Unknown, Presumed French

Overview

After the defeat of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, 4,500 Eurasians from the love affair between colonizers and colonized were repatriated to France. They poignantly evoke their tear as children torn between two cultures. UNKNOWN, PRESUMED FRENCH is the very first film to discuss a subject that has long remained taboo in French society. These Eurasians were born during the Indochina War, to a Vietnamese mother and an “unknown, presumed French” father. Rejected by both the Vietnamese and French communities, their mother entrusted them to FOEFI, an association whose aim is to integrate them into French society. Fifty years later, these men and women tell their painful story. All the testimonies agree, it was their solidarity which helped them to rebuild themselves and live in this world which was not theirs.