This is a short documentary film "Can" which tells the story of 37-year-old Vietnamese-American Can Truong's healing from depression and bipolar disorder. One of the first documentaries that focuses on an Asian American family dealing with a mental illness, it offers an intimate glimpse into Can and his family. They were among the million or more Vietnamese boat people who fled the communist regime of Vietnam in the late 70's in overcrowded, unwieldy boats, enduring life-threatening perils in search of freedom. Like many Asian fathers with traditional Confucian ethics, Can's father invested his hopes and dreams into his only son and fled to the U.S. so that Can could become educated in the U.S.A. Can was a model student, excelling in many subjects and attending the University of Chicago in 1993 as a pre-med student. At the prestigious university, he was first diagnosed with his mental illnesses and was forced to drop out due to his debilitating condition. Over a 12-year period, Can was hospitalized 6 times, tried more than 20 different medications, entered several clinical drug trials, and underwent 15 electroconvulsive treatments. …...more
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