Fresh Peaches (2020)

Director’s Statement

When I started studying USC, I felt a sudden urge to connect more with my Vietnamese culture. Maybe it was because I realized how much more connected I had hoped to be to my culture, or maybe it’s because I missed my mother’s Vietnamese food from home; either way, I just knew I needed to embark on some sort of journey for self discovery. I began searching for some sense of the Vietnam War – the most obvious place to start –  and realized that every War film lacked the Vietnamese perspective. In politics, culture, and media, all discourse concerning the war was centered around the American soldiers, guerilla tactics, helicopters, etc. I kept thinking to myself… where are all the Vietnamese people? My goal with Fresh Peaches was to tell a Vietnam War story that was about the Vietnamese, for the Vietnamese.

In talking with my family and relatives, I found their resettlement in the US to be a conflictual topic. Some were grateful, but some were critical towards the US and their involvement in the war. I tried to comment on some these sentiments in the film. Ultimately, telling this story was a huge step towards my goals of discovering my heritage and embodying this unrepresented community through film. On a more personal note, it was a way for me to connect with my grandma, who passed away before I was born. 

Accolades

CAAMFest 2021 - Official Selection, “Life, Interrupted” Shorts Program

USC Asian Pacific Film Fest 2020 - Official Selection

Campus Movie Fest 2021 - Award Winner in Goldman Sachs “Rewrite the Script” Category

Maine Student Film Festival 2021- Official Selection, Shortlisted for Excellence in Sound

DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival 2021 - Official Selection

Viet Film Fest 2021 - Official Selection

Mosaic World Film Festival 2021 - Official Selection

Venice Shorts - Official Selection