In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, millions of Vietnamese immigrants fled their beloved country to rebuild their lives all over the world. Nearly fifty years later, hundreds of children of these refugees have permanently returned to the motherland out of a curiosity and desire to experience the current country that their parents still mourn. 

Director Biography - Fred Le

Fred Le is a filmmaker and standup comedian from California's Bay Area, who received his BA from UC Santa Cruz's Film & Digital Media program. A proud second-generation Vietnamese immigrant, he focuses his creative output on exploration and celebration of his cultural identity. His debut feature documentary The Empathizer made its world premiere at the Viet Film Fest in October 2024, where it earned a nomination for Best Feature of the festival.

Le co-created the all-Vietnamese standup showcase Embarrassed by Night which continues to tour around California and has been highlighted on Metro Silicon Valley, Voice of America, and Little Saigon TV. As a performer, he's earned featured appearances at prestigious festivals such as San Francisco Sketchfest, Treefort, and Boom Chicago! in Amsterdam.

Director Statement

As a 30th birthday present to myself, I took a vacation to Vietnam to see it for the first time in my life, a forbidden country that my refugee parents insisted was still poor and corrupt. That awesome trip inspired a solo three-year stay in the country that my had mother left by boat in 1981, and to this day still hasn't even considered visiting. All the subjects in our documentary found their own reasons to "return" to the country they were "supposed" to be born in, the homeland that their parents had fled for good. This film, originally meant to be a breezy YouTube-destined short, is an exploration of the confusion and cognitive dissonance prevalent in the refugee experience.

I hope that as you enjoy our film on the year marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, you will embrace this confusion and perhaps be inspired examine your own relationship with generational trauma. The Empathizer, its title already a misnomer, has been described by viewers as "challenging if entertaining," and though that probably wasn't meant as a compliment, I absolutely take it as one.