THE FOUR FILMMAKERS huddle in a conference room at the Pastoral Center at the Christ Cathedral to fine-tune a globe-trotting documentary 2 ½ years in the making.
SCOTT NGUYEN, ELYSABETH NGUYEN, BRADLEY ZINT AND CHRISTOPHER TRAN MAKE UP THE CORE TEAM BEHIND THE DOCUMENTARY FILM “OUR LADY AT THE CENTER,” WHICH DETAILS THE STORY OF OUR LADY OF LA VANG. PHOTO BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Working on computers and viewing a cut of the 86-minute film on a large screen usually used for business meetings, they made last-minute adjustments to edits, sound, subtitles, music and credits.
“Our Lady at the Center” makes its world premiere May 11 in the Freed Theater on the Christ Cathedral campus and on May 17 at Saigon Grand Center in Fountain Valley. Screenings are planned at six locations across the country, including Texas, Washington, D.C. and Florida.
The documentary details the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine and Marian Gardens at Christ Cathedral, the 1798 Marian apparition that appeared before a group of persecuted Catholics in the jungles of Vietnam, and how the Blessed Virgin Mary holds such a special place in the hearts of millions of Catholics worldwide.
Elysabeth Nguyen, chief executive officer of the OLLV Foundation and one of the film’s producers, listens to a Vietnamese man speaking, pauses the film and then provides a line that was missing from the subtitles:
Because Mary appeared at this place and helped a lot of persecuted people.
“Let’s condense that,” chimes in Bradley Zint, assistant director of communications for the Diocese of Orange and writer/director of the film, changing the line to:
Because Mary appeared here and helped many persecuted people.
“OK,” Zint says to Nguyen and the film’s producer, Scott Nguyen, as well as its cinematographer and director of photography, Christopher Tran.
“Keep going.”
FOUR-COUNTRY SHOOT
“Our Lady at the Center,” a production of the OLLV Foundation and the Diocese of Orange, is the first English-language movie that tells the story of Our Lady of La Vang, who has represented hope, faith and promise to Vietnamese Catholics around the world.
The shrine on the Christ Cathedral campus was blessed in July 2021 and the Marian Gardens behind it opened in May 2024.
Shot in the United States, Vietnam, Peru and Italy, and featuring more than 50 people giving their testimonies in English, Vietnamese, Spanish and Italian, the filmmakers completed a rough cut
of the documentary in December.
After screening the movie twice before Bishops Kevin Vann, Thanh Thai Nguyen and Timothy Freyer, the filmmakers have cut about 30 minutes of footage to get the film to a slim 86 minutes.
‘A HEALER AND PROTECTOR’
The documentary tells the story about how the shrine was built at the Christ Cathedral campus interspersed with the story of the 1798 apparition and all the different facets the Blessed Virgin Mary has come to represent to the faithful.
“She’s a healer and a protector,” said Zint, who dug up a lot of Diocesan archival footage along with scenes he helped oversee or filmed himself in Vietnam and Peru.
The Very Rev. Bao Thai, rector of Christ Cathedral, is one of many Diocesan officials, along with the bishops, to appear in the film.
“Our Lady of La Vang to me, she is always watching over me,” Fr. Bao says in one segment. “She is my mom. I put it this way, she is my heavenly mom and always the one who I can rely on.”
A BONDING EXPERIENCE
The filmmakers bonded over their experience. One highlight (lowlight?) was a 16-hour trip in a van on a mountainous road high up in the Peruvian Andes. Another was staying in a rustic Vietnamese hostel.
The four filmmakers also had to improvise for some reenactments.
“You know how hard it is to find a Vietnamese jungle around here?” Zint says with a laugh.
To double for Vietnam, they used the huge banyan tree outside Holy Family parish in Orange, as well as a home in Westminster with lush landscaping.
As executive producer, Elysabeth contributed much of her own funds toward the estimated $200,000 documentary.
Although no cash contributions came from the diocese or OLLV Foundation, various in-kind donations supplemented the project, as did a considerable amount of footage used from the diocesan archives.
It was a true community-wide effort, with Hollywood industry professionals (including the narrator, Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, a Hallmark Channel actress) and many others providing their services for free or at a considerable discount.
A key moment in the film comes about halfway through in a reenactment of what the filmmakers and a doctor are calling a miracle that occurred at the cathedral’s La Vang shrine just days before it was dedicated (no spoilers here).
Elysabeth Nguyen was asked what she hopes viewers take away from the movie.
“The miracle of community, the miracle of how the apparition of Mary happened, the miracle that happened here on campus and the miracle of making this movie,” she says.
Tran and Scott Nguyen said they hope the documentary will inspire the younger generation to embark on their faith journeys.
As for Zint, this movie marks his second documentary for the Diocese of Orange after one detailing the famous Hazel Wright Organ inside the Christ Cathedral.
Said the public relations professional and former veteran newsman: “If there’s a great story to tell, I want to tell it.”
Visit OurLadyattheCenter.com to buy tickets to see the film, learn more and see the trailers. To support the film, call (714) 282-4292 or email [email protected]