, and at museums since 1975, and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

Oh, well.

Right.

Yeah.

Good luck.

Don't matter to me what you want.

I might not be ready.

Left, right.

Whatever makes me left, I'll.

Walk.

You.

A generation ago, nearly a million refugees from a ravaged country fled to America seeking asylum.

Most spoke no English.

Many arrived with only the clothes they wore, the children they cherished, and stories of horror and heartache and hope.

Where do you come from?

This film looks in on one Vietnamese-American community to explore how immigrants adapt to a new land, what they keep and how they change, and what they pass on to their children, and how those children respond.

Yes, you're the man behind the of door.

Hi, I'm Belle and I'm the man behind the camera.

Well, one of them, and this film is about my where I live in my community.

I consider myself as a Vietnamese American because, My.

Yeah, that's a different question.

I don't know, is.

Every year on the east side of New Orleans, at the sprawling campus of a Roman Catholic church called Mary, Queen of Vietnam, there rise the tents and booths and stagings of the festival to celebrate ten the Vietnamese New Year.

The Archbishop offers carefully practiced words of welcome, true home, the boy.

I will now go to English because that's all I know in Vietnamese.

Mary, Queen of Vietnam, pray for us and pray with us.

Recording artists are flown in from around the country.

Locals practiced for months to perfect the acts they will perform.

The festival draws a crowd that mixes white, black and brown with the local Vietnamese-American population and some sort.

But for all the smiling faces and festive atmosphere, this is a community borne of conflict.

Determined to stop the spread of communism, from 1955 to 1975, the United States fought a bitter war in Southeast Asia.

Facing defeat on the battlefield and plummeting support at home, President Nixon gave up the fight and evacuated U.S. personnel, but left almost all of America's South Vietnamese supporters behind.

Wooden lumps out at the Tet Festival.

The singing of the national anthem honors a nation that has not existed since 1975.

They mow down the Hmong noise, hoping for like, a slightly like, someone who.

After the fall of Saigon, April 30th, 1975, the communists took over the entire country of Vietnam.

Communist.

It's a regime that we have difficulty to the people of Vietnam.

This is Tony Tran.

He works as an administrator at Mary Queen of Vietnam Church.

You can't live with a communist.

They don't allow religion.

A lot of people, left the country after the fall of Saigon.

People who live near the coastal area in Boomtown in Chiang.

They have to escape the country by boat or by RAF.

They are the more people China.

Thus began one of the most dramatic migrations in modern history.

Eight and a half millions of Vietnamese fled their country, often escaping by overloaded fishing trawler rigs as they became known as the Boat People.

As the crisis made headlines around the world.

Asian camp.

But for everyone who's made it here, an equal number have not.

It's believed more than 200,000 Vietnamese have drowned at sea trying to reach foreign soil.

This is Mary Winn, who is a young mother.

More than 40 years ago was one of the boat people fleeing Vietnam.

My husband told me, we're going to leave tonight, so why two hours before we leave, he told me, go get something.

Get ready.

Leave in the ocean for 30 days.

That's why my son die.

Because of starvation.

So I threw a towel over the boat when he just four and five for him.

Months.

So.

One of my daughters, right.

Hasn't seen a doctor.

Losing a child is the hardest thing any parent can experience.

My daughter to have to bury their infant child at sea is almost unimaginable.

And my son.

His girlfriend missions bickered over who would take in the refugees.

Though it was often contentious, America allowed many to resettle in the United States.

In a single year, the Vietnamese American population increased 14,000%.

Cindy Winn was a child when she and her family were among the asylum seekers assigned to an Arkansas resettlement camp.

It was way to go for my grandparents.

My dad dad was struggling to find work.

My dad is a fisherman by trade and Archbishop Phillip Hannan.

He visited the refugee camp.

He saw the needs of the people.

He introduced to the people that they can move to New Orleans and reside here.

So my father got word that we got to go down south.

That's where we want to be.

You know, he could fish for a living.

So we came down and we were able to get housing.

There was ever a science apartment.

Remember living in a two bedroom apartment with 20 people.

And from there we save up our money.

Then we started buying homes and and we kind of created our own little village there.

Being around other Vietnamese people gave them of a more of a comfort that this could be home, as happened before and since, with other waves of immigrants, Vietnamese sometimes faced prejudice from locals whose ancestors had arrived earlier.

Even Hollywood took notice.

When Alamo Bay tells a story based on some headlines from a few years ago about conflict between Vietnamese immigrants in the Gulf of Mexico area of Texas and local fishermen who claim that the Vietnamese were poaching on their traditional fishing grounds right down Main Street.

With that joke, he's not excuse.

Yeah, I am going to write.

I was definitely not in the first wave of the boat people.

My family immigrated to the United States in 2005, arriving here when I was nine.

It was a scary going to school.

It was pretty rough.

The teachers were teaching in English and I didn't understand what they were saying.

Yeah, I want to be more like the other kids.

I want to be able to talk to people.

I want to be able to understand the teachers.

So I had to learn.

I had to adapt.

I had to do all of that to be able to to live in America.

I'm live in a Vietnamese community, but at the same time it is a an American city, an American place to do some of my meal in town.

What do you draw that move around the corner?

Does everything.

You know that children go to a lot of that.

Most Vietnamese are Buddhist.

But starting in the 1500s and growing under a century of French occupation, Catholics became Vietnam's largest religious minority, observed 1789 in New Orleans, a predominantly Catholic city since its founding, Catholics make up a majority of the Vietnamese community and they get to be the Mary Queen of Vietnam.

Hymns are sung in mass is said in the language of the motherland.

They take some you to day.

On Good Friday, the faithful perform the stations of the cross and.

Following the stations comes the lamentation.

Parishioners wear headbands and dress in white badges of grief.

In Vietnam.

Centuries old chants called Relive the Passion of Christ.

As the body of Jesus comes down.

A religion born in the East.

Nurtured in Europe, transplanted to Asia, then carried to America by refugees.

Able to bring little else.

Finds bright expression in the New World.

On the stage where singers and dancers will entertain Tet Festival crowds, there's been built a replica of Jesus's tomb.

Popcorn replaces the white funeral flowers of Vietnam.

Signs of tradition evolving.

The rituals by which we worship constitute some of the many customs which together comprise our culture.

Cultures persist because their traditions get handed down generation to generation, but that process is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

Lead.

May 3rd day.

Play the last line.

Play the last line up.

Percussion orchestras like Bin Din are an ancient Vietnamese art form, but these youngsters knew nothing of it until it was reintroduced by community elders.

Good, good.

I like that.

Yeah, rats are not.

Here, young women practice the fan dance or view thin, with roots stretching back seven centuries.

For these high school girls, is this an expression of cultural pride or simply a fun after school activity?

The young man leaping is Sean Pham.

He plays running back on his high school team.

But even after football season ends, Sean continues rigorous physical training so he can perform the lion dance at the Tet Festival and.

I was born there.

All that in my case, I didn't have a line.

Dancing is when they have two members ahead, and a tail is part of the Asian culture that scares away evil spirits and brings good luck and fortune.

1234 down.

Okay, I was younger.

I went to a summer camp.

Kavya and leader team I.

It was teaching my dance classes and I wanted to join.

At the beginning I get nervous and then the team.

We just talk it through.

We always say it's just like practice.

We don't know a lot of teams of dance, like how we dance and we like to do bebop, and that's where the tail shakes it.

But in the head looks back.

The crowd likes to draw.

Oh yeah.

The only time I see line dancing in Vietnam is New Year's time.

A bunch of old guys is going house to house.

They were dancing and they would look for an envelope that you were high for them, basically a donation to the church.

It was fun.

But that line dancing is completely different to what we do.

We're more choreographed, high energy, crowd pleaser.

So today we dance to the beast, dance to the drum.

The way that we dance it, the way that we perform.

It's nowhere near what tradition or sort of thing is that that.

Okay, okay.

Here.

Get that this music that was.

For the wild.

Sean excels at lion dance gymnastics.

He only speaks a few words.

A Vietnamese.

If you love films like this, become a member now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast.

For a $25 a month sustaining membership, choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bon Me mug featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote Bag, an artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

And we are back in the LPB studios with one of your last opportunities during this broadcast to vote for more films that share stories about Louisiana's many cultures and traditions.

We can gauge what you want to see more of when you cast your vote on becoming a member during the broadcast.

Hello everyone!

I'm Chloe Ferry and you are watching your member supported public television.

You just heard about the membership.

Thank you.

Gifts and we will be reminding you about those gifts in just a moment.

To choose a membership level to support OPB, simply call us at 888769 5000 and make that pledge of financial support to our team of friendly phone volunteers.

They're standing by there ready to take your call.

Call us now.

You don't want to call that up, dawg.

Or scan the QR code that you see right there on your screen.

And now I'd like to reintroduce to you, filmmaker Gwen Patrick.

Gwen.

Thank you for coming by again today.

Always a pleasure to be here.

And we go back a long, long, long, long way.

We do a lot of programs over the many, many years.

And and, I wanted to ask you something about about you and how you begin your career.

Because I'm going to dig back deep into you.

Imagine yourself as a young kid, in deep south Louisiana, hot off Louisiana.

Wow.

And how in the world did you decide?

I want to be a filmmaker?

You can laugh.

Part of it was I grew up in a culture of storytelling.

Oh, yeah?

We revered storytellers where we could trip you up on the porch slapping mosquitoes and.

And tell the best story to keep you there.

That was that was honored.

But the other thing.

I couldn't believe this, but the other thing with public television.

Well, APD was, yes, are New Orleans, but they started showing foreign films.

Okay.

You know, this is the 60s, you know, like Bergman films and Fellini.

Yeah.

Okay.

But all those European films were done on a much smaller scale than the Hollywood movies I was used to.

Yeah.

And all of a sudden, I saw it.

This is.

This is possible.

Yes.

You can do this.

It wasn't so big.

There was overwhelming and unrealistic.

This is.

I can do it.

You can do that.

I could do that.

Okay.

And they were even doing it in other language that I do in Cajun French, just like the neighbors speak.

And, and that's what got me started.

And that's what got me started.

That's a fascinating idea, though, that it was about storytelling.

It was about storytelling, about storytelling.

And my first paid project that made it to air was for MPB, which is a half hour's, on Louisiana for the bicentennial.

Well, I was 20 years.

I didn't know my save my butt from a hole in the ground.

And, but managed to get them done, and you guys put them on the air.

And that was my beginning.

Well, that's one of the things that we do around here at Louisiana Public Broadcasting is we we are very proud of Louisiana.

We're proud of the creative people that are part of Louisiana, like you, sir, and so many other independent producers that we have helped, get their programing out to the rest of Louisiana.

Don't you think better and and career started?

Exactly.

We like to help Louisiana tell that story to to the rest of the country.

And I know a number of other projects have gone all over the nation from all over the world.

That's right.

All over the world.

And we're going to continue that.

But we can only do it with that pledge of support.

So right now, right now is a good time to do it.

You can pick up that phone.

You can call us at 888769 5000.

You can go online to lpb.org or, or you can use a QR code right there.

And it's right there on the screen.

It is.

There you go.

And you can put your smart device up there and you can just go like that.

And you can support Louisiana, Louisiana filmmakers in great Louisiana and Louisiana stories.

That's right.

And the stories of ourselves.

Exactly.

Of your neighbors, of the people around you, maybe the people across town or across the parish who you may not know.

You may not know the complexity of their lives, the interesting facets of their lives, all the all all these rituals that we may not get to see but are happening right around us.

Hope gives you a window, a window into your own, where you can see this man has a passion for what he does.

And we have a passion for Louisiana public broadcasting for bringing that, bringing those stories to the rest of the world and the rest of our state.

And we also have a great, great tradition of giving you some great thank you gifts, too.

Absolutely.

Let's take a look at those right now.

If you love films like this, become a member now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast for a $25 a month sustaining membership.

Choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bond Me mug, featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote Bag, an artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions.

LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

So some great gifts of course to go with the great programing and you can do it right now with our pledge of support.

There it is.

888769 5000 Glenda, the fine folks that are ready to take the pledge calls, they can use visa, Mastercard, American Special Discover or there is a sustaining membership.

Ask about that where a certain amount is taken out of an account every month you have to worry about.

You get the great programing here on early day and one at a time.

So I just heard that no gifts, all of that and this is a great time to do it.

This is the carpet challenge is absolutely right of arrival Martin or any company, as so proud to support LPB that they have put up a challenge that any, any gift or contribution you make now, they will match it.

They will double.

What if you put in $100?

They will put in $100.

You put in a dollar, they'll put in $2.

I mean, come on and make it $2.

It's it's it's it's a perfect way to double your money, I think is LPB is, besides all, a great program.

You you have an institution here that's building for Louisiana's future.

They're not just looking at today.

They're not just looking at tonight's ratings.

They're looking ahead.

I'm part of the faculty at LSU.

I teach screen arts, which is part of the, we teach filmmaking, and, and almost every year we send some of our students to help and to become interns and learn the business, learn about broadcast television, learn about all the aspects that television is turning into as the future rushes upon us.

Right.

And and it's invaluable, you know, and we're trying to get those kids not only learn, but to learn and fall in love and stay in this state.

We want that talent to remain here.

And it's institutions like LP that make that pass.

That is absolutely correct.

Because we believe in Louisiana, we believe in the future of Louisiana, but we can only do it with the presence of support that you folks out there, can give us.

So, I mean, he's also the number that you see on your screen right there, 888769, 5000.

I guess go other OPB org OPB that award.

Org and I want you all to.

That's right there.

Oh that's right.

Yeah, I see it I see it.

Yep, yep.

Yeah.

But your computer your your smartphone will see it even better exactly than my old guy.

So help us keep people like Glenn employed, so to speak, in the future.

That to be happy with your presence and support right now, don't worry about me.

Worry about the next generation.

There you go.

Thanks everyone.

If you love films like this, become a member now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast.

For a $25 a month sustaining membership, choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bon Me mug featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote Bag, an artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

What can I do for you?

Go.

He'll mail me a gong.

Mail.

By Van Tassel.

You say.

Repeat after me.

Easy for you.

I know my children now.

They both languages.

Some of them maybe forget Vietnamese, culture.

By now, though, you have the same class.

You are every second.

Second.

Okay, same for that.

So.

Yeah.

So we need something.

If the Viet easier separates the young kid like that, they will be Americanized.

I am Chris, my name is Angela.

Gwen.

I'm from New Orleans, Louisiana, and I am studying dental hygiene in all families of the Vietnamese people.

It's education is number one.

So anything related to their lives, they put education as a first.

How did your exam okay.

It was okay.

I didn't it was, a lot harder than last semester.

Sociology.

Natural foods and science.

I believe it's in our blood.

Forcing the young generation to be the best and in education, it's for better life for them.

I think this year I've been too lenient on myself.

But next semester, I will try a lot harder.

They came over here with nothing.

They did everything they can to try get on a boat to come over here and for us to, you know, to not take advantage of that.

Going to college, doctor, engineering, that sort of thing is this is what expected of us because of the sacrifices of the old generation.

Higher education in English doesn't necessarily mean abandoning one's parents tongue.

Bilingual children speak whichever language suits the occasion, a practice known as code switching.

I grew up code switching a lot, so and it's very beneficial because like I'm bilingual.

So I spoke a little bit in these at home mainly.

And then like when I'm outside it's easier for me to interact.

And meanwhile some whose first language was Vietnamese find their command of it slipping away.

I don't it that.

Don't like you will you all.

I'm, But.

Oh.

By your bit when they tell the game.

The game.

I know for sure that I'm losing my Vietnamese.

Because when talking to older people, I can only say, like, the simple words.

I can get a sentence out, but not a complete sentence.

This is my.

Oh my God.

And I got to say, my coding.

My mom's going to, she wakes up at five every morning.

She comes out here for at least two, three hours.

He's right here.

Usually we do over a few hundred pounds a year.

We actually sell them to the Vietnamese.

But it's around here than me.

And this is one of, things that my mom goes yearly.

Is bitter melon is like.

Or very much our culture or Vietnamese culture.

For me right now, I don't really like it that much, but I can eat it.

When I was younger, I can not go anywhere near this and go back and.

For several decades, starting at dawn every Saturday, this open air market pops up a few blocks from Mary, Queen of Vietnam church.

So.

Some come to sell crops grown in backyard gardens.

Others offer ready to eat meals.

Local cousin of the street food so famous in Vietnam.

I think I know quite a night like this is up south, so it's the only time I've done them.

You never know.

Come on.

Come back after falling off.

Is still others sell seafood a generation after fleeing Vietnam.

Many still pull their living from the sea.

But I know I'm coming up.

Oh, what a whole.

The country of Vietnam has a Mekong river run across the land.

Here in New Orleans.

We have the Mississippi River run across the land and is providing the same fishing industry is very much like Vietnam.

The second Vietnam fishing is something that most of them did in Vietnam.

And you don't have to learn the language to fish for a living.

And I do to help.

This is.

Out.

Done.

Me?

Nobody knows about affordable Brown.

No.

Mobile?

No.

We're supposed to be able to, but, we're going to do that.

My mom had to come back for me, so you didn't have to come down.

I did the there was.

And I'm.

The owner of this dock and buyer for dry winds shrimp is Theresa.

Sorry.

Theresa was also one of the boat people who fled Vietnam in the 1970s.

Look for my kids, go to school.

I go to work right away.

Yeah, I know, to back me down.

So I did not, the 117 day, my mom told me tonight my name was down with Empire.

They love me, man.

Down in America, there's a lot of opportunity for you to grow and to be success.

Grab it, use it and learn it to be success for your future.

That is a big thing.

When they accepted us as a refugee.

But we are good refugee.

We work hard to live in United States.

Theresa and the other refugees worked so hard and sacrificed so much to make things better for the next generation.

If you're the next generation that can feel like a lot of responsibility, would it be right for me to ask if there's another way to survive something like that?

For me, a filmmaker is, I wouldn't say taboo, but not recommended.

This is Andy.

We went to high school together.

He shoots, was dead.

His dad named the boat after.

No pressure it right.

Our generation, a lot of them are willing to, like, really put in the work, you know, like, this is some work you if you you fight with Mother Nature as your career and it's hard work, you know.

Yeah.

It's no less important at all than alive.

I, you know, you know, like this and.

Please.

Yes.

And I can, Oh, my.

What if it's in Vietnam?

It's a whole different story.

And you'll hear some older people would say that, particularly around discipline, if it was in Vietnam, this would not have taken place.

For 30 years in New Orleans, Vietnamese entrepreneurship manifested itself in seafood businesses, restaurants, grocery stores, nail salons.

Oh my gosh, look at this.

Even nightclub.

Then 1st August day, it all came crashing down.

We drove back.

I remember it was almost like Armageddon.

Everything was so gray and it was.

Death was everywhere.

When I went through the door, you know, I saw, there were things everywhere.

There was still water in the kitchen floor, actually, I had a little dip right in the middle, so the like a water.

When we first came to America, we didn't know we were going to stay in America or not.

You know, we may we didn't know we had to go go back to Vietnam.

So was this really unknown?

And then time kind of flew by.

But the next thing we know, 30 years later, Katrina hit and I was like, holy, like crying, like I lost and I literally lost everything.

My house was flooded and my mom is like, Cindy, it's like when we first came to America 30 years ago, they didn't have food stamps.

They didn't have FEMA.

But we we established our home here, we bought a home.

And you could do it again immediately saying, you know, we are not going to let nobody take our home away from us.

We are not waiting for the federal government to come in, not waiting for Home Depot to open up, not waiting for emergency food stamps to kick in.

I think it also helped many of our African American neighbors to come back that in term, help the entire city of New Orleans and say, we are going to rebuild.

And that's when I realized that there's so much that we can do to help our friends that don't look like us.

We had another history making vote in Saturday's election.

The first Asian American was elected to the New Orleans City Council.

Cindy Winn beat incumbent James Gray, taking 59% of the vote.

She said she was surprised.

Just call me.

What is the reaction like right here, right now?

How are you feeling?

I am feeling extremely overwhelmed.

What hit me was when my father arrived to my victory party, he was in tears.

And that moment I thought back of the time when I was on his back from Vietnam, trying to fight to get on a boat, to come over to America.

An immigrant milestone is when they begin to participate in the rituals of the host culture.

As with many things in New Orleans, the results can be startling.

Thus, an Asian American reigns as queen of an African American carnival crew, celebrating the transplanted European tradition of Mardi Gras.

Katrina really helped bring our community together.

Katrina did not discriminate based on your race, right?

It didn't say, well, we're going to skip the black communities and hit the Asian.

It's not gonna hit the Hispanics, gonna hit the white.

So everybody was in the same kind of pool.

And I think that started the integration because prior to the Katrina, we were trying to learn the language.

We were trying to learn the laws.

We're trying to establish a business.

We were trying to do all this, put our kids in school.

Many times when there's a crisis, we come together very naturally.

In New Orleans, Creole can refer to people, heritage, or most of all, cuisine.

To social scientists.

The term realization describes how two cultures blend into something new.

A process observable at a Vietnamese American wedding, the groom's family arrives at the bride's home bearing gifts.

Can I take you home with me?

What I, including an entire roast pig.

I had, like, a couple.

Of, My mom.

Help!

Wait.

And don't delay.

But, because I live at the moment, they stay home confident, plan for the day.

They.

Okay, well, we don't know it.

By day, the news that the name of culture was a comeback was soon.

Yeah.

Then go home.

Go to.

You know, you know, when.

And I'm done being done for you, I don't think.

Yeah.

Another one.

It's not like easy.

Like.

Where most of the tea ritual binds the two families.

Then the couple honors their ancestors with incense as the gathered chant, a prayer or go.

Y'all going?

I know a lot of.

The uncommon.

But then win and Q dim did not choose between a traditional wedding or something less Vietnamese.

They simply planned a day that would celebrate their bond and bring joy to those in attendance.

Cultures do not evolve according to plan.

The customs we observe, the foods we eat, how and what we celebrate.

Yes, including weddings, are the product of myriad individual decisions about which practices to adopt and how to make them our own.

Culture and duck.

Let me welcome down with you.

And we can have diploma for them from Kokomo.

No.

Somebody.

As the celebration continues, the groom's suit and bride's white western style wedding dress are once again traded for Vietnamese ally.

The couple honors their guests with ritual table visits.

And why?

I guess you can come here and bring it and enjoys weddings.

Yeah.

Your dinner.

And.

The mingling of Vietnamese and Western culture did not start in America, but rather in Vietnam's colonial past at the Tap Festival, helping fill the acres of parking lots surrounding Mary, Queen of Vietnam church are the tasty Vietnamese delicacies.

But cuisine, like everything else about culture, can have a complicated history.

The classic Vietnamese soup pho likely derives its name from Potiphar, the national dish of France.

The sandwich, called me, mixes French paté and charcuterie with flavors unknown in French cuisine.

It's built on French bread, the French bread baked from dough to which rice flour has been added.

For a minority surrounded by a dominant culture, what from their past to give up versus which traditions to continue is a never ending negotiation.

Rituals that persist are often the most elaborate and flamboyant, the ones that can seem most odd to the mainstream culture.

American people celebrate the New Year, you know, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, a certain type of meal, you know?

But with us, it's more like getting our family together, you know, reuniting our family, giving people good fortune by, giving them a little red envelopes for the kids.

So.

You.

Like Mardi Gras, which occurs in this city around the same time.

Tap.

The Lunar New Year is celebrated with both public and private festivities.

It's a lot of family now.

They do fireworks, so they burn out the old log from the previous year, and then bring the dragon in to bring new back into the home.

Just lion dancers bow to the family altar.

Then back out of the house so as not to take their good fortune with them.

You don't clean your house for three days, so that means that you can take your trash can out.

Because if you take your trash can out, don't tear.

You take in the new year.

Look out of your home.

I don't wash dishes, no washing clothes.

You got to do all that before it gets here.

The grandest local celebration of tech is the annual festival at Mary Queen of Vietnam Church entertainers fly in from as far away as California.

This year, a local performer joins them.

I was born here, and it was an Asian tradition where every Asian household have a karaoke system and you just learn off the karaoke system from there a small wedding band, singer festivals, and it got me to different states.

Like so many other aspiring singers, Jessica Hubb can cover a range of American rock and roll classics live Star City this season and yes, so what's up?

It's.

When I first started off, it was strictly just Vietnamese.

But because of what people are looking for nowadays is more of like an Asian singer who sings America music but can also entertain the Vietnamese guests as well.

She's just going.

You may listen, but whenever it's for an older group, I get super nervous.

Like so nervous because my Vietnamese is kind of like, I'm fluent.

But then I also forget some words whenever I'm on stage, so I do sometimes feel like I'm not Vietnamese enough.

I this next song that I talk about, you guys know me singing lines from the phone.

But I socialize with more American people and I adapt to their culture more because I want to be Americanized, but I also want to live the lifestyle of a Vietnamese person.

I don't ever want to lose my culture.

Meanwhile, other performers pick up the pace of rehearsals, preparing for their moment in front of the whole community.

And then you go, oh, wait.

That okay, now?

Me get that gap.

And then, then then then then then then then and then then down there and then the right moment at the top of what we like to do.

Sometimes it's like it gets the crowd hyped up a little bit.

Sean Pham and his fellow lion dancers practice every leap and spin to avoid embarrassing falls during their performance, but I just try to listen to a gentleman just like, knock it out so I can like remember the performance.

I can really only do what I can.

I can play my part and make sure I don't mess up.

I just got like, hope that everybody else don't mess it up easy.

Yeah.

And this year, the festival fashion show has a new director around middle school.

I had a friend named Anthony, and he asked me to be a part of his fashion show.

And I was, like, kind of shy, but I was like, why not?

He ended up moving to Texas, so he was like, well, you know, you're more familiar with how it is.

And the leaders that were in charge before, they were like kind of getting older, it's best to get someone young and fresh who has the experience.

The stage is set.

For.

The best.

At last, Festival weekend arrives.

Oh.

Come again.

Call me up if you don't go.

Makes final arrangements to film it.

It's important for me to do a good job on this film, about the community, about the festival.

It's important for me to do justice because I was once a performer in this festival, and every year we would prep, so we would practice over and over again just for this one event.

And, you got to do it right for them to, to show what who we really are and how much work and effort that's been put into this festival.

I want to make something that I know I'm proud of.

So the thing and made it, I don't get to say that often.

Like a lot.

I want to make something I'm proud of.

If you love films like this, become a member now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast.

For a $25 a month sustaining membership, choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bon Me mug featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote Bag, an artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

Well, thank you for joining us for this very special event.

It is a very special Louisiana Filmmakers event is being brought to you by LPB.

I'm Clay Ferreira and you're watching Mary, Queen of Vietnam.

Now we'll be joined by one of the two filmmakers, Glen Petrie, in just a moment.

But we are taking this short break now so that you can take advantage of the membership gifts that you just heard about when you become a member.

To help LBB share the stories of Louisiana you not only receive the gift of programing you are supporting, but LPB likes to offer you a little something extra at whatever membership level works for you.

All you need to do is call us at the number you see on your screen.

888769 5000.

Now you can go online to opb.org, or you can scan the QR code that's on your screen with your smart device.

And right now, we're excited to welcome award winning filmmaker Glen Petrie.

Thank you for being with us, Glen.

Always a pleasure.

Thank you.

Go.

So so tell us a little bit about this production.

Of course, you have been involved with teaching filmmaking for a long time, right?

Yeah.

I after making movies for living for 30 years, LSU came calling.

They wanted to guest lecture, which turned into a semester, which turned into a ten year gig.

Okay.

And what's great about that is you get to work with you.

We see you used you get to work with young filmmakers.

You just learning, just getting started.

And, you know, some of them just really shine from the beginning.

You can tell.

And this was a case where there was one whose name was Bao Go.

Born in Vietnam.

Okay.

Came here as a child with his parents.

And lived in that community in New Orleans East.

And it was such a window to a world, you know, because I knew filmmaking when he.

That he learned that culture more than I.

So it was a kind of combination.

It was that conversation.

Yes.

I had an objective look, and he had the insider knowledge and knew what and end and got, you know, we got to see things that the public didn't normally get to see.

That's true outside public.

And I wanted to just say that, Grant, of course, has been with Louisiana Public Broadcasting on and off for many years for he seems to say, and we are very proud of the productions that, we have distributed, that Glen has been involved with.

There are so many Louisiana stories out there that, he has been involved with, other independent producers, have been involved with, and LPB has always been part of that in helping get the good word out about Louisiana.

You need to go ahead.

Go.

Because you say distributed like it's something like you walk in and after the fact and you know, and we throw it up on the screen.

Yeah, it's these people moves in that, you know, are so many of these films that would not have gotten made or had to get made, wouldn't have gotten made on a professional scale without Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I mean, it's we turn on the TV and it's there, but it's an institution that's getting that stuff.

It's just not I mean, you've seen a lot of national stuff, but but you're also seeing Louisiana content that would not happen if this station was here and would not happen if your contributions didn't come in.

So, so important to support these people.

It absolutely is.

We want to keep more of this coming in as a matter of fact, I know we've got a lot of solutions, a generation of filmmakers.

And this is not the old guard like me.

Think of those all those voices, all that talent, all that homegrown talent.

We want to keep homegrown.

We do, through the coming years and decades and generations.

But we can only do it with your pleasure support.

So again, there's a numbers right there on your screen.

Or you can use lpb.org, or of course, you can use, you can use a QR code that's right there.

Oh, and we wanted to mention somebody very important because this is our corporate challenge break okay.

Yeah absolutely.

Right there.

What's that okay Mary Queen got carpet challenge.

Royal Martin who you probably know because there's probably some of their lumber in your house.

Yeah.

Is proud to support the programing on LP and is challenging for all of you.

That means you to donate right now and they will match dollar for dollar.

The first $1,500 called in during this program.

In effect, they will make your donation twice as good as it would have been.

So now's a good moment to pull out that wallet, make the call, go online, whatever it takes.

Okay?

And in addition to the great program that we have, we have some fantastic gifts.

Let's take a look at those right now.

If you love films like this, become a member now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast.

For a $25 a month sustaining membership, choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bond Me mug featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote Bag, an artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

Okay, so got a lot of great gifts they can have out there.

You can use your credit card or by the way, you can use that sustaining membership, or they'll automatically take a certain amount out of your bank account, and you don't have to worry about anything.

You get some great gifts and some great programs.

Getting back to your programs, of course.

You really have focused on Louisiana culture and the various subcultures without it.

This is this is such a fascinating state because it's not homogenous.

There are so many mean Cajuns and Creoles.

We've done a lot of work with that because that's sort of the best known.

But we've also had films that have aired right here in OPB dealing with the Hemi Indians, dealing with Filipino community, and Louisiana dealing with the curation community in Louisiana, and on and on and on.

And the all of those diverse cultures just add some cliche to the gumbo, but each add a flavor.

And again, the American community that settled here, you know, 50 years ago now, close to 50 years ago, have added so much to, you know, first the foodways, right.

But also, you know, more and more to just, you know, just the fabric of the community.

Exactly.

Adding more into it, so to speak.

And, and we are all building with regard to all these different cultures that come in and add to what is Louisiana.

And I know that you folks out there want to be part of this, and you want to keep those Louisiana productions coming in.

But of course, we can only do it with that type of support.

Let's talk about that corporate challenge one more time.

Again, Rachel Martin, the folks who give you the plywood that covers your walls, Rachel Martin is proud to support the programing on LP, and they are challenging all of you.

That means you, to donate right now, and they will match Dollar for dollar.

So if you send $10, they will put up $10.

You said 100.

They will put up a hundred on and off.

So then that's going to effectively double the pledge that's going to go away.

And that means that no.

Two orphan, can you double your really big oil Martin will be able to do that.

So right now call us, if you will, at 888769, 5000 going on to lpb.org.

Make QR code.

And again great gifts.

So let's take a look at those again.

If you love films like this, become a member.

Now to help LPB produce the next great story about Louisiana's diverse cultures.

We have fantastic thank you gifts available for you during this broadcast.

For a $25 a month sustaining membership, choose the Mary Queen combo that includes a Bon Me mug featuring the popular Vietnamese sandwich and its history of becoming a culinary staple.

The cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, and a Vietnamese Assorted Foods Tote bag for $10 a month.

Receive the cookbook Vietnamese Cuisine in New Orleans, highlighting favorites, a culinary tour of family traditions, festivals, and urban farms, plus delightful recipes from Vietnamese classics by family run restaurants to Asian inspired dishes created by New Orleans most well-known chefs.

Or for just $6 a month, choose the Vietnamese Assorted Foods tote bag and artfully designed cotton tote with classic Vietnamese foods and beverages.

All this, plus visions.

LPB is monthly program guide and our popular streaming service LPB passport.

I really.

Do.

When you look around in this three day festival, you see from yellow to white to black, all ethnicities and this is what the city of New Orleans is about.

It is about bringing people together.

I want to welcome you to the city.

I want to welcome you to Mary, Queen of and, and most importantly, Happy New Year to everybody.

Thank you.

Sydney.

To get the crowd going, lion dancers start things off with Sean Pham among them.

The dancers begin with the jao, a formal veneration of their audience with ritual ballads.

They collect.

As fireworks chase away evil spirits, the lions carry, look into the crowd, allowing the audience to become more than merely spectators.

As the lions retake the stage, their performance becomes more choreographed, but no less.

A fusion of ritual and entertainment.

Creates.

Their.

Intention to complete the presentation a line.

It's a bit of greenery, symbolizing prosperity.

And shares this wealth with the audience via a scroll to bless the New Year.

That's no good.

I had a couple of falls of ballet.

It's okay.

You know, it's just a performance.

You know?

I only get better through doing each and every performance.

Yeah.

The Lions will be back.

Meanwhile, other acts prepare.

Okay.

I'll have on my feet.

One for you, one for you.

Get to have fun.

It my all for you.

I've got all ready going to circulate.

I'm.

Going to take our shoes off.

Okay.

On setting up the envelopes for the love.

That's all for me.

Okay?

I don't want to go out, so thank you.

I'm raising a lot.

I want.

You.

Will these children be as completely Americanized as Mary Winwood?

Is.

Or will an afterschool activity here, performed for neighbors and strangers alike, sparked a lifelong interest in their heritage?

Every child, knowingly or not, absorbs culture from their parents.

The certain persons culture bearers are especially important in helping tradition bridge the gaps of time and distance.

They.

Appear in the work.

They call this day.

Don't overdo something to.

Yeah.

Y'all might make them stay home like no one is.

Vietnamese immigrants put down roots in America.

Music of nostalgia for the motherland eventually give way to romantic ballads.

So who do?

Sing a love song and high energy pop inside your 45.

These singers perform on a vibrant Vietnamese language circuit of festivals, nightclubs and casino.

You.

Within that world, they may aspire to stardom.

And some it.

But almost always, a choice must be made.

Whether to seek fame within the global niche of Vietnamese speakers.

Or to set sights on the wider English language audience where competition is greater and one's cultural identity made.

Fact proof limited.

Such choices confront any artist with strong ethnic roots, including filmmakers like Bono Donovan.

I don't know who can say.

This new year takes the stage.

She begins a song written in faraway Ho Chi Minh City.

John, goodbye VI and the new boy, Sam I knew, I knew good.

Yeah.

It's a song that features its chorus in English.

Tell me when you tell me why.

Blurring lines between East and West, old and new, is not limited to professional entertainers.

I just, I this this is just a render all you need.

Just what I need.

That's how you've up.

I your okay.

Yeah.

I'll get him on the.

Yeah.

I'm gonna have one more singer ceremony, one more singer and then we go over to my home.

No, y'all get your I you to sign.

These fan dancers wear the traditional Aaliyah but choreograph their folkloric dance to modern.

The.

You know.

The what?

I did learn that you're.

Yes.

He got.

Your name.

How did I do today to get just know.

Good.

I see your shows.

I think they might jump in me.

But who did you put?

Come on.

When Jessica takes the stage, she sings lyrics she carefully practiced in order to pronounce every word correctly to the government.

Do you think voice should?

Yet this song was not originally Vietnamese.

A French disco tune from the 1980s, it was a top ten hit in Europe long before Jessica was born.

I want you to take a good listen to what was to come.

With its lyrics translated, Jessica makes it her own.

In Japan, not only do I sing for young generation, I sing for the older generation too.

And when it's mixed, I feel like it's kind of better for me.

But whenever it's more for an older group, I get super nervous.

My music, it brings people together.

The more I sang, the more I felt the energy of the crowd.

How we live our lives is the product of our origins and circumstances, yes, but also of our choices, which vary by person, by day, by move.

They can do it.

Cool things.

Each of these young women may have a different reason for going on stage.

The thrill of the spotlight, the rush of physical activity, the joy of artistic expression.

Maybe they joined just to spend time with their friends, or to placate insistent parents who.

But after this performance, demanding so many hours preparation and rewarded with applause from their community.

With their motives matter to whether others follow in their footsteps.

Assimilation is when a minority culture is absorbed into the mainstream.

Acculturation is when that minority instead refuses to completely surrender their heritage.

They borrow from the ways of their neighbors, but also give back their culture changes but does not disappear.

Assimilation or acculturation, which will dominate the future for the community around Mary, Queen of Vietnam.

From a festival booth, Teresa Size sells spring rolls made delicious with shrimp caught by hard working fishermen.

As a first generation is replaced by children and grandchildren without memories of the motherland who never experienced the hardships of the boat, people, what becomes of the legendary Vietnamese American work ethic, sense of family duty, the fabled entrepreneurship and dauntless drive in?

Today they're just going to stand there, and then I'm going to tell you, Ma, like, oh, it's time to come out and just walk out, okay, check these out corner.

All the signs.

Maybe I can like co-leader.

Maybe I wouldn't mind that.

But being in charge of everything, I don't think I can manage that.

I might not come.

I usually ask kids that have seen the fashion show and really enjoy it and like, compliment me about it.

You become a. Yeah, the hardest part is honestly the music and I'm usually there telling them when to walk, how long the pose like when they should come out, transitions, stuff like that.

And then my role in the festival, when I first started, I would go models, and then the person in charge told me that it was my turn to take on the role as leader is everyone was going, oh God, we're going to be getting on very shortly.

So just remember to take your time walking.

I know it's really scary and it's like a lot of people, but it's going to go by really quick thanks to the OGs and then thanks to the new ones.

So yeah, thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, wait.

I'll start right here and go in between the two shirts.

But fashion show is sort of in its own world.

This modern show begin to walk on the big stage with big lights in everything in the crowd, cheering them on.

But in the crowd.

Or like the older people as well, you get to see what the new generation is like.

Okay?

Every community, every culture wants to keep the culture going for the next generations.

But at the same time, this whole world thing is outdated.

To the newer generation, I just want to say that I am proud of you and to the older generation.

Thank you.

45 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese asylum seekers arrived on America's shores, traumatized and destitute of a different race than most Americans.

Speaking an unfamiliar language, they sought, above all, a new safe home for their families.

Here, in the shadow of Mary, Queen of Vietnam.

This is how far some of those families have come.

But it's only a pause in their journey.

A pause to celebrate ten the New Year.

When the lion dancers again perform for the hometown crowd, Sean Pham does not fall a second time.

We.

Do.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

This is.