In Anh Duong's memoir Dear Da-Lê: A Father's Memoir of the Vietnam War and the Iranian Revolution, published in 2024, the author recounts his experiences and family trauma for his daughter Ashley - from his childhood near Huế, Vietnam and escaping the Vietnam War to living as a refugee during the 1970s revolution in Iran, and arriving in Canada in 1980.

Ashley Duong decided to make a film in response to his memoir to help further uncover painful memories that her father had kept from her and his family until they were revealed in his book. The result is Ba's Book, which mixes vérité documentary, re-enactments by family members in Vietnam and actors, as well as travelog into a heartfelt family film.

Written and directed by Ashley Da-Lê Duong, it world premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and is now celebrating its international premiere during the 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival, where it will screen on Oct. 8 and 9.

This is how press notes about Ba's Book set up the film:  Returning to her ancestral village, [Ashley] collaborates with her father and relatives to film participatory re-creations of their past. A true hybrid of live-action and documentary, Ba's Book offers a disarming look at how a family moves forward from divisions caused by displacement and war. 

Ahead of the London screenings, Ashley Duong discussed her experience making Ba's Book and how it changed her relationship with her family with THR.

The decision to embark on a cinematic journey together took a while.  It was definitely a whole process,  the filmmaker recalls.  I went on an artist residency with my dad. I never expected to do that. And so the decision to make this film actually took at least a couple of years before I was ready and said, okay, let's do this. After all, it was a very ambitious project. 

 Ba's Book' film still, courtesy of B.in Media

One key challenge was that she wanted to give her father and family the space they needed, but that came with a lack of predictability.  My dad wanted a lot of information, which was hard for me because I didn't actually know what was going to hap

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