David Duong's Journey to Business Success Documented in Film Festival Finalist
News related to:California Waste Solutions · 3 min read
OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 30, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The King of Trash, a 72-minute documentary tracing David Duong and his family's journey from their escape from Vietnam to becoming business leaders, has been named a finalist at the 13th San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival. The documentary, which follows the Duong family from their escape in April 1975 to their establishment of California Waste Solutions, has been shown at 12 U.S. screening events, drawing more than 5,000 attendees. It has also been selected for the 2026 Red Rock Film Festival in Utah.
The documentary begins in April 1975, when the Duong family lost its paper-recycling business in South Vietnam following the fall of Saigon. According to the family account presented in the documentary, 23 relatives escaped Vietnam aboard a small boat. Interviews, archival footage, and reenactments filmed in Vietnam recount the family's departure and the perilous journey that followed.
The family spent time in a refugee camp in the Philippines before reaching the United States in 1979. In San Francisco, more than a dozen relatives shared apartments in the Tenderloin. Younger family members attended school during the day, while relatives collected bottles, cardboard, and paper, sometimes working at night. The work drew on the recycling trade the family had known in Vietnam, but they also had to learn a new language and find work and customers in an unfamiliar city.
Jim Thu Tai Duong, David Duong's father, taught his family that nothing useful and no person with potential should be thrown away. David Duong's years in San Francisco included discrimination and the difficulties of entering business as an immigrant. The film recounts those experiences through Duong's own account and examines how they influenced his decision to establish a company of his own. The business grew from the family's knowledge of recycling and years spent earning a living from recovered materials.
In 1992, David Duong founded California Waste Solutions in Oakland, beginning with used trucks. The company expanded from recovered-materials work into recycling collection, processing, and material recovery for residential, commercial, and municipal customers. According to company figures, California Waste Solutions serves more than 343,000 customers in Oakland and San Jose and operates several Bay Area recycling facilities. Through its subsidiary Vietnam Waste Solutions, the company also operates large-scale environmental infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City. The Duong family's journey from refugees to business leaders is a testament to their resilience and determination.
The King of Trash will be represented at the 13th San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival's red carpet and awards ceremony on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at the historic Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco. The ceremony is scheduled from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., with David Duong and director Errol Webber expected to attend. The festival's selected-film screening program runs from October 25 through October 31.
The documentary includes younger family members Victor Duong and Kristina Duong, whose perspectives appear alongside those of relatives who remember the escape from Vietnam and the first years of resettlement in America. Together, their accounts show how the family's past continues to shape the next generation and its role in the businesses.
The Duong Family's Journey Through Generations Director Errol Webber was a cinematographer on the Academy Award-winning documentary short Music by Prudence. For The King of Trash, Webber combined family interviews, historical footage, and reenactments shot in Vietnam.
The film moves between the events of 1975, the family's arrival in San Francisco, David Duong's career, and the environmental services operations established in Vietnam. It also includes accounts from relatives who lived through displacement and from family members born or raised after resettlement in the United States.
The King of Trash is preparing to reach a wider audience through digital distribution. The production team is working to finalize digital distribution through Amazon and other streaming platforms, allowing viewers beyond the original screening locations to discover the Duong family's history and David Duong's journey as a Vietnamese refugee and American entrepreneur. Further details, including participating platforms and release dates, will be announced once distribution arrangements are confirmed.
California Waste Solutions, founded in 1992 by David Duong, provides recycling collection, processing, customer service, and material recovery for residential, commercial, and municipal customers in Northern California, including Oakland and San Jose. Through its subsidiary Vietnam Waste Solutions, the company also operates large-scale environmental infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City. Headquarters: 1211 Embarcadero, Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94606. www.calwaste.com.