Film Screenings

Between April and July 2024, Humanities Texas held six screenings of the award-winning documentary film Seadrift in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston, and Houston. Following each screening, the film’s director, Tim Tsai, responded to questions from the audience.

After the fall of Saigon, millions of Vietnamese "boat people" escaped their homeland by sea in a desperate attempt to find refuge. Many sought to build new lives along the Gulf Coast, finding available work and a favorable climate comparable to coast-rich, subtropical Vietnam. But the sudden influx of Vietnamese led to strained tensions in many fishing communities. In 1979, a fatal shooting in the small Texas fishing village of Seadrift ignited a maelstrom of hostilities against Vietnamese refugees along the Gulf Coast.

What really happened during this conflict, which was rife with rumors and false assumptions? How does a community recover and heal after a deep rift that erupted in violence? Seadrift examines this turbulent yet little-seen chapter of American history and explores the consequences that continue to reverberate today.