In Limbo (2002)

The documentary follows Australian-Vietnamese lawyer Hoi Trinh, as he attempts to secure Australian citizenship for 2,000 Vietnamese boat people who fled to the Philippines when the Vietnam War ended. He is assisted by a volunteer accountant from the USA, Quan Nguyen, and a volunteer law student from Australia, Linda Phillips, who work from an office in Manila. Hoi Trinh visits the then Minister for Immigration, Hon Philip Ruddock MP and Senator Loren Legarda, Majority Leader in the Philippines Senate, asking for their assistance with aiding the boat people. Hoi Trinh is accepted into Oxford University’s Refugee Study Centre and he is seen at Oxford and in classes.

The film is an observational documentary shot in Canberra and Manila. Hoi Trinh has an articulate and engaging personality and the result is a satisfactory mix of personalities and facts.

The filmmakers have chosen a successful way to tell of the plight of the Vietnamese boat people. Due to Hoi Trinh’s efforts, 28 families have been resettled in Australia, five in the UK and four in the US. One-thousand-five-hundred people remain in limbo.