Emmy-winning Ben Hollis’ (“Wild Chicago”) first documentary, “One Life, One Love: The Life and Legacy of John Vietnam,” about the late young Uptown rapper, will be available on YouTube Aug. 15.
The 27-minute inspiration doc is about Chicago-born John Vietnam Nguyen, known as JVN, who drowned at age 19 in 2012 while saving the life of a friend struggling to stay afloat in Lake Mendota, Wisc.
“He was Lane Tech grad, a stand-out student at UW-Madison and member of the school’s First Wave hip hop studies program,” Hollis notes.
JVN’s parents are “Saigon” Joe Hertel, a Vietnam War army veteran, and Rose Nguyen, a war refugee who came to Chicago shortly after the war. They met on Argyle Street in Uptown’s Little Saigon neighborhood.
The Hertels, the film’s EPs, approached Hollis to produce the doc about their son, remembering how JVN had been featured on the first episode of Hollis’ web series, “Wild Life City Safari” in 2014.
Hollis planned on telling JVN’s story through his friends and teachers, but “being blown away” at finding a cache of the rapper’s music videos and audio tracks, he immediately integrated them into the story.
A bonus was a radio interview that JVN had recorded three months before his death that essentially became the narration. “John was going to be a part of the telling with his own words,” Hollis says.
Hollis interviewed 11 of John’s fellow hip-hop artist friends, J. Ivy, Frank Waln and Baba Israel, who also perform and also reached out to mentors and teachers who represent important organizations, like Uptown’s Kuumba Lynx, ConnectForce and Elephant Rebellion and UW’s First Wave program.
Hollis shot scenes in Chicago and Madison and directed the Atlanta shoot with Natalie Cook via Facetime, shot by Jason Cermak.
Production that began in October 2015 was interrupted in January when Hollis underwent brain surgery. Editing resumed last March and Hollis, fully recovered, completed the edit last month.
“The doc will continue JVN’s work and legacy and will inspire kids to rise above the challenges and follow the example of a mixed-race kid from Chicago who fought the system through rap, break dancing and being a DJ, to find joy and purpose in life.”
“One Life, One Love” will screen in Madison Aug. 30 (location to be announced) as part of the city of Madison’s official recognition of “John Vietnam Day.”
DVDs go on sale Aug. 15 here.
