FILMMAKER BIO: Van Minh Nguyen, a child of Vietnamese refugee parents, was born in Oceanside, California. Raised in the unique rhythm of her hometown city of San Marcos, California mixed with the essence of her sacred homeland roots Vietnam, Nguyen credits her artistic pathways to her ancestors’ and family’s told and untold stories. She currently resides in San Francisco, California, pursuing her soul’s passion as a media/art activist using film, poetry, dance and her spiritual studies as a Buddhist and Priestess of Yemaya, in the Lukumi Tradition, as tools of expressions and healing.

Nguyen has also been devoted to bringing instruments of filmmaking to youth in urban communities for the past seven years. Her goals as a filmmaker are to add another perspective in filmmaking that has been influenced by her diverse experience as a Vietnamese American woman, to encourage positive change/growth for the community and herself. Nguyen received her BA in Film and Video production from the University of California, Santa Cruz and is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts degree in Cinema Production at San Francisco State University and is currently working on her new film, OPENED.

She is also studying Afro-Cuban Folkloric dance under Cuban master instructors Susana Arenas Pedroso and Jose Borrroso. Nguyen joined Arenas Dance Company in 2004, being the first Asian American dancer in the company.

Comments from community:

"It was during the casting of my film-in-progress The Floating World, that I met Van. She came highly recommended to me by the youth leadership development organization, Justice Matters, where she was a Community Fellow exploring the use of film and video as tools for social change. I was much impressed with her previous experimental narrative work, Khat Vong Khong Ngung ("Never Stop Longing") which explored a young Vietnamese immigrant woman's life in an American garment factory and how ritual, tradition and memory sustain her in a new land. It is a credit to her fearlessness and diplomacy that she was actually able to gain permission to videotape the inside of a sweatshop. Once inside, she was careful to respect the privacy of the workers as many were illegal immigrants. It is an accomplished and sensitive work, that deeply reflects Van as a person.

When Van came to work with me as my casting assistant, she was faced with a huge task in my search for the lead role for The Floating World: to do extensive outreach to the community, which focused on youth groups and elementary schools (since the leading roles calls for a 12-year-old actress). Getting into schools to do a talent scout was difficult, but Van's natural warmth and social grace was a major asset to the project and we were allowed access to several schools. During the actual casting sessions, Van worked the camera and also read lines off the actors. Van has a great combination of abilities--technical, organizational, and social skills. Her extensive hands-on experience shooting video (she has a great eye) and her people skills makes her a natural documentarian. Being bi-cultural and the daughter of immigrant parents is an added bonus for with that background comes an inherent awareness, respect and understanding of the sometimes delicate process of communicating and relating across cultural boundaries.

Since her time with me, it’s been a pleasure following Van’s growth and her considerable artistic, personal and professional accomplishments. Her energy, enthusiasm, and intellectual curiosity are boundless. Because I explore similar cultural and feminist themes in my own work, it is personally exciting to see how passionately Van has continued to explore and deepen these thematic concerns in her experimental, narrative and documentary works. Her work is deeply personal and draws inspiration not only from her own personal and family stories, but from her community involvement where her personal interest is leadership and cultural empowerment among underserved youths."

Kayo Hatta