Schedule

Tuesday, April 16, 2024
7 p.m. Film Screening
8:15 p.m. Director Talk and Audience Q&A

After the fall of Saigon, millions of Vietnamese people escaped their homeland by sea in a desperate attempt to find refuge. Many sought to build new lives along the Gulf Coast, where they found work and a favorable climate comparable to the coast-rich, subtropical Vietnam. But the sudden influx of Vietnamese families and workers led to strained tensions in many fishing communities, culminating in a 1979 fatal shooting in the small Texas fishing town of Seadrift, which ignited a maelstrom of hostilities against Vietnamese people along the Gulf Coast.

Against the backdrop of this turbulent yet little-seen chapter of American history, the documentary Seadrift explores the conflict — probing how a community recovers and heals after a deep rift erupting in violence — and examines the consequences that continue to reverberate today. Join Humanities Texas and Asia Society Texas for a screening of the award-winning documentary and a Q&A with director Tim Tsai, as part of a series of five screenings around the Lone Star State.

Seadrift
United States, 2019, 68 minutes
Director: Tim Tsai | Language: English

About the Director

Tim Tsai produced and directed KLRU’s short documentary series Austin Revealed: Pioneers from the East, which profiles some of the earliest Chinese American families to settle in Central Texas. His editorial work includes Yakona (SXSW 2014 Audience Award), a hybrid “pure cinema” film about the San Marcos river, distributed on Sundance Now. He holds an MFA in film and video production from The University of Texas at Austin, is the former executive director of the Austin Asian American Film Festival, and is a Firelight Media Documentary Labs alum. His first documentary feature Seadrift premiered at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS. He is currently based in the Central Valley in California.

Education and Outreach programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by AARP. Generous funding also provided by Asia Chemical Corporation, and Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas). Free Thursday exhibition admission presented by Regions Bank. Additional support is provided by Cathay Bank Foundation, the George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, and the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming and exhibitions to Asia Society Texas.

 Presenting Sponsor

Additional Support

Presenting Program Partner

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.