Episode Details

In this episode, Ken sits down with News & Documentary Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and researcher Doan Huang Curtis.

Doan reflects on her recent Emmy win for her work on Netflix’s docuseries Turning Point: The Vietnam War. She breaks down the historical research process—from analyzing secret presidential tape recordings to reviewing government propaganda reels from both North and South Vietnam.

Doan opens up about navigating her family's complex war legacy as a "daughter of the South" whose father was a neutralist, one uncle fought for the North at Điện Biên Phủ, and another provided covert humanitarian aid to the National Liberation Front. She shares behind-the-scenes stories of interviewing former Viet Cong fighters, the emotional experience of accepting her Emmy in a custom Áo Dài funded by Fall of Saigon U.S. Marines, and her upcoming documentary America 1975, which explores implicit memory, lingering PTSD, and healing 50 years after the war.

Inside the Episode

Uncovering Secret Tapes in Turning Point: Examining newly released presidential audio recordings (Kennedy, Nixon, Kissinger) that exposed hidden political calculations and government misdirection.

A Family Divided by Ideology: How growing up with family members on opposing sides of the war informed Doan’s balanced, empathetic approach to documentary research.

Humanizing All Sides of Conflict: Confronting personal fear while interviewing former North Vietnamese generals and teenage NLF fighters to record their lived experiences.

The Emmy Win & The U.S. Marines: The story of how a group of Fall of Saigon U.S. Marines crowdfunded Doan’s travel and Áo Dài for the Emmy ceremony in New York.

Implicit vs. Explicit Refugee Memory: Analyzing how childhood evacuees process trauma—contrasting direct memories (explicit) with subconscious emotional imprints (implicit).

America 1975 & The Search for Closure: Previewing Doan’s third Fall of Saigon film, focusing on the lasting psychological impact on both U.S. Marines and Vietnamese refugees 50 years later.

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Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen

Visit https://www.vietnamstorybank.com/ today for more information!