Women Of Vietnam... Disability In Motion

Stories of Pride and Resilience
When an American bomb fell on the house of Ms. Tran Thi Be in 1972, killing her mother and her siblings, her journey through life was radically changed. Today, a single mother of a three year old daughter, Be walks proudly on her artificial legs and has recently starred in a Vietnamese feature film and is widely recognized throughout the country.

Vietnam is an ancient culture. Poor and largely agrarian, the social values of the country have mostly pointed to that of a male dominated society in which the identity of women has been largely that of traditional roles focusing on family, child rearing and working the land; a social identity that would not normally be receptive to the challenges of a woman with a disability. Tran Thi Be however is emblematic of a new generation of disabled women in Vietnam whose voices are only just beginning to be heard. Amidst the dizzying pace of economic development and industrial growth in contemporary Indochina, the disability community and particularly women with disabilities, have begun a quiet revolution for recognition, self-determination and fundamental rights.

"Women of Vietnam... Disability In Motion" tells the story of three remarkable women who face physical adversity and stigma and have come to challenge their own culture about the very notion of what it means to be a woman. Nguyen Thi Bao is a wife and mother in her early forties who runs a successful photography business with her husband in Ho Chi Minh City as she dodges cars and mopeds in her wheelchair. Her strength, pride and determination forge her identity as a proud contributor to a rapidly changing society though she recognizes the prejudices around her. "A large number of men in Vietnam don't consider disabled women to be equal to healthy women", she says. Nguyen Thi Hai is a single mother in her thirties who lives in a remote village in central Vietnam with her mother and child. Shy and quiet, she patiently weaves baskets to help support her family as she struggles to move in and around her small home without the benefit of a wheelchair despite the challenges polio has left her. She has no misconceptions about the double meaning of being both disabled and a single mother in rural Vietnam: "Everyone encourages disabled women to have a child. Normal women who have no husband but have children will be condemned and denigrated." And Tran Thi Be, smiling, focused and resourceful cooks dinner for her daughter in their small concrete dwelling in her proud and rugged community of Quang Tri after a very long day running her shop selling goods to university students. Each of these women represent a different geographical area of Vietnam; each of them responds to a different set of socio-economic conditions from which they emerge and each of them possesses a unique set of skills which have aided them in their personal growth.

While these women are distinct in their immediate environments they are at the same time united through their common struggle of living in a society which has defined to them how women should be, for as these women struggle with economic hardship so common to the developing world they also fight against cultural prejudices which define women as marginalized and people with disabilities as largely irrelevant. This perception of the disabled as irrelevant becomes the central battle for these three women as they manifest their dignity through their work, their family and their very identity as women with disabilities. This one hour documentary takes us on a journey to Vietnam and reveals a unique world of struggle and achievement that has never been seen before by western media.

"Women of Vietnam" will be a powerful, captivating and character-driven exploration into the growing phenomenon of global disability culture in the developing world. As women in Canada, the United States and around the world in every country and every culture claim their human rights, their selfrespect and their fundamental belief in who they are, "Women of Vietnam" reflects this momentum offering a fascinating microcosm of struggle and self-respect as found in both an ancient and rapidly evolving culture. These three women speak to the hopes and ambitions of women everywhere. Their stories of pride and resilience offer an important opportunity for those in the industrialized world to reinforce and reaffirm their own values, struggles and hard fought victories. Weaving first person narratives of the three women to be featured in the film together with interviews of disabled and nondisabled women in leadership roles throughout the country, "Women of Vietnam" will be a moving and visually compelling documentary on the nature of identity, culture and human dignity in the context of a rapidly changing economy and social system in post-war Vietnam.

"Women of Vietnam" fills a particular niche in demonstrating the empowerment of these individuals in the global human rights movement. Rarely has a film moved beyond the clichés of disability and discrimination to provide audiences with a rich and complex portrait of an evolving and powerful cultural dynamic. As documentary films on disability and human rights continue to emerge at a rapid pace, "Women of Vietnam" will no doubt become essential viewing.

Preliminary research regarding these women has already been completed in Vietnam representing unprecedented access to this community which has only come about through delicate negotiations between the filmmaker, The National Coordinating Council on Disability in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As the film is already in development, funding is currently being sought to facilitate development into production.

As a 'Person With A Disability' himself, director Lawrence Shapiro brings unique perspective, real passion and a genuine sensitivity to this stunning visual exploration into global disability culture. The women to be featured in the documentary have all expressed a genuine interest in the completion of this project and have invested their trust in the filmmaker to tell this very human story of universal appeal.

50 min/Colour/DV

About the filmmaker
Lawrence Shapiro received his film training at Vancouver Film School in Vancouver, Canada and has worked extensively in Vietnam for many years as an educator, researcher and overseas development worker. In addition to his working ability in spoken and written Vietnamese, he is also a published researcher in both South East Asian and Disability Studies in North America.

Contact Information
Lawrence Shapiro
1630 West 1st Street Suite 404
Vancouver
British Columbia
V6J 1G1
CANADA
Telephone: (604) 737-0937
E-mail: lawrenceshapiro@shaw.ca

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