Mike

Set within the first day of school, Hiep Nguyen is an exuberant Vietnamese student going on an exchange program at a Christian high school in South Dakota. At the school, Hiep stumbles into the challenge of conforming to an environment of all-white, very religious Midwesterners. As he finagles his way through obstacles emerging from intense cultural clashes, Hiep will have to ask himself: Should you accept yourself wholly, or should you change in order to connect with others in this school?

Directed by Duc Anh Nguyen
Produced by Chris Merola, Janine Bujie Zhang, and Duc Anh Nguyen

Director’s Bio: Duc Anh Nguyen is a writer/director, producer & editor from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He is an MFA graduate in the Film & TV Production program at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

As a writer/director, his films have been featured at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, Viet Film Fest, Boston Asian American Film Festival, and more. As an editor, he has worked on award-winning shorts and documentaries 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 in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles.

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.

Plays in

Breaking the Frame: Student Shorts

Young, emerging filmmakers from Asia and the Asian diaspora are pushing the boundaries of storytelling, redefining the cinematic landscape with their fresh perspectives and captivating short-form narratives.