HOULTON — The Maine Humanities Council, in conjunction with Maine Public Broadcasting Network, is offering a free preview showing of the film “The Last Days in Vietnam” at the Temple Theatre on Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m.
The award-winning documentary explores the moral dilemma faced by American officers on the ground as U.S. troops evacuated Saigon. The Oscar-nominated documentary film Last Days in Vietnam, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy, will be screened for free across the state of Maine before its broadcast date of April 28, on MPBN television, as part of the series American Experience.
“It is a really compelling film that raises important issues still very relevant today,” said Lizz Sinclair, director of programs for the Maine Humanities Council. “It shows officers on the ground grappling with the moral question faced as U.S. troops were evacuated from Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. ‘Do they follow official policy and evacuate U.S. citizens and their dependents only, or ignore their orders and save their allies —Vietnamese men, women and children- who might be killed or imprisoned by the advancing North Vietnamese army?’ At the risk of their careers and possible courts-martial, a handful of individuals took matters into their own hands.”
There will be a facilitated discussion after each viewing. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance by going to www.MPBN.net.
