Italiano
An army of ghosts in Vietnam-era fatigues and old weapons, a guerrilla of mutilated old men and young children living on raw roots, appear like an hallucination when David Beriain finds them in the middle of the Laotian jungle. They call themselves the CIA´s forgotten army and their story goes back in time 1965. The world´s eyes are focused in Vietnam war, but the US is fighting another conflict in the area not so many people know about; Laos, the so called CIA´s secret war, the biggest clandestine operation in the Agency´s history. Unable to put footprint in Laos, they use proxy forces. the Hmong, hilltribe people who had a reputation of tough fighters. Coordinated by CIA paramilitary operators and outnumbered by the North Vietnamese Army, the Hmong managed to stop the Communist offensives, disrupt the Vietcong supply routes and rescue dozens of downed American pilots. They did all of this at a huge prize, dying by the thousands. In 1975, with the US out of Vietnam and the fall of Saigon, the destiny of the Hmong was sealed. The communist forces not only triumphed in Vietnam but also in Laos. The Hmong represented the essence of counter-revolution and imperialism and the new government launched a crackdown which last until today. In the chaos that overcame, the US only could evacuate some of the Hmong who had been fighting, alongside with them. Several thousand avoided the crackdown hiding in the jungle where they have been fighting until today. For them, Vietnam war is still going on.
FILM CREW / CREDITS
Directed by: David Beriain
Screenplay: Fernando Ureña
Production: DMAX Espana
Producers: Lucía Zapata, Kiotto García, Rosaura Romero, Pilar Marina
Editing: Alberto G. Casanovas
Director of photography: Sergio Caro
Running time: 100’
Country: Spagna
Year: 2016
” Shooting this film was like being suddenly in ” Apocalypse Now . ” I traveled the world for my documentary and I saw a thousand extreme situations but I ‘ve never had to tell stories of people who survive in such at limit conditions.”
(David Beriain)