The Harvest of My Lai

In April 1975 -- despite a ceasefire agreement -- the North Vietnamese communists took Saigon and the world by surprise, mounting an offensive that ousted the South Vietnamese government. This enlightening documentary recounts the last two years of America's military engagement in the country and the U.S. role in Saigon's fall. Interviews with former National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese officers provide context.

The free, almost naive view from the perspective of a child puts the "68ers" in a new, illuminating light in the anniversary year 2008. The film is a provocative reckoning with the ideological upbringing that seemed so progressive and yet was suffocated by the children's desire to finally grow up. With an ironic eye and a feuilletonistic style, author Richard David Precht and Cologne documentary film director André Schäfer trace a childhood in the West German provinces - and place the major events of those years in completely different, smaller and very private contexts.

"From Mexico to Vietnam: A Chicano Story" is an inspiring documentary that chronicles the life of Jesus S. Duran, a Mexican immigrant who became a decorated U.S. Army soldier during the Vietnam War. Born in Juarez, Mexico, Duran moved to the United States as a child and enlisted in the Army in 1968. On April 10, 1969, while serving as an M-60 machine gunner with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), he displayed extraordinary bravery by rescuing several wounded comrades during an intense enemy ambush in Tay Ninh, Vietnam. His valorous actions led to a posthumous Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama. Directed by Andrés Gallegos, the film delves into Duran's personal journey, his family's migration from Mexico, and the broader impact of the Vietnam War on the Chicano and Latino communities.

More than a dozen Vietnam War veterans from the central Illinois area recount their tours of duty including ground and air combat, the fighting environment, their living conditions, coping with the loss of friends and health issues including the effects of Agent Orange. They also reflect on the reception they received upon returning home and their opinions of the war.

Tom Savini is one of the greatest special effects legends in the history of cinema, but little is known about his personal life until now. For the first time ever a feature length film has covered not only Tom's amazing career spanning over four decades, but his personal life as well.

A documentary-short on the life of Ira Sanders, a commodity trader turned educator whose first-hand experiences on 9/11 greatly influence his life.

At the risk of a 5-year prison term, Francesco Da Vinci struggles with his Virginia draft board to be recognized as a sincere conscientious objector to the Vietnam war.

1981. The shabby treatment of returning combat soldiers from Vietnam is investigated.

This documentary interviews young people on war, religion, music, sex, and other topics. Part of NBC's Experiment in Television.

Mondo-style docudrama about a war correspondent who comes back home and has a spiritual crisis about his own mortality. Surreal fantasy sequences are mixed with graphic real autopsy footage.

Over the period of 25 years the director met General Võ Nguyên Giáp, a legendary hero of Vietnam’s independence wars, a number of times. She was the first American who entered the home of the “Red Napoleon”. The fruit of this friendship is a film, personal and politically involved at the same time. Travelling across the country and talking to important figures as well as ordinary people, the director finds out more about her roots and offers the audience a unique perspective on Vietnam’s present and past.

During the Vietnam War, the US bombed Laos more heavily than any other country had been bombed before. Today, the Lao people live among, and risk their lives to clear, over 80 million unexploded bombs on their doorsteps. With great beauty and empathy, this documentary reveals the unbelievable stories of the men and women at the forefront of this monumental task.

Sir! No Sir! is a documentary film about the anti-war movement within the ranks of the United States Military during the Vietnam War. It consists in part of interviews with Vietnam veterans explaining the reasons they protested the war or even defected. The film tells the story of how, from the very start of the war, there was resentment within the ranks over the difference between the conflict in Vietnam and the "good wars" that their fathers had fought. Over time, it became apparent that so many were opposed to the war that they could speak of a movement.

A short documentary that explores a blue-collar community’s growing unease with the Vietnam War. It was produced in response to President Nixon’s famous November, 1969 speech when he contrasted the unlawful and vocal anti-war protesters to the respectful “silent majority” who were in favor of remaining in Vietnam to fight communism. This film explores the thoughts and opinions of the “silent majority” represented by the folks living in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago.

In mid-1971, French television organized a press conference in both Paris and Washington, with 20 journalists participating—10 of them, mostly American, defending the U.S. stance, while the other 10, mostly French, remained neutral. Madam Bình sat alone among these formidable journalists, under bright lights, calmly and confidently responding with strength yet courtesy, clearly expressing her goodwill in seeking a political solution to end the war. Her image at that moment led people to metaphorically compare it to "dancing among wolves."

Born a conjoined twin due to the effects of Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War, Duc Nguyen, now a father and husband, seeks the truth about his past and contemplates the future.

Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Before becoming a film critic, then a maker mainly of sharply engaged documentaries, usually in tandem with her late husband Lino Del Fra, Cécilia Mangini was a photographer. Taking pictures was something she did all her life, alongside whatever else she was working on. In 1965 Mangini and Del Fra went to war-torn Vietnam to make a film they never finished. More than half a century later, she returned to these images, moving and still, some of which she found again by accident.

The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.

A portrait of the diverse opinions of Chicagoans as they reflect on the general state of affairs in America, the war in Vietnam, social and racial conflict, freedom and personal liberty, happiness, and social justice. Ratamata was made by future Tom Palazzolo collaborator Kreines when he was 16 years old, and was an award winner at the Young Chicago Filmmakers Festival.