Peter McDowell – Jimmy in Saigon #LFF37

May 2, 2022

Peter McDowell - Jimmy in Saigon #LFF37 fredfilmradio

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Peter McDowell, director of the film Jimmy in Saigon.

Filmmaker Peter Mcdowell have been wanting to find the truth over his brother’s death in Saigon for 12 years and now the result of his cinematic journey is Jimmy in Saigon, screening at the 37th Lovers Film Festival in the Real Lovers’ section. By interviewing the members of his family and some old friends of his brother, Mcdowell built his film little by little letting the emotions take over the mystery elements. As Tara Judah wrote in her review on ScreenDaily “Peter and his film are fuelled by the drive to make historical amends; to give visibility to queer love kept secret” and the Lovers Film Festival is the right place to celebrate this life and love.

Jimmy in Saigon: Jimmy was a boy who left for the Vietnam War and died under unclear circumstances in Saigon in 1972. His younger brother Peter McDowell, director of the documentary, was only five when Jimmy died and from that moment the whole family stopped talking about him. The documentary is the result of a 10-year effort to break the silence and the shame that was spinning around the figure of Jimmy. Through old photographs, letters and interviews with Jimmy’s closest friends, the director manages to bring an almost forgotten queer existance back to life.

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Written by: fredfilmradio

Chiara Nicoletti Jimmy in Saigon lovers film festival Peter McDowell Real Lovers