When I first encountered the events that underpin THE STRINGER, I was profoundly shaken. I am drawn to stories that unsettle – stories that challenge inherited narratives and compel us to confront uncomfortable truths. This film is one such confrontation. It invites us to reckon with history’s blind spots and the voices long ignored.
From the beginning, this film was never about accolades – especially from institutions that have historically excluded storytellers from the Global South and communities of color. As the son of Vietnamese refugees, I didn’t approach this project to discredit or assign blame, but to expand the narrative. THE STRINGER is about making space – space for individuals to share their lived experiences, especially those who have been denied that space for far too long. This includes a generation of Vietnamese people whose voices have been marginalized in the global retelling of a war fought on their own land.
One such figure is a man whose quiet life belies the history he carries. His memories, shaped by war, photography, and silence, reflect the experiences of so many whose stories have never fully been told. He serves as a reminder that history is not only what is recorded, but what is overlooked – and that even in the margins, truth endures, waiting to be heard.
As activist and actress America Ferrera once said, the phrase “giving voice to the voiceless” is flawed – these voices were never voiceless, only unheard. That idea forms the backbone of my work on this film. For me, documentary filmmaking is, at its core, an act of reclamation. In telling this story, I do not seek to erase others, but to include those left out. I believe in the power of stories to restore dignity, reexamine legacy, and create a fuller, more honest portrait of the past. In the end, the team of journalists we follow in the film – Gary Knight, Fiona Turner, Terri Lichstein, and Lê Văn – have long operated in pursuit of the truth. Their careful, years-long investigation was driven not by confrontation, but by a desire for clarity and accountability. The virtue of that pursuit matters. And the truth still matters.
Bao Nguyen,
Director, The Stringer
THE STRINGER
DIRECTOR
Bao Nguyen
PRODUCERS
Fiona Turner, Terri Lichstein
LINE PRODUCER
Jenni Trang Lê
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Ava Romero
EDITOR
Graham Taylor
CINEMATOGRAPHERS
Andrew Yuti Truong, Bao Nguyen, Ray Lavers
REPORTED BY
Fiona Turner
Terri Lichstein
Lê Vân
and Gary Knight
THE STRINGER, a documentary film by Vietnamese American director Bao Nguyen, was produced and reported by The VII Foundation with production partners XRM Media. It premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and with 250 press reviews and stories, it is one of the most reviewed films in the festival’s history.
When a whistleblower comes forward with a shocking admission, The VII Foundation Executive Director Gary Knight and a small team of award-winning journalists embark on an intricate journey of truth-seeking. A two-year investigation uncovers a scandal behind the taking of one of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century — the “napalm girl.” A fifty-year-old narrative is upturned, and decades of secrets are unraveled in the search for justice for a man known only as “the stringer.” Within the film’s investigation, the culture of the commonplace exploitation of freelance and local journalists in war reporting is exposed.
“Over the past two years, I have been working with a team of journalists at The VII Foundation and in Vietnam on an investigation into the veracity of the authorship of one of the most iconic images of the 20th century, or indeed, of any century. That investigation was documented by the Vietnamese American film director Bao Nguyen.”
“What we uncovered speaks to the heart of what is most important in our profession. The film grapples with questions of authorship, racial injustice, and journalistic ethics while shining a light on the fundamental yet often unrecognized contributions of local freelancers who provide the information we need to understand how events worldwide impact us all.
“This is a story that many people in our profession did not want told, and some of them continue to go to great lengths to make sure it isn’t told. But regardless of the passage of time and however inconvenient it might be, nothing should stall the pursuit of truth in journalism because we are obliged to hold ourselves to account if we seek to hold everyone else to account. There is an old adage that journalism is ‘the first draft of history’, sometimes it takes a second draft to set the record straight.
“As one of the legendary Vietnamese journalists we spoke to told us: “There’s nothing more important than the truth. When the truth is disregarded, that’s when society becomes corrupted. (The truth) cannot be twisted, or torn apart, because if so, it’s no longer the truth and we will have lost our moral compass.”
“We are honored that The Stringer has premiered this month at the Sundance Film Festival. Please watch this space for further information on our investigation and the film itself.”
– Gary Knight
Executive Producer, The Stringer
A courageous whistleblower steps forward with a shocking admission, setting off a gripping two-year investigation into five decades of buried secrets behind one of the Vietnam War’s most iconic photographs. Acclaimed war photographer Gary Knight and journalists Fiona Turner, Terri Lichstein, and Lê Vân embark on a relentless search to locate and seek justice for a man known only as “the stringer.”
In his latest feature documentary, THE STRINGER, Sundance alum Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop, Be Water) takes audiences on a thrilling hunt for the truth. Along the way, the film grapples with questions of authorship, racial injustice, and journalistic ethics while shining a light on the vital yet often unrecognized contributions of freelance photographers in shaping the media landscape.
– SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
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