Personal Information

Location

Los Angeles

Biography

I received my BA in English at UCLA, then took a year off to join a Vietnamese American theater troupe called "Club O'Noodles", where I learned to work with actors and non-actors, and learned how to cultivate personal experiences into the written and performance form; the best training one could receive in order to become a director. I went back to earn my MFA in Directing at the UCLA School of Film and Television, while maintaining my work with theater and community. My first two short films, "The Prescription" (1999) and "pomegranate" (2000) were both finalists for the Student Oscar. In 2003, I completed my thesis film, "The Anniversary", which was short-listed for an Academy Award in 2004. The accolades received from "The Anniversary" helped me find investors for my first feature, "Journey From the Fall". I completed the film in 2005, and premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. The film found distribution and was release theatrically in Spring 2007, and on video in that Fall. Currently, I am working on two features. "Distant Country", is an outrageously true adventure of two hapless, stateless, Vietnamese refugees, Executive Produced by my heroes of indie filmmaking, John Sayles and Maggie Renzi. "Breaking Point" is an action film starring World Champion Mixed Martial Arts fighter, Cung Le.

Professional Website

http://JourneyFromTheFall.com

Caucus Film

Film Title

The Anniversary (2003)

Film Website

http://JourneyFromTheFall.com

Film Information & Synopsis

Journey From the Fall is the story of a Vietnamese family who fled communist rule after the end of the Viet Nam War. I received the Caucus Award for my UCLA thesis film, The Anniversary, which was short-listed for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2004.

Festival Experience

Amazonas Film Festival in Brazil (2006) - Incredible! That's where I met Irvin Kushner, Bill Pullman, and Reny Harlan. To this day, Bill and I still keep in touch. Antalya Film Festival in Turkey (2007) - Beautiful! A great place to meet international filmmakers. Also had shisha from the Cannes entourage, haha. Anchorage Film Festival in Alaska (2007) - Such openness, and down to earth. The festival comped a dogsled trip with Iditarod trainers. Sundance Film Festival (2006) - Such a madhouse. Everyone is on their cellphones or rushing off to events. In the words of Geoffrey Gilmore, "Don't believe the hype."

History

Member for

2 years 36 weeks

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