‘Mary Queen of Vietnam’ to Air Statewide on Public Television

1/29/2021
BATON ROUGE – LSU Screen Arts Professional-in-Residence Glen Pitre and recent Screen Arts graduate Bao Ngo’s film, “Mary Queen of Vietnam,” will premiere statewide on public television next month. The film will air on Tuesday, February 9 on Louisiana Public Broadcasting, or LPB, at 8:00 p.m. and WYES in New Orleans at 10:00 p.m.

The hour-long documentary offers a lively look at one of Louisiana’s and America’s most fascinating but least understood ethnic cultures by going inside the community surrounding Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church in eastern New Orleans as it prepares for its annual Tet Festival.

Through raucous public celebrations, private, never-before-filmed rituals, and daily life at work, at school, and at home, “Mary Queen of Vietnam” explores an immigrant community tradition by following multiple Vietnamese-Americans from three generations.

The film was produced by world-renowned writer and producer GlenPitre, who serves as the professional-in-residence for the LSU Screen Arts Program and president ofCôte Blanche Productions, Inc. The film was directed byBao Ngo, a Vietnam-born,
Still of drum corp performing in "Mary Queen of Vietnam"

Drum corp performs in the documentary, "Mary Queen of Vietnam." The film will premiere statewide on public television on Tuesday, February 9.

Bao Ngo
New Orleans-based filmmaker and recent graduate of the LSU Screen Arts Program. The film was produced and edited with the help of LSU Screen Arts undergraduate students.

 “After 40 years making a living in film, working from Paris to Mumbai, screenwriting for Hollywood, producing for studios and networks, directing both famous Oscar-winning actors and complete unknowns, you start to think you’ve done and seen it all. Then you meet the students, those LSU students in the Screen Arts program, coming from all sorts of backgrounds, and you’re reminded how wide the horizons of onscreen storytelling can be,” said Pitre. “They arrive on campus with a visual literacy I never possessed at their age, back when life was less media driven. I feed off their energy, but thanks to the Screen Arts Program, I’m also able to give back. Teach them moviemaking techniques and procedures, then watch them push beyond those boundaries, often making mistakes but then getting right back up, growing their skills as they tell stories sometimes in ways I myself could’ve never imagined. There’s moments when it’s absolutely thrilling, a rush all the way down to your toes, both for them and me,” he added.

The director, Bao Ngo, is a member of the community featured in this film, and he brings unparalleled access, perspective, and cultural sensitivity to the project.

“I came over from Vietnam as a child in 2005, thirty years after what they call over there ‘the American War.’ I guess that’s why I’ve always been haunted by the question of what it means to be American. What it means to be Vietnamese-American. How does such a status impact your dreams? What responsibilities come with it—some articulated, others unspoken but just as binding? What do I owe to my mother culture and my adopted country, to my family and community and to myself?” Ngo continued, “Without LSU’s resources and support from the Screen Arts Program, this documentary would not have been possible. The program guided me to some great people, both instructors and classmates, a community of mentors and peers who provided the support and experiences in filmmaking that got me ready for ‘Mary Queen of Vietnam,’ my first big professional experience as director. For that, I am deeply indebted to LSU…both figuratively and literally.”

The LSU Screen Arts Program, in the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences, integrates curricula drawn across disciplines in theories, histories, and practices of film and media arts, providing a complete approach to the study of screen arts. The program works to follow and support the goals of the university in its strategic pursuit of undergraduate learning through and research in all facets of the film, video, and digital media worlds.

Dr. Patricia A. Suchy, director of Screen Arts and the Jack and Mary Frances HopKins Professor in the LSU Department of Communication Studies, noted, “Glen Pitre's work with our students has been remarkable. In projects like ‘Mary Queen of Vietnam,’ he creates imaginative and significant ways to blend his professional expertise with his teaching, generously providing opportunities and professional experience for our students. We are so fortunate to have Glen as a colleague, teacher, and mentor.” Suchy concludes, “‘Mary Queen of Vietnam’ exemplifies the Screen Arts program's emphasis on project-based learning supported by a blend of critical, historical, and cultural knowledge. It’s a wonderful documentary, and such a thrill to see the credits roll with so many of our students’ names.”
 

About Louisiana Public Broadcasting
The mission of Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) is to provide programming that is intelligent, informative, educational and entertaining. LPB strives to connect the citizens of Louisiana by creating content that showcases Louisiana’s unique history, people, places and events. For more information, visit lpb.org.
 

About the LSU Screen Arts Program
The LSU Screen Arts Program integrates the study of the history, theory, and practice of film and media arts. Since 1995, the program's mission has been to integrate curricula drawn from across disciplines in theories, histories, and practices. Today, Screen Arts continues this mission into the future. With curricula, faculty, and students from across disciplines, the Program is now entering its 26th year of providing a complete approach to the study of film and media arts. For more information about the LSU Screen Arts Program, visit lsu.edu/hss/scrn.
 
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About the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences
The LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences positions students, faculty, and staff to be visionary leaders in their respective fields, a tradition of excellence that began with the college’s inception in 1908. For more news and information about the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences, visit hss.lsu.edu.

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Contact Sarah Gaar Keller
LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences
225-578-6906
sarahg@lsu.edu

Ernie Ballard
LSU Media Relations
225-578-5684
eballa1@lsu.edu