2026 Global Peace & Legacy Awards | A Day of Film, Healing & Gratitude

Join us for a free community event with two films, a conversation on healing, and recognition of five people who have served others.
About this Event

2026 Global Peace & Legacy Awards
A free community gathering through film, conversation, and gratitude

Join Le Ly Hayslip and Global Village Foundation on Sunday, November 8, 2026, for a day of stories that connect generations and a celebration of people whose work continues to change lives.

This year, our annual celebration takes the form of a free community event. We’ll screen Oliver Stone’s Heaven & Earth, based on Le Ly’s memoirs, and Woman / Phụ Nữ, a documentary exploring Vietnamese women’s experiences of war, resilience, and healing. Le Ly will join us in person, with time for conversation about the histories we carry and how we move forward together.

We’ll also celebrate our 2026 Peace & Legacy Award honorees, whose contributions span filmmaking, education, humanitarian service, and peace advocacy:

• Doug Rawlings, Vietnam veteran, poet, teacher, and co-founder of Veterans For Peace, who has devoted decades to peace education and working to abolish war.
• Thomas Hayslip, film producer whose career includes work with Oliver Stone and Christopher Nolan, with credits including Oppenheimer and The Odyssey.
• Martha Sam Hertelendy, president and founder of the Hertelendy Foundation, whose longstanding service supports humanitarian causes, education, the arts, and international understanding.
• Alan Hayslip, senior and lead sound editor and recording mixer, whose contributions extend beyond film and television to eight years of volunteering with Global Village Foundation in Vietnam.
• Francis J. “Chuck” Theusch, Vietnam veteran and founder of Children’s Library International, whose work has helped establish hundreds of libraries in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
• Hung & Khánh Van Nguyen, founders of the Hung & KV Nguyen Foundation, recognized for their generous support of humanitarian efforts in the United States and Vietnam.

Come meet the people behind this work, hear their stories, and help us celebrate their service. Bring your family, invite a friend, or come with your students. Everyone is welcome, and admission is free.

Sunday, November 8, 2026 | 8:45 AM–4:30 PM
SAPPHIRE – Saigon Grand Center
16149 Brookhurst St, Fountain Valley, CA

Parking is limited and located behind the venue. Please arrive early.

Special thanks to the Event Organising Committee: Le Ly Hayslip, Doan Hoang Curtis, Derek Powell, Rangoli Kashyap, Bryan Nguyen, Quyenzi Dang Pham, D Tai Lieu, Lu Le, Nguyen Thi Tri, Kathy Greenwood & Maria Tran.

Agenda

🕑: 08:45 AM - 09:15 AM
Check-in
Host: Maria Tran

Info: The event will be co-hosted by Maria Tran and Dr. Lu D. Le, bringing together their shared passion for storytelling, community and connection.

Maria Tran is an actor, filmmaker, host of Family Feud Live in Las Vegas, and founder of Phoenix Eye Films. Based between Las Vegas and Western Sydney, she is known for the independent Echo 8 action trilogy and her community-driven approach to filmmaking.

Dr. Lu D. Le is a Veterans Affairs Medical Director and former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander who arrived in America as a Vietnamese refugee at age 10. With over 20 years of military and VA service, he supports veterans facing PTSD, homelessness and addiction, and champions healing through storytelling and community service.

🕑: 09:15 AM - 09:30 AM
Welcome and introduction
Host: Le Ly Hayslip

Info: Le Ly Hayslip is a Vietnamese-American author, humanitarian and peace advocate whose memoirs, 'When Heaven and Earth Changed Places' and 'Child of War, Woman of Peace', inspired Oliver Stone’s film *Heaven & Earth*. A survivor of the Vietnam War and founder of the East Meets West Foundation and Global Village Foundation, she has dedicated decades to rebuilding communities and helping heal the wounds of war.

🕑: 09:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Feature Film Screening: Heaven & Earth
Host: Le Ly Hayslip

Info: Heaven And Earth follows the true story of a Vietnamese village girl who survives a life of suffering and hardship during and after the Vietnam War.

🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Complimentary Lunch
🕑: 12:35 PM - 12:43 PM
Keynote: Doan Hoang Curtis
Host: Doan Hoang Curtis

Info: Đoan Hoàng Curtis is an award-winning Vietnamese-American filmmaker and oral historian, known for her documentary Oh, Saigon: A War in the Family and her work as a series producer on Netflix’s Turning Point: The Vietnam War. Born in Vietnam and raised in Kentucky after escaping Saigon as a child, she explores the lasting impact of war, displacement and family history through deeply personal storytelling.

🕑: 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Documentary Screening: Woman: Phụ Nữ

Info: Woman | Phụ Nữ is the story of the Vietnamese women who endured the war — and the generation now carrying what they couldn't say out loud. A spy. A prisoner of war who survived years in captivity. The singers who kept spirits alive along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Vietnam's first female ultra-marathoner. Their lives have gone untold for half a century. This is them, in their own words.

Produced by Thomas Hayslip ('The Odyssey', 'Oppenheimer', 'Tenet').

🕑: 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Panel Discussion
Host: Kenneth Nguyen

Info: MODERATOR: Kenneth Nguyen is the creator and host of 'The Vietnamese' podcast, sharing stories from Vietnamese communities around the world. Through thoughtful conversations with artists, writers, entrepreneurs and community leaders, he explores identity, culture and the Vietnamese diaspora, helping connect generations through their shared experiences.

🕑: 03:00 AM - 04:00 PM
Award Ceremony

Info: 2026 Global Peace & Legacy Awards Ceremony

Join us in honoring Doug Rawlings, Thomas Hayslip, Martha Hertelendy, Alan Hayslip, Francis J. “Chuck” Theusch, and Hung & Khánh Van Nguyen for their contributions to peace, the arts, and humanitarian work in Vietnam, the United States, and beyond.

🕑: 04:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Closing Remarks