Amerasian Adoptee Prepares for Biographical Feature Film Debut New Orleans Actress, Model from Vietnam Becomes First Afro-Asian Filmmaker in South

NEW ORLEANS—New Orleans actress and model Saran T. Bynum, owner and founder of 5th Dimension Studioz, LLC, can now add executive producer to her title with the upcoming release of her semi-biographical feature film, Where I Stand, making her the first Afro Asian Vietnamese filmmaker in the South.

 Where I Stand is loosely based on Bynum’s search for her biological family after growing up in New Orleans with her adoptive parents, Horace Bynum Jr. and Eunice Hodges. The couple adopted her after she was flown to the United States from Saigon, Vung Tau, Vietnam at 4 years old with a U.S. military cargo airlift of Vietnamese-American orphans during the Vietnam War. The operation later become known as Operation Babylift, having transported more than 3,300 children to the U.S. by the end of the war.

Although she said she had a happy childhood, Bynum said the desire to meet her birth parents grew once she graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans. With help from her adoptive mother, she learned her birth father was an African American Soldier who had been deployed to Vietnam, and her mother was Vietnamese. Bynum continues to search for her birth mother, but she did locate her father’s family.

“I found my biological father’s family through Ancestry.com,” Bynum said. “My father, Charles Wesson, died of cancer before I had the chance to meet him, but after finding my family, they surprised me by coming to New Orleans from Memphis to help me celebrate my birthday.”

The search and subsequent location of her family is what inspired the movie, which features local actors throughout the city of New Orleans and nationwide, including the late Tracey Mann. To accomplish the production, Bynum pulled together a support team of independent New Orleans filmmakers, including Charles Jolivette as her director, Kenneth James as cinematographer, and Dominique McClellan as her editor. Bynum's work has been featured in Smithsonian Magazine, The Advocate, and TLC. She also received sponsorships from Liberty Bank, Son of a Saint, and Meet the World Image Solutions.

“It’s a blessing that so many people saw my vision and supported me,” Bynum said. “Together, we have achieved the impossible, and we are confident that the public will see and appreciate the love that was put into this project.”

Bynum premiered the official trailer for Where I Stand on Christmas Eve, and plans to host a private screening of the movie in April. Until then, she is working on entering film festivals across the country.

Based in New Orleans, 5th Dimension Studioz, LLC is dedicated to producing films, stage plays, documentaries and other forms of storytelling geared to inspire and educate the masses.