My journey into Vietnamese cinema led me directly to Gerry, thanks to a recommendation from Nicole Pham, who credited him with bringing Finding Phong to life. We met one summer afternoon near Charing Cross Station, and that conversation completely shifted my understanding, Vietnamese film mattered far beyond its borders. Without Gerry, so many of these stories may never have been seen.

Gerry’s dedication is nothing short of heroic. As I wrote in my thesis about When the Tenth Month Comes: “Through my research I discovered the extraordinary efforts of Gerald Herman, a filmmaker and archivist who tracked down the film’s lost negative, navigated bureaucratic hurdles, and led the restoration with Đặng Nhật Minh himself. Hearing this story… made me realise how fragile cultural memory is.”

He told me how the reels arrived in Bangkok in near-ruin, mouldy, brittle, nearly unsalvageable. But through meticulous restoration under Minh’s supervision, the film was reborn. Watching that restored version, knowing its journey, unlocked something deeper in me, it spoke to me with new resonance.
Gerry didn’t stop there. He financed Finding Phong’s trip to London, enabling its protagonist to join our 2024 Star Nhà Ease pilot season for a live Q&A. He regularly visits Vietnam and carries a legacy as founder of the Hanoi Cinémathèque (2002–2016), which screened international classics to cinephiles across the city.

In 2016, Screen‑Space called him: “A man to whom I dedicate all my respect and love… Hanoi Cinémathèque was his greatest passion.”

Gerry’s story of love, labour, and near-miracle preservation is a reminder that films survive only through obsessive care. His relentless work keeps Vietnam’s cinematic memory alive, and I feel incredibly grateful to have him in this conversation.
Gerald Herman is known for A Dream in Hanoi (2009), Jory (1973) and Solos (2007).