Center for Asian American Media

When the U.S. withdrew from the Viet Nam War in 1975, approximately 120,000 Hmong were driven from their homeland in Laos by communist forces and forced to re-establish their lives elsewhere. Focusing on a Hmong immigrant community in Wisconsin, this documentary offers a comprehensive look at many fundamental concepts and practices of the ancient Hmong culture – weddings, funerals, the “ball toss,” the shaman, clans and the “flower cloth” – and relates how those traditions have framed the Hmong culture and community. Acknowledging the difficulties that have arisen from trying to follow those traditions in a new country where the language barrier, limited employment opportunities and xenophobia present everyday challenges, BEING HMONG MEANS BEING FREE explores how dramatically life has changed for Hmong in the space of a generation.

“We have changed from illiterate mountain farmers into fully capable citizens of the Western world in the course of a single generation.”

- Lia Vang, the film’s 17-year old narrator

Awards
CINE Golden Eagle
CINDY Silver Award

Recognition
Wisconsin Public TV Broadcast

Related Films
Red White Blue November
Voices of Challenge: Hmong Women in Transition

College/Institution

K-12/Public Library/Community Group