David Duong's The King of Trash Wins Two Awards at 13th San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival

David Duong's remarkable journey from Vietnamese boat refugee to American entrepreneur earns two honors in San Francisco, the city where his family began rebuilding their lives nearly five decades ago.

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The King of Trash, a documentary chronicling Vietnamese American entrepreneur David Duong's remarkable journey from a refugee of the Vietnam War to the founder of a successful American recycling company, won Best Documentary and Best People Choice Film at the 13th San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival. The awards were presented on November 1 at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, recognizing a film that follows the Duong family's history of war, survival, immigration and their pursuit of the American dream across generations.

David Duong dedicated the documentary and both awards to his parents, Jim Thu Tai Duong and Anh Thi Le, whose sacrifices helped the family survive the aftermath of the Vietnam War and begin again in America. Before the fall of Saigon in April 1975, his father had built one of South Vietnam's largest paper recycling businesses, earning the nickname Vua Rác, meaning "the King of Trash," which later became the film's title. The family's circumstances changed dramatically after the war, when they lost their established business and eventually made the difficult decision to leave Vietnam.

David was among 23 family members who escaped aboard a small boat, risking their lives at sea. "We almost died out there in the ocean. We had only one choice: survive," Duong recalls in the documentary. The family eventually reached a refugee camp in the Philippines before being resettled in the United States. They arrived in San Francisco in 1979, leaving behind the home and livelihood they had known in Vietnam.

Sixteen family members shared two small studio apartments in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. With little money and limited English, they returned to the recycling trade their father had established in Vietnam, collecting cardboard, newspapers, aluminum cans and other discarded materials to support themselves. David attended school during the day and often spent his evenings collecting recyclables, sometimes working until midnight. The income helped cover the family's expenses as they learned to make a living in their new country.

In 1992, after years working in the recycling industry, David Duong founded California Waste Solutions in Oakland. The company expanded into residential and commercial recycling collection, materials processing and municipal services, eventually serving hundreds of thousands of customers in Oakland and San José. His business interests later extended to Vietnam, where he invested in environmental infrastructure through Vietnam Waste Solutions, including the Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility serving the Ho Chi Minh City region.

Directed by filmmaker Errol Webber, the 72-minute documentary follows the family's history across three generations. It also recounts the discrimination David says he experienced as a Vietnamese immigrant, the challenges he faced establishing a business in a competitive American industry, and the contributions of relatives who worked alongside him. Their accounts tell a broader story of a family that survived war, found refuge in America and gradually built a future through the work they knew.

From Collecting Recyclables to Building California Waste Solutions

In 1983, the Duong family established CoGiDo Paper Corporation with approximately $700 and a used truck. After several years collecting and selling recyclable materials in San Francisco, they began developing a more established recycling operation in the Bay Area. Family members worked together to expand the business, acquire additional equipment and build relationships with commercial customers.

CoGiDo continued to grow, and in 1989, the family sold the company to a larger corporation. By then, David had spent years learning the recycling industry alongside his father, gaining experience in collecting and processing materials, managing daily operations and working with customers. He later decided to establish a company capable of competing for larger commercial and municipal recycling contracts.

In 1992, David founded California Waste Solutions in Oakland with eight used trucks. Establishing the company required financing equipment, hiring employees, developing facilities and competing against established waste management operators. As he recounts in the documentary, he also faced discrimination and difficulties gaining acceptance as an immigrant business owner.

In 1993, California Waste Solutions secured its first municipal franchise contract with the City of Oakland. The company continued expanding its collection and processing operations over the following decades, investing in recycling facilities, vehicles and equipment as it developed services for communities in Oakland and San José.

Today, California Waste Solutions serves more than 343,000 customers in Oakland and San José, providing residential and commercial recycling collection, materials processing and resource recovery services. From its beginnings with eight used trucks in 1992, the company has expanded into one of the Bay Area's established recycling service providers, operating collection fleets and processing facilities across Northern California.

California Waste Solutions remains a family-owned business, with David Duong's sons, Michael, Johnny and Danny Duong, and his siblings, Kristina and Victor Duong, involved in the company's management and operations. Their involvement continues a family history in recycling that began with Jim Thu Tai Duong in South Vietnam and has now extended across three generations.

Over the decades, the family's work has grown from collecting and selling recyclable materials on the streets of San Francisco to operating municipal recycling services in Oakland and San José. Today, California Waste Solutions manages collection fleets, processing facilities and recycling programs serving hundreds of thousands of customers, while the next generation takes on responsibilities in the business their family spent decades building.

Environmental Investments in Vietnam

Decades after leaving Vietnam as a refugee, David Duong returned to invest in the country's environmental infrastructure. Through Vietnam Waste Solutions, he developed the Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility near Ho Chi Minh City, a major waste treatment complex spanning more than 300 acres and handling thousands of tons of municipal waste daily.

The facility uses modern waste management systems, including engineered landfills, wastewater treatment, landfill gas recovery and environmental monitoring. Building on those operations, Vietnam Waste Solutions is pursuing more than $500 million in new investment for a proposed waste-to-energy plant designed to process 3,000 tons of waste daily and generate 60 megawatts of electricity. The project remains subject to regulatory approvals.

David is also pursuing the Long An Green Environmental Technology Park, a proposed development intended to expand Vietnam's waste treatment and resource recovery infrastructure.

His investments brought him back to the country where his father had established a recycling business before the Vietnam War. The King of Trash follows this period of his career, connecting the family's beginnings in Vietnam with the environmental businesses David later built in the United States and his return to invest in his homeland.

Community Involvement and Family Leadership

Beyond his business career, David Duong has remained active in Vietnamese American communities, supporting education, charitable causes and opportunities for immigrant entrepreneurs. Through California Waste Solutions and partnerships with community organizations, his family has contributed to local schools, fundraising programs and initiatives benefiting families in the United States and Vietnam.

David has also worked to strengthen connections within the Vietnamese American business community through the Vietnamese American Business Association (VABA), supporting entrepreneurship, mentorship and opportunities for younger business owners to connect with experienced leaders and investors.

The family's commitment to business and community involvement continues through the next generation. David's sons, Michael, Johnny and Danny Duong, along with his siblings, Kristina and Victor Duong, have taken on responsibilities within the family's businesses and participated in community initiatives.

The King of Trash also gives voice to different generations of the Duong family, from those who experienced the Vietnam War and refugee resettlement to those who grew up in America and later became involved in the family businesses. Their accounts offer a personal perspective on how the family's circumstances changed over the decades and how the work begun by their parents and grandparents continues today.

For David, preserving that history was one of the reasons for making the documentary. By dedicating the film and its awards to Jim Thu Tai Duong and Anh Thi Le, he recognized the parents whose decisions and sacrifices made it possible for their children to build new lives in America.

Nationwide Screenings and Film Festival Recognition

The King of Trash has been presented to audiences across the United States through a series of screening events in California, Texas, Florida and Washington, D.C.

According to the film's organizers, 12 screening events have drawn a combined attendance of more than 5,000 people. The documentary has been shown in San José, Oakland, Sacramento, Orange County, Dallas, Houston, Orlando and Washington, D.C., as well as at additional Bay Area screenings in Hayward, Dublin and Emeryville.

The film was also selected for the 2026 Red Rock Film Festival in Utah, where it was included in the festival's September program.

Director Errol Webber previously worked as a cinematographer on Music by Prudence, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2010. For The King of Trash, he worked with David Duong and his family to recount their history from the years surrounding the fall of Saigon to their resettlement in America and the businesses established in the decades that followed.

The documentary uses historical footage, family accounts and scenes filmed in Vietnam to recount events spanning more than half a century. It includes the recollections of David and other relatives, including Victor and Kristina Duong, whose experiences help explain how the family's history has been understood by successive generations.

The 13th San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival took place from October 25 through November 1, 2026, concluding with its awards ceremony at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Established in 2010 and first held in 2014, the festival recognizes independent filmmaking and encourages international exchange through cinema. According to its official 2026 program, the event received 110 film entries from countries and regions around the world.

The awards ceremony brought The King of Trash back to the city where the Duong family first settled in the United States. Nearly five decades after arriving in San Francisco as refugees, their experiences became the subject of a documentary recognized with two festival awards. The film's title also preserves the nickname once given to David's father, whose recycling business in Vietnam provided the knowledge the family would later rely upon in America.

Following its U.S. screenings and festival recognition, the production team is in discussions with streaming platforms regarding wider distribution. Distribution partners and release dates will be announced once agreements are finalized.

For the official trailer, media information and future screening announcements, visit www.thekingoftrash.us.

About The King of Trash

The King of Trash is a 72-minute documentary directed by Errol Webber that chronicles the life of Vietnamese American entrepreneur David Duong and his family's pursuit of the American dream. The film follows their escape from Vietnam after the war, their years as refugees and their efforts to rebuild their lives in San Francisco, where they began collecting recyclables to support themselves. It also recounts the founding of California Waste Solutions, David's later environmental investments in Vietnam and the experiences of three generations of a family whose history spans two countries.

Official website: https://www.thekingoftrash.us/

Trailer and media information: https://www.thekingoftrash.us/media

About California Waste Solutions

Founded in Oakland in 1992 by David Duong, California Waste Solutions is a family-owned recycling and environmental services company serving Oakland and San José. The company provides residential and commercial recycling collection, materials processing and resource recovery services. According to company figures, its operations serve more than 343,000 customers in Northern California.

Official website: https://www.calwaste.com/

About the San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival

The San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival is an independent international film festival established in 2010, with its first edition held in 2014. The festival showcases films across multiple genres, recognizes independent filmmakers and encourages cultural exchange through cinema. Its 13th annual edition took place October 25 through November 1, 2026, concluding with an awards ceremony at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

Official website: https://www.sfnewfilms.com/

Media Contact

Wendy Nguyen
PR & Marketing Manager
The King Of Trash
[email protected]

SOURCE King of Trash