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A.K.A. Don Bonus: The life of a Cambodian refugee in USA (1995)
Directors: Spencer Nakasako and Sokly Ny
Length: 56 minutes
View the film on:
- https://www.pbs.org/pov/watch/akadonbonus/video-a-k-a-don-bonus/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxcCcbC-vJY
Synopsis
This is a vlog-style documentary following the life of a high school student, Sokly “Don Bonus” Ny. Living in San Francisco, Bonus and his family are refugees from Cambodia. The film is a cross between a home movie and a video diary, as Bonus details his struggles in high school, the violent environment of the Sunnydale Housing Projects, and familial issues. It is an emotionally raw story as Bonus uses the filmmaking opportunity to construct a narrative out of his life and process his emotions on his own.
Significance
This film is an untouched depiction of refugee life as told by a teenager. It is powerful in the simplicity of showing, instead of telling, the trials for a refugee’s survival in America. It contains the raw emotions of an 18 year old who craves stability, close familial relationships, and to be heard. There is no opportunity for the film to take itself too seriously as it is simply Bonus’ story and struggles. It is not explicitly an ungrateful refugee story, but just from the footage of the Ny family and Bonus’ emotional commentary, the film defies the idea that accepting refugees is the apex of charity. It holds America accountable to not only accept refugees but to care for them. The Ny family are simultaneously rewarded with the ability to come to America while also being subject to all of the inequalities of a racial and ethnic minority. There is no triumphant conquest by the model minority or reckoning with race and ethnicity in America.