Douglas Sloan’s ‘Saigon '68’

On the heels of the recent festival success of his documentary short 'Elliott Erwitt: I Bark at Dogs', acclaimed documentary filmmaker Douglas Sloan’s latest effort 'Saigon ‘68' is slated to premiere November 14 at the DOC NYC festival. 

 

When he is not developing documentaries, Sloan is directing commercials and branded content through his company iContent, the highly acclaimed New York-based based company that produces films, TV commercials and branded online content. 

 

“One image had a radical effect on two peoples lives and was said to be the photo that stopped the Vietnam War,” Sloan says. “Eddie Adams said ‘photographs do lie’ after watching this film. I hope there will be a healthy debate about whether or not viewers   agree. We are excited to have finished this film in time for DOC NYC because the festivals' director Thom Powers is a true believer in the power and importance of the documentary art form, and I could think of no better place to premiere the work.”

 

'Saigon ‘68' explores the story underlying the most influential photograph to come out of the Vietnam War – the image of a South Vietnamese police officer shooting a Vietcong prisoner in the head – and how the picture transformed the lives of Eddie Adams, who captured the moment on film, and Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the man who pulled the trigger. 

 

Picture Perfect Murder

 

Through a series of on-camera interviews with some of Adams’ contemporaries – the film reveals the surprising back-story of the events leading up to the murder, and follows the conflicted lives led by Adams and Loan both before and after the photo transformed world opinion. 

 

Featuring interviews with Walter Anderson, Peter Arnett, Hal Buell, Bill Eppridge, Richard Pyle, James S. Robbins, Morley Safer and Bob Schieffer, and dramatic readings from the journals Adams kept while in Vietnam between 1966 and 1968 by actor Danny Burstein, 'Saigon ‘68' opens a broader inquiry into our perception and societal understanding of the visual image. 

 

“Today, everywhere in the world, we receive visual information at light-speed and visual misinformation or misinterpretation can be dangerous,” Sloan adds. “As a society, are we visually illiterate? The film encourages us to ask the question, and to learn the language of images as we go forward.”

 

Challenging Documentaries 

 

'Saigon ‘68' represents Sloan’s fifth theatrically released documentary, and as a director he is widely known for films that aspire to a strong point of view and for achieving rare warmth and accessibility from challenging human subjects.  

 

His short film 'Elliott Erwitt: I Bark At Dogs' won Best Doc at the Aspen Shortsfest in 2011, as well as the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival in 2011, and Best Doc at NYC Shorts 2012. It was also an official selection at over fifteen festivals worldwide. 

 

In 2009 his film 'William Klein – Out of Necessity' quickly became an official selection at numerous international film festivals and was broadcast on PBS’ channel WNET in New York City. The film is presently being used to promote Klein’s current show at the Tate Museum in London. 

 

His earlier film work includes 'Eleven Frames', which explores the life of John G. Morris; and 'So, There You Go', a film profile of Annie Leibovitz.  

 

He has directed, interviewed, and produced numerous works with artists, musicians and celebrity talent: Halle Berry, Gabriel Byrne, Sean Combs, Elvis Costello, Clint Eastwood, Elliott Erwitt, Morgan Freeman, Tom Ford, Debbie Harry, Marc Jacobs, Bill T. Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Nicole Kidman, William Klein, Karl Lagerfeld, Annie Leibovitz, Robert Longo, Wynton Marsalis, Helmut Newton, Gordon Parks, Isabella Rossellini, Todd Rundgren, Cindy Sherman, Sharon Stone, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Hilary Swank, Justin Timberlake, John Travolta, Mark Wahlberg, Oprah Winfrey.

 

His commercial work includes TV spots and content for prestigious global brands including: Avon, Condé Nast, Estee Lauder, Helzberg Diamonds, JC Penney, Kenneth Cole, Leading Hotels of the World, Lowe's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Regent, Tiffany & Co., Unilever, Under Armour, UTC and Vogue.