Speaking with: Histories of Vietnam explored through archive film

This article discusses the research and methods undertaken in the creation of the poetic documentary feature film Dust & Metal (Cát bụi & Kim loại), directed by Esther Johnson (2022). Funded by the British Council, the film offers alternative perspectives of Vietnam, moving beyond Hollywood’s portrayals of the American/Vietnam War. Through a combination of difficult-to-access archive film, crowd-sourced material, newly shot footage, and oral histories, the research reveals unfamiliar histories of freedom in Vietnam that connect with the country’s most ubiquitous mode of transport: the motorbike and, previously, the bicycle. Dust & Metal concurrently acts as a whistle-stop tour through the history of Vietnamese cinema as shot by the film studios supported by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture.