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World Premiere of Kim Nguyen’s Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom at Hot Docs 2026. New feature documentary from Oscar-nominated director is part history, part mystery.

PRESS RELEASE
24/03/2026

March 24, 2026 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Which is more final, the gun or the camera?

Celebrated Canadian filmmaker Kim Nguyen reveals the elusive connection between two families and one iconic photo in Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom, making its world premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto (April 23 to May 3).

This Noble Films/National Film Board of Canada (NFB) co-production marks a powerful return to non-fiction storytelling for Nguyen, the writer/director of War Witch, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2013. Saigon Story confronts the family secrets left in the wake of the Vietnam War, exposing the resilience of survivors and the blurred legacy of wartime memory.

Saigon Story will premiere in the festival’s Canadian Spectrum program in the Viola Desmond Cinema (Cinema 1) at the TIFF Lightbox. The director will be taking part in Q&As at both screenings:

  • April 29, 2026, at 8:30 p.m.
  • April 30, 2026, at 11:15 a.m.

The NFB will also be offering NFB@Hot Docs Pro events for documentary film professionals at Hot Docs, including a new initiative for emerging creators.

About the film

Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom by Kim Nguyen (90 min)
Producers: Nabil Mehchi (Noble Films); Robert Vroom, Ariel Nasr (NFB)
Executive producers: Frank Fiorito, Nabil Mehchi (Noble Films); Nathalie Cloutier, Rohan Fernando (NFB)
TVO executive producers: Natasha Negrea, Alexandra Roberts
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/saigon-story

A woman in Washington state conceals the scars of a brutal family secret. A veteran journalist in Saigon helps two siblings solve a painful wartime mystery. And a photo becomes so iconic that it takes on a life of its own.

Spanning decades and continents, these remarkable accounts collide in Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom, as Nguyen reveals the intimate connection between two families and Eddie Adams’ “Saigon Execution”—an image that forever changed the world’s perception of the Vietnam War.

Shining a light on the long and sometimes surprising road to healing, Nguyen carefully uncovers the hidden truths of war, family and photography itself. What ultimately emerges is a kaleidoscope of humanity, one exploding with beauty, pain and the complex patterns of wartime memories.

Production credits 

Saigon Story is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, CMF, the SODEC Quebec Tax Credit and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. TVO is the lead commissioning broadcaster, with British Columbia’s Knowledge Network taking a second window.

About Kim Nguyen 

Kim Nguyen is a writer and Academy Award-nominated director best known for War Witch (Rebelle, 2012), which follows the harrowing path of a child soldier in an imaginary DRC. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Oscars and screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, where lead actress Rachel Mwanza won the Silver Bear for Best Acting.

Nguyen’s other award-winning features include the multi-Jutra-nominated feature The Marsh (2002, Official Selection, Cameraimage film festival); Truffle (2008, Best Feature, Karlovy Vary’s Fresh Film Festival; Best Directing, Austin’s Fantastic Fest); Two Lovers and a Bear (2016, Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes); Eye on Juliet (2017, Best Film, Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean); and The Hummingbird Project (2018, Toronto International Film Festival).

Saigon Story: Two Shootings in the Forest Kingdom is his second feature documentary, following Empire of Scents (2015, Montreal International Documentary Festival). His work was also previously featured in the 2007 NFB co-produced anthology film Happiness Bound (Productions Virage/NFB).

NFB@Hot Docs Pro 

The NFB will be connecting with documentary creators, distributors and partners at Hot Docs.

This year, the NFB is offering Pass It Forward: complimentary passes shared with next-generation documentary creators to support them in accessing the festival.

From 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, April 30, the NFB is hosting an Open House at its Toronto office, 145 Wellington Street West, Suite 1000—an opportunity to connect with NFB documentary production, marketing and communication teams, and catch up with other creators and collaborators at Hot Docs.

The NFB will also be present at a booth in the Hot Docs Industry Delegate Lounge, inviting dialogue and discussion with industry colleagues.

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Version française ici.

Media Relations

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 7,000 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.