One Picture Changed the Course of the Vietnam War. But Who Really Took It?

It was Terri who found Bao, and that’s when we started talking to him about taking this on. And I’ll let Bao take it from there.

Bao, as a Vietnamese American yourself, what sense of responsibility did you feel taking on this project? Why did it feel important for you to move forward with it?

Bao Nguyen: Honestly, when I first heard the story, I thought it was so unbelievable. The narrative of Nick taking the photograph has been so present in my community for so long.

It was something that, honestly, I revered as part of the achievements of the Vietnamese American community—that this young Vietnamese photographer had taken this photograph that changed the course of the war, that won a Pulitzer Prize, that won a World Press Photo Award. And so I didn’t know if I wanted to be the person that possibly disrupts that narrative, just at the beginning of the conversation.

As I got to learn more about what Terri, Fiona, and Gary had uncovered and their search for the stringer who was potentially at that time another Vietnamese American photographer. That changed my hesitation a bit because there’s not that many Vietnamese stories that actually I get approached with to be honest.

And as a Vietnamese American filmmaker who has had the ability to have my films play to a wider audience and platform, I knew that I had a certain responsibility to explore this story more—especially because, potentially, another Vietnamese American had been denied their agency to tell their story for 53 years.

And so that really dawned on me that, okay, instead of it being a burden or even a responsibility, it was a privilege, because I was given this opportunity to tell a story that was so impactful. And also I knew that I would try my best to handle it with a lot of empathy and sensitivity, given how much it would disrupt my community.

Absolutely. Each of you had very specific challenges that I’m curious about. Bao, as you came onto the project with the investigation already underway, how difficult was it to figure out how to tell this story on film in terms of the entire history, the ongoing reporting, and everything that was being uncovered?

And then for you, Gary, as someone who had never made a film before, you seemed very comfortable on camera, and I’m curious if there were any challenges there for you in terms of being that guide for the viewer through the world.

Nguyen: I should say Gary was very reluctant to be a presence on camera. He’s been behind the camera for so many decades, but I knew that as the investigation was unfolding, the way that the secrets and mysteries were unraveling, that we needed someone who was doing it, who was actually investigating to take us on this journey.