![\"Text](\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/a\/assets\/texttospeech.svg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Listen to this article<\/p>\n
Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n
Quan Luong knows what it’s like to be young and alone in a foreign country. <\/p>\n
When the 27-year-old filmmaker befriended fellow Vietnamese immigrant Tam Nguyen, more than four decades his senior, he saw a reflection of himself \u2014 and picked up his camera.<\/p>\n
The result was Tailor Made, a short documentary that recounts Tam Nguyen’s dangerous journey to Canada as one of many “boat people” fleeing Vietnam following the fall of Saigon in 1975.<\/p>\n
The short film is now streaming free on CBC Gem here<\/a> as part of the series Absolutely Canadian.<\/p>\n “It takes a certain kind of bravery and recklessness to make this journey,” Luong said.<\/p>\n Nguyen was just 23 when he left everything \u2014 including his family \u2014 behind in Vietnam.\u00a0<\/p>\n Facing a dangerous and uncertain future in Vietnam, he risked his life at sea in search of something better. After the perilous journey, he eventually made it to Canada, where 46 years later, he thrives.<\/p>\n WATCH | Tam Nguyen’s 30-year journey in Canada: Documentary tracks Vietnamese refugee’s path to prosperity and fulfilment<\/p>\n In the documentary Tailor Made, Winnipegger Tam Nguyen shares his journey from refugee to beloved tailor and community philanthropist.<\/p>\n Today, Nguyen is a successful businessman, philanthropist and one of Winnipeg’s most sought-after tailors. Over the years, he’s made clothes for stars like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Samuel L. Jackson \u2014 and for Luong himself.<\/p>\n While Luong’s journey to Canada was very different from Nguyen’s, there are some striking similarities. Luong arrived in Winnipeg alone at 17 and on a student visa. A decade later, he is pursuing a career built on his own passion \u2014 filmmaking<\/a>.<\/p>\n For Luong, telling Nguyen’s story through his own craft felt natural. The documentary weaves the past with the present. While Nguyen cuts, trims and sews cloth in his shop, he recounts his story in both English and Vietnamese, with archival footage throughout.\u00a0<\/p>\n Watching Nguyen “work with his passion and his craft while building this new life is something I deeply connected with,” Luong said.<\/p>\n For Nguyen, sharing his story was never in question. <\/p>\n “When I see him [Luong], I see this young guy, just like [I was],” he said. <\/p>\n “I said, ‘Quan, you’re part of my family now.'”<\/p>\n That generosity defines Nguyen. Now 70 and semi-retired, he uses his time to give back, volunteering both in Vietnam and in Winnipeg. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777549053_220_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777549056_624_default.jpg\")
Filmmaker Quan Luong, left, felt a personal connection to Nguyen’s story of coming to a new country and creating a life. (Quan Luong)<\/p>\n