This week’s episode features Derek Nguyen, an award-winning filmmaker writer, director, and independent producer. Derek wrote and directed The Housemaid, a Gothic Romance horror film based in Vietnam which was released by IFC Films in 2018 and in 22 different territories around the world. An American adaptation of the film is currently in development, written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher. He is currently producing A. Sayeeda Moreno’s I’m Not Down with Monique Gabriela Curnen.
Derek was a fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters Lab for the screenplay adaptation of his play, Monster, and a 2004 Screenwriting Fellow at the New York Foundation for the Arts. Derek’s short, The Potential Wives of Norman Mao narrated by George Takei, screened at the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival, among other film festivals. Over the last four years, he’s helped to develop and finance 10 films through his work at the Tribeca Film Institute and Gamechanger Films.
Derek sees his writing as a form of activism and derives inspiration from his own experience as a Vietnamese American queer individual. In this episode, Derek shares personal stories about his family coming the country on a boat as Vietnamese refugees, his thoughts on Asian American identity and assimilation, and what it was like to break into the industry as a playwright.
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Relevant Links:
Derek recently co-founded The Population, a film production company with Mynette Louie and Mollye Asher which focuses on producing feature films by or about women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, and other underrepresented groups. For more information, visit wethepopulation.com/
A list of community groups & resources for Asia American filmmakers, curated by Derek:
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