An exuberant Vietnamese exchange student goes on a quest to find friends on his first day of school at an all-white, Christian High School in South Dakota.

Interview with Writer/Producer/Director/Editor Duc Anh Nguyen

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I grew up in Vietnam obsessed with high school life in America, empowered by Disney Channel’s greatest High School Musical and Hannah Montana. Safe to say, when I went to a small high school in South Dakota as the sole Asian, I experienced internal turmoil as I faced a new type of racism I had yet seen before - the micro-aggressions, virtual signalling, and differing political viewpoints - as the Vietnam War became everyone's talking point when I met them in South Dakota. To cope with the isolation stemming from cultural bias and ignorance, I began “erasing” my identity as a Vietnamese. First, I started using an American name. Then, I laughed along with all the racist jokes. Next, I cut my hair and started to dress like a proper Midwest high schooler. Soon, I learned to talk in South Dakota slang, too. By the time I fully transformed, I grew a deep resentment for my Vietnamese roots from within, believing it to be the culprit of my isolation. How do you live with resenting your appearance, identity, and culture? Often, films about this experience have shown the worst type of racism and the craziest type of cultural shock there is. That was not my experience. I want to explore the genuine comedy and pain that stem from this situation. Therefore, Mike was a proof-of-concept for my feature-length script of the same name, which explores these themes and concerns.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

As a team, we want to entertain you first and foremost, then sprinkle in the harsh reality of being a young POC in America to inform you along the way. You can expect a lot of laughs and hopefully some hearts during your viewing of this short. Furthermore, we strive to make it relatable, so you can expect Mike to touch on some cringeworthy corners of being a high schooler that everyone can relate to.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

As a POC filmmaker with a Vietnamese identity in America, the themes of racism and cultural clashes will always be presented in my works. However, I believe for the audience to understand the struggle that minorities go through, they must feel that the material is relatable. Hence, I strive to create a connection between the struggles of being a POC with universal themes that everyone can relate to. These include the challenges of forming your own identity in the world, the meaning of existence, cultural clashes that can happen in daily life, and most of all - the need to be true to who you are while also being accepted by society. For me, these are universal themes that everyone may face in their life.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The script is originally a segment from Mike's feature-length script. However, during the rewrite process, our team felt the segment needed to be more exciting and contained enough to make it stand as a singular short film. Therefore, some characters were created that were not in the feature version - including important characters like Christian and the Bible Teacher. This created a domino effect - not only were our team satisfied with the final version of the script, but it ended up adding more nuances to the feature-length version! The development process was spearheaded by our two wonderful producers - Chris Merola & Janine Zhang - who worked tirelessly to ensure our vision for the film was 100% delivered. There were obstacles during shooting - such as shooting the two most crucial scenes of the film in less than six hours - but the film remained as close to our original vision of the short as possible.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

So far, the film has been received warmly at all the screenings! There were laughs, there were noises at all the cringeworthy moments of the films, and there were - surprisingly - tears at pivotal moments. Our team finds that the film works extremely well in theaters, where an audience can come together for laughs & hearts. However, we were extremely happy that the audience picked up on the theme of social isolation! We strived to make it as universal as possible, but since the film is a semi-autobiographical story, a lot of it is made from a personal viewpoint. Therefore, we were worried about whether the audience would understand the message being delivered. That ended up not being the case, as many people came to me afterwards with their personal stories of being ostracized by their own community. For us, that is what matters most. We managed to give the audience a good time and created a bond with them within 15 minutes.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

It has, of course, surprised my point of view - in the most positive way possible! I was very happy that although this is a personal story of a Vietnamese kid, many audiences from various backgrounds can relate to his journey of being socially isolated. In a way, this is why I love movies and making movies. It is a chance to create a bond with an audience that I might never get to meet in person. However, for those 15 minutes, we are able to learn and understand each other.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I'd love for Mike to be seen by more people, receive more journalistic attention, and hopefully get it to more festivals, so we can continue to meet more wonderful audiences and fuel our desire to continue making quality works for you!

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We would need film festival directors, journalists and distributors to continue to amplify this film's message of being socially isolated as a person of color to more audiences.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

At the end of the day, we would just like to create more bonds with the audience by getting them to see the film, preferably with a group in theaters.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Should Hiep continue being himself, or should he adhere to social pressure to find friends and acceptance?

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Duc Anh, the writer/director, is currently rewriting Mike's feature script to send it to investors, and prepping to shoot a short and some spec commercials this year. Chris, the producer, is currently shooting his debut feature Lemonade Blessing with star Jack Ryan (Asteroid City) attached to star.

Interview: May 2024

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Mike

An exuberant Vietnamese exchange student goes on a quest to find friends on his first day of school at an all-white, Christian High School in South Dakota.

Length: 16:00

Director: Duc Anh Nguyen

Producer: Chris Merola

Writer: Duc Anh Nguyen

About the writer, director and producer:

DUC ANH NGUYEN is a writer, director, producer & editor from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He earned an MFA graduate in Film & TV Production at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Duc Anh has lived across 5 different states in North America for more than 10 years, often being the only person of color living in the towns he resided. His filmography is influenced by this experience, exploring themes of racism, cultural clashes, social isolation, and human identity - often with a sense of humor. As a writer/director, his films have been featured at Beverly Hills Film Festival & DisOrient Film Festival. His USC thesis short, MIKE, is a proof-of-concept for his feature-length dramedy of the same name. As an editor, he has worked on award-winning shorts and documentaries that were featured at the Cleveland International Film Festival, NewFilmmakers LA, FilmQuest Festival, and more. As a producer, Duc Anh has worked on narrative shorts, corporate marketing content, and music videos both in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles.

CHRIS MEROLA is a writer, director, and producer from Long Island, New York. He's an MFA graduate in Film & Television Production at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. His short, The Stall, won Best Direction at the Los Angeles Comedy Film & Screenplay Festival in 2022. Chris is currently in pre-production on his debut feature, Lemonade Blessing, with actor Jake Ryan (Asteroid City, Eighth Grade, Chad) attached in the lead role. The Catholic high school coming-of-age is expected to shoot in the Summer of 2024 from a crowd-funded budget.

Key cast: Jackie Tran (Hiep Nguyen), Cole Chisholm (Christian), Aidan Driscoll (Jake)

Looking for: journalists, film festival directors

Facebook: Duc Anh Nguyen

Instagram: @mikeshortfilm

Hashtags used: #Mikeshortfilm

Website: Duc Anh Nguyen

Other: IMDb

Funders: Seed and Spark

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Diversity in Cannes Showcase/Cannes, Paris - May 2024