Director Peter McDowell’s emotionally gripping journey, JIMMY IN SAIGON takes 
us right into the heart begins of his personal 
exploration into the mysterious death and radical life of his brother, Jimmy McDowell, an American 24-year-old Vietnam veteran who died as a civilian in Saigon in 1972, when the filmmaker was only five years old. While investigating Jimmy’s drug use and sexuality, Peter takes us from the US Midwest to Vietnam, France and back home again. In his quest 
to get to know his brother, he uncovers a hidden romance, new family ties and a remarkable global love story. Jimmy’s rejection of his family’s traditional Midwestern values coupled with his death, created deep trauma within the lives of his surviving 
family. Peter begins filming relatives and friends who knew Jimmy, hoping to put Jimmy’s memory to rest. While getting to know Jimmy through countless 
interviews and hundreds of his letters, Peter travels to Saigon hoping to meet members of the Vietnamese family Jimmy lived with — the Trần family — specifically the two eldest siblings, Luyến and Dũng, who knew Jimmy best during the last year of his life. Director and brother Peter McDowell joins us to talk about his own journey of discovery and reconciliation with the death of Jimmy, the emotional state of the McDowell family and working with Executive Producer San Savage.
For more go to: jimmyinsaigon.com
About the filmmaker – Director, Producer and subject Peter McDowell’s storytelling reflects his training as an actor, musician, curator and producer, stemming from a childhood surrounded by opera and the arts. Previous films, including the acclaimed I Dream of Dorothy, have been shown at festivals around the world. A recipient of the highly competitive DeVos Institute for Arts Management International Fellowship at the University of Maryland, Peter also received a Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events Individual Artists Program grant and a California Humanities Council grant for Jimmy in Saigon. Peter lived in San Francisco from 1992-1996 and 2010-2011. He worked for the San Francisco Opera and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where he was part of the inaugural staff. Two of Peter’s short films played at the Frameline Film Festival, in 1994 and 1995. Peter is the founder of Peter McDowell Arts Consulting and recently served as the Director of Development for American Friends of the Louvre. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
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“Confronting a veil of sadness that he’s always felt in his family, filmmaker Peter McDowell documents his impressive investigation to discover the facts about the big brother he barely knew.” – Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
“a poetic documentary that exposes the secrets, lies, and taboo love that existed a half century ago, as well as the self-hatred and homophobia inherent in both the Vietnamese and American cultures.” – Frank J. Avella, Edge Media Network
“Deftly edited with an eye for detail, this is a personal story which reminds us that history is comprised not simply of great events but of human experiences.” – Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film
“Engrossing, heartfelt and gripping.” – Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
“…McDowell takes viewers along the same discovery process he experienced …This approach works well, particularly for viewers too young to remember the 1970s…” – Sarah Boslaugh, TheArtsStl