Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, May 17: OPERATION POPCORN
David Grabias’ investigation of conspiracy and arms dealing among a refugee community had its world premiere at Minneapolis-St Paul last year. Screenings have followed at Big Sky, Kansas City, CAAMfest, Hawaii, and San Diego Asian fests, among others. Its broadcast now is tied to Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Recruited by the CIA to assist the United States against North Vietnam, the Hmong people of Laos found themselves escaping communist persecution by becoming refugees in America in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Decades later, the close-knit community learns about continued human rights abuses against their people back in Laos, inspiring Hmong-Americans such as Locha Thao to become activists. Grabias focuses on a strange episode in which Thao works with mysterious American partners to procure arms in the hopes of overthrowing the communist Lao government – despite the apparent objections of venerated American-based Hmong leaders like General Vang Pao. Unfortunately, Grabias fails to bring much clarity or a compelling sense of storytelling to the proceedings – overcomplicating an already fuzzy story by fleetingly introducing distracting, unrelated elements that cast further doubt upon his main subject’s trustworthiness – resulting in an unsatisfying project as a whole.
what (not) to doc 