WHAT IS YOUR IMMIGRATION STORY?

Oanh-Nhi Nguyen is a Vietnamese American film director.

I'm Vietnamese American. My parent's story is that after my parent my dad was born in Saigon, and my mom was born in Cambodia and my dad lived right, he left Vietnam right after the war right before the war started. My granddad, he's the eldest, my dad wanted to make sure he was sent off before the war started. So, he got into like this educational program with USAID and ended up in Ohio to do his college degree. And he didn't see his family though for five, five, six years. And then his family went through the camp, Camp Wellington, then fled to France during the war. 

And my mom's story is she was born in Cambodia, moved to Saigon when she was about 12, 13. And after the war, she lived through it. And I heard a lot of stories growing up about how it was like to live under war, lived under communist regime, and at 21 years old. I heard amazing stories about my grandma. And she had told her that, you know, so that they can flee to France where my uncle was residing, and they were waiting online to board the plane. My mom was 21 holding her niece, three-year-old niece's hand and my grandmother told her that she wasn't coming with her and so that she'll be right behind her and then you know she'll see her when she sees her. So, my mom boarded the plane by herself. So, I said goodbye to her mom and so I say that because even though it didn't happen to me, it still happened through me, you know. We live with what our parents went through, even if it's unspoken or not. And it's just really important to know where I came from and what my parents went through. And I was born in France, in Paris, and I lived there until I was six, and then moved to the States. And then I was six years old, and we moved to New York. So that's how we came to America.

WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT JOURNEY LOOK LIKE?

What would you say has been your journey through becoming American?

I knew of the history of the war, of America being in Vietnam, but also like France colonizing Vietnam. There's a lot of weird nuances that feels a bit strange to be resettling in places that harmed your country and your people. So, I would say even a young age I resisted wanted to be known as an American, I think maybe because of that. I ended up going to French American school and then learning more English and slowly enough you know, was immersed in American culture and was like speaking English all the time and I think now at 33 just like really owning that I've been here for 20 some years, if not what 26, 27 years. So, I became a citizen my, I think around 21. And I think that was when I realized, you know, even if I go to France, they don't see me as a French Vietnamese anymore because I'm not as fluent anymore. And the truth is, I've grown up here for so long, so I've kind of started to accept that, even though it's very tricky with the history, but it's what I know. It's like who I know, where I became, who I became. There's like a deep love for like the journey of becoming here, coming here, the journey of, you know, like wanting more justice in America and accepting. And that's just who I, you know, it's what I know.

And so not being in denial of it, but like honoring that part of myself, but also knowing that there are so many things I want to be better in America, right, for immigrant communities, for black and brown communities. But to be in denial of being American when I've gone here for so long, I don't think it's truthful either. So just like to be more authentic and like who I am and accepting all parts of myself and the complexities of that.

REFLECTIONS

"I'm a filmmaker, I'm a filmmaker, film director. The stories I really care about are about stories with what our communities went through. It's also about centering Asian women and girls, our lived experiences and our stories, specifically what happened to us after the war. I think there's a lot of films that were done about the war in Vietnam and the American perspective, but we don't really see it in a Vietnamese or Southeast Asian woman and girl perspective. And I think my work will always be balanced sharing about the international, intergenerational struggle and the suffering, but also like the triumph and the joy and the power. And I think that's really important because like I said earlier, like you know, even if I didn't go through what my parents went through, it's in my blood and like, you know, you grow up with it, it's still in your memory, it's still in your body, right? It's intergenerational. So, I see my work for the future is to honor those experiences, but also to root it in power and our joy. And those are the types of films I make. And I have a docuseries called Taking Root. We interviewed and talked to 15 community leaders in Philadelphia, all Southeast Asian refugees, what it was like to be resettled in Philly after the war and talks about the structural violence that they ensued and the failed resettlement system. But it also again roots in our power and our joy and our triumph. So, I think all my films will always be centered around that and that's how I hope to honor my parents' legacy and also find healing in my own.

I also want to center characters and people who have agency, you know, and have freedom and can become their most authentic self because I think that's sometimes of war and violence, structural violence that's taken away from us. So that's kind of how I hope to honor those stories and live experiences through my films. That's awesome. Yeah."
— Oanh-Nhi Nguyen, a Vietnamese American film director.