The Documentary
Phantom Roots is an experiential road memoir to honor the Vietnamese diaspora-
connecting elements of ancestral landscape with acts of remembrance and present day radiance. Serenaded by grandmother’s beloved folk songs, a second generation Vietnamese-American encounters self through her grandfather’s devotion to community loyalty.
The project is a visual diary of the journey taken by director Erica Nguyen, who reconnects with her heritage lost through the lives lived by her family. Within the portraiture of places dear to her elders and lyrical folklore that captivated their imaginations, these ghosts can be known. And their values set the tone of future realities.
As a grassroots documentary filmmaker, Erica is motivated to collaborate through mutual self study. Her interdisciplinary background frames this introspective
process around how estrangement from our origins manifests in our bodies.
A Vietnamese- American raised in California, Erica belongs to the modern diaspora that seeks to transform generational hurt into a reclaimed sense of belonging.
She is based in the high desert of New Mexico, alongside the Nambé Pueblo.
Tintype by Conor Martin
Director Erica Nguyen
