< Back to main Festival page

In a bright and spacious building, a man embraces another man. The man getting held is crying.

Child of Dust Dziecko z pyłu

  Weronika Mliczewska  |  Poland, Vietnam, Sweden, Czech Republic

This heartfelt and intimate documentary follows the extraordinary, emotional journey of Sang, a 55-year-old Vietnamese man who always dreamed of meeting his father, an American soldier. Among the thousands of “Amerasian” children born during the Vietnam War derogatorily known as “children of dust,” Sang has wrestled with his divided identity for the entirety of his life. But when he takes part in a genetic program to identify his birth father, he finally gets a chance to be reunited with his long-lost parent in hopes of becoming whole.

Sensitive and deeply moving, Child of Dust follows Sang as he confronts his troubles at home and his long-held personal wounds before venturing to the United States to meet a family he’s never known. Attuned to the complexities of both Sang and his American relations, the film charts their complicated reunion and the surprising paths they take upon encountering one another. It’s a profoundly humanist portrait of the painful legacy of the Vietnam War, five decades on.

 Vietnamese, English 

 92 minutes

Screenings & Events

There are currently no upcoming screenings of this film.

Media

Film Credits

  •   Weronika Mliczewska, Bao Nguyen, Chi-Minh De Leo, Michal Sikora, Andrzej Łucjanek, Antonio Russo Merenda
  •   Weronika Mliczewska
  •   Marcin Sucharski PSM, Mateusz Romaszkan
  •   Mikael Lypinski
  •   Sang Ngo Tranh, Nelson Torres
  •   Joaquin Garcia
  •   Ya Man Studio SP, Fixa Film, Clubhouse Films, Ginestra Film, Lonely Production
  •   https://www.yamanstudio.com/services

Sponsors

Program Partner

Logo: WTTW (2019)

Program Patron

Cynthia Stone Raskin

You might also enjoy...

An older man in a dark tank top sits outdoors, gently holding a white stork against his side. His hand is extended, offering food to the bird, while a wooden bench and orange net rest nearby in the background.

The Tale of Silyan

Tamara Kotevska | North Macedonia

From the Oscar-nominated director of Honeyland comes a heartwarming story of family, storks, and sustainability in North Macedonia.

A bearded man sits on a rock playing an accordion, a graffitied wall and trees behind him.

Celtic Utopia

Dennis Harvey, Lars Lovén | Sweden, Ireland

A wry portrait of a new wave of Irish folk musicians unafraid to confront their country’s colonial and conservative past.

In black and white, a man stands at a podium wearing a knit cap and a shirt with a graphic of a raised fist and the words “Black Power.” He leans into the microphone, flanked by two men on either side, with books titled Black Poetry and Black Pride displayed prominently in front.

True North

Michèle Stephenson | U.S., Canada

Focusing on the 1969 student protests at Montreal’s Concordia University, this powerful film confronts the buried legacy of racism in Canada.

Tickets on sale now!

See your most-anticipated screenings at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival.

GET YOUR TICKETS
close-link
Scroll to Top