Long before Hong Kong declared itself the ‘first port of asylum’ for Vietnamese refugees in 1979, tens of thousands of Vietnamese had already been flocking to the city by cargo ships in the four years prior. Ann Hui made her first creative endeavour to chronicle this chapter of Hong Kong’s history with acute insights in the TV drama Below the Lion Rock: The Boy from Vietnam. Subsequently, as Vietnamese migrants became an increasingly contentious issue in Hong Kong, Hui directed two more films on the same topic, The Story of Woo Viet and Boat People. Collectively, these three works became known as the Vietnam Trilogy, marking the stellar rise of Hui’s filming career.
Following Ah Man’s arrival in Hong Kong as a stowaway, the Vietnamese teenager seeks out his cousin for help to earn a living. Thereafter he becomes an apprentice with a compatriot Vietnamese painter. One day, Ah Man accidentally discovers his cousin’s disgraceful secret, while the painter faces deportation for his own illegal residency status. The Boy from Vietnam marked the debut of Ann Hui’s Vietnam Trilogy.
Wu Viet is a Vietnamese refugee who wants to leave his country behind and start over in the United States. First, he must make his way to Hong Kong, but as he passes through Thailand, he meets a beautiful woman who travels with him. Wu and his new love end up in a refugee camp in Thailand, where they discover many of their countrymen are disappearing under mysterious circumstances. As Wu tries to learn the truth about what's happening, he discovers his life is in danger, and he must flee to the Philippines for safety.
A Japanese photojournalist revisits Vietnam after the liberation to document the nation, and begins following and documenting the young children from a poor Vietnamese family.
