Dallas
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Violet Crown–Dallas
3699 McKinney Ave.
Free parking available in the garage located next to the cinema.

This summer, Humanities Texas is conducting two free screenings of the 2019 documentary Seadrift in DFW. This film chronicles the racial tensions that divided a small town in the early days of Vietnamese refugee arrival on the Texas Gulf Coast and the possibility of reconciliation in the aftermath of violence. Each screening will be followed by an audience talkback session with director Tim Tsai.

Our Dallas screening will be held on Tuesday, July 30th from 7-9pm at the Violet Crown Cinema—Dallas and our Fort Worth screening will be held on Wednesday, July 31st from 7-9 pm at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Doors open at both locations at 6:30, and parking will be free. More information about the screening series can be found on our website. We hope to see you there!

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.