The General: Vietnam in the Age of To Lam (documentary film screening)

The General: Vietnam in the Age of To Lam traces the rise of Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam, who cemented his position at the top of Vietnam’s leadership in the most recent 14th Party Congress. As To Lam’s ascent to power has unfolded, so has the expansion of Vietnam’s security apparatus that no longer stops at national borders. Asylum seekers, activists, and even insiders who challenge the system find themselves surveilled, harassed, and silenced wherever they flee.

Through firsthand testimony and investigative reporting, the film asks what prosperity truly costs when economic growth is built on repression. In reviewing the film, human rights lawyer Dang Dinh Manh states: “I owe documentary filmmaker Laura Brickman my gratitude for telling the story of our country—an anguished cry from within, conveyed with honesty and depth.”

Lawyer Manh sought asylum in the US in 2023 due to political repression from Vietnamese authorities. Many of the human rights defenders in the film were his clients.

Director & chair biographies

Laura Brickman is an award-winning journalist with over a decade of experience in digital media, broadcast, and print. She has worked for Politico, BBC, 60 Seconds Docs, Insider, and other media outlets. The General: Vietnam in the Age of To Lam is her directorial debut.

Prof. John Sidel is Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, and the Sir Patrick Gillam Professor of International and Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

*Banner photo by Zero Vo on Unsplash

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