"On Healing Land, Birds Perch" is a short documentary that tells the remarkable stories behind one of the most iconic photos in history, while acting as a portal into the “varied carols,” to borrow from Walt Whitman, of trauma and the American journey.
This is the first documentary, from a Vietnamese born filmmaker that explores the continuing aftershocks of the Vietnam War from the perspectives of both sides of the war: North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese including Vietnamese Americans alive today. The story is told through the iconic Pulitzer winning photo of General Loan shooting a Vietcong, Captain Nguyen Van Lem in the head, two days after the 1968 Tet Offensive.
Details on Attending
Where & When
Thursday, May 22, 2025: Ford Presidential Museum, 303 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Wednesday, May 21, 2025: Ford Presidential Library, 1000 Beal Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Program Begins: 6:30 p.m.
Program Supporters
Thank you to the following supporters who are helping bring this event to Grand Rapids:
Naja is the Co-Founder of Gamechangers 2.0, a for-profit film fund that supports women filmmakers including women filmmakers of color.
She has worked in the arts and media world since 1997. She is passionate about film and how the power of media startups, when combined with social entrepreneurism, can create transformative change. She believes in film as a means to affect social change.
